Commonly I have attend clients horses with veterinary related issues associated with eating barley grass seeds. The hay was purchased, unknowingly, with large amounts of barley grass seeds within it. Is this a problem?
From a nutritional aspect there are no negative effects of eating the barley grass seeds.
However, from a traumatic point of view, there are many risks.
The seed of the barley grass, when dried, can be very sharp. It is also a seed that sticks to objects easily due to its specially designed shape. It works its way into the body through soft tissues, mostly of the mouth in horses. If the seed head is not removed, it continues to progress through the tissues and in some cases the entry hole closes over. At this point it will act like a foreign body and form a discharging draining tract, or it can continue to migrate and cause severe disease.
Please check your hay thoroughly, and ideally examine a few bales prior to purchase.
One of my well experienced barley grass clients, explained a simple method to detect the seed heads in the hay:
Step one:
Select your husband or male friends favourite PGG sweater and put it on
Step 2:
Select a handful of hay and rub it up and down on the jumper over the stomach area
Step 3:
Examine for barley grass seed heads
Step 4:
Take off the sweater swiftly return it to its place of residence