# Weed Free Feed



## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

I like to stay at camps when I go to the Black Hills. The owners do not require weed free on the premises and they have weed free to sell you, there, in case you are travelling and need it. The only big riding area we have close to us is Shawnee National Forest in Southern IL. You aren't required to have weed free there.
I prefer to supplement with alfalfa CUBES, and they do not expand when wet, they just fall apart.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

you can buy certified weed free cubes and pellets.


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## deserthorsewoman (Sep 13, 2011)

Exactly. Most, if nit all, Standlee hay products, pellets and cubes, are certified weed free. There's also a complete feed, available in the West, stable mix, which is cert. weedfree.


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

Weed free (and seed free) requirement is not uncommon in a lot of National and State managed areas. Some people find it inconvenient, but it makes sense when you stop and look at it.

Since I use beet pulp and copra it's a non issue for me. No chance of weed or seed. Dried out beets and coconut are never a problem although you might have to explain what copra is if they've never heard of it, because it sure won't look like the feed they're use to seeing :lol:.


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

With 74% of Utah being Public Lands and Certified Weed Free is required on all public lands. It is very common for us to have buy a weed free product. Most feed stores sell certified hay for $1.00 to $2.00 more per bale than non-certified hay.

Places like Yellowstone Park are even more restrictive. They are not only concerned about invasive weeds. But want to prevent the spread of ANY non-native plant. So they pretty much don't want any baled hay brought into the park. If you have it in your trailer, It needs to be in unbroken bales, usually wrapped or bagged to prevent the possibility of seeds blowing off the bales. And if you have fed your horses in mangers, They usually want your trailer windows shut. So the safest bet for feed in the park is to haul in some kind of processed feed. They consider the process of grinding and pelletizing of hay to be sufficient to destroy seeds.


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## SailorGriz (Nov 28, 2010)

I certified my hay crop this year and two years ago. I don't sell it, it's just for our own use. But it makes having certified bales a non-issue. We certify to the national standard, not just the Idaho standard, so we can take it pretty much wherever we go on public land.


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## equine24 (Aug 7, 2013)

Wow this was a good thread to read. I have never heard of weed free feed and never knew it was a rule. It makes sense but I don't think any of the feed stores around here have stuff like that. Good to know.


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

Sailor, Whats the difference between the national standard and the Idaho standard?

Here in Utah, Almost ALL certified weed free hay is Alfalfa. The department of ag inspector shows up before you cut the hay and looks over the field. If no weeds are present, he allows you to cut the filed and report the number of bales and he gives you that many tags to place on the bales.

Grass hay is so much more difficult to get certified, because varieties of un wanted grass are more difficult to see in a field of grass vs just looking at a good stand of alfalfa.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I thought I was buying timothy because the first load of bales were beautiful timothy. The second load contained Trefoil, a cattle feed, that can be invasive. The stuff was like tumbleweeds and the horses wouldn't touch it. I told the guy not to bring me any more altho he did. Now the damned Trefoil has invaded the lawn and my pastures.


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## jamesqf (Oct 5, 2009)

Painted Horse said:


> Here in Utah, Almost ALL certified weed free hay is Alfalfa.


I wonder, though, why alfalfa itself isn't considered a weed, at least in the context of introducing a non-native plant to the back country. While it's not exactly prolific, I do find the occasional plant growing in my garden, presumably having come from the horse manure I use as fertilizer.


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## roseann (Jan 29, 2013)

I went hiking in the mountians about a month ago on a multi-use trail. Tons of alfalfa alongside the trail....definately not native that high up. People are supposed to start feeding the weed free stuff three days before going into a weed free area. Most day riders I know dont. When I went camping in June at a different area I saw no signs of any weeds and they did check the hay. Mostly because the ranger had been called out on a nusience call. First time any of the campers had ever been checked. This is in sw Colorado.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

jamesqf said:


> I wonder, though, why alfalfa itself isn't considered a weed, at least in the context of introducing a non-native plant to the back country. While it's not exactly prolific, I do find the occasional plant growing in my garden, presumably having come from the horse manure I use as fertilizer.


Alfalfa is almost always cut pre-bloom. If the plant has not blossomed yet, It can't have any seeds. It is really easy for an ag inspector to look at a field of alfalfa and recognize if there is a blue/purple hue from blossoms. If it's all green the plant has not blossomed and no seed are possible.

Where most grass plants don't usually have a blossom or at least not one you identify from the corner of a field. And the variety of grass in a field may go to seed at different dates. Making it much more difficult for an inspector to tell if there are any seeds in the standing grass.


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## jamesqf (Oct 5, 2009)

Makes sense. So I suppose the occasional plant I find must be escapees from uncut corners/edges of fields?


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