Horse Tales
A Lot of Money and Effort Go Into Bringing Hay to Mackinac Island

Once Mackinac's summer residents get their homes opened, lawns mowed, and flowers planted Memorial Day weekend, the horse addicts' concentration turns toward their equines arriving. As in past summers, preparations for the horses' arrival includes securing adequate amounts of grain and hay prior. June is the traditional month in most of Michigan for the first cutting of hay. Hay is an important crop for farmers in this state, as it's not only viewed as a food crop, but dry hay is a cash crop. A lot of money and a lot of work go into making hay.

Take a look at the amounts of hay that are shipped to Mackinac Island, and the tonnage is staggering. The big horse industry here, run by Mackinac Island Carriage Tours, brings over as much hay as possible, as soon as the boats start running in early spring. By June, deliveries to the dock take place several times a week. The next biggest consumers of hay are the stables (Jack's and Cindy's) and Gough Livery, followed by Arrowhead Carriages. Grand Hotel must also buy hay for its stable of working horses, as well as the leased horses in the Mackinac Island Horsemen's summer riding program. Private horses belonging to some year-around and summer residents make up the rest of the users. People don't realize what big business hay is, how much work it takes to bring hay onto the Island, and how hard it is to actually make hay.

Zack Cripps, a teamster for Mackinac Island Service Company, secures a delivery of hay on his dray.

The other day, downstate at our farm in Grass Lake, my son, daughter, husband, and I had to move 460 bales of our 2006 hay to make way for the incoming 2007 hay, due to be harvested this month. It was a long, hot process in the loft of our barn, and we broke up the labor over several evenings. It's not a good idea to store new hay over old. One needs to use last year's first. When you get the call from your "hay man" that he's ready to start stacking, get ready.

After we had moved those bales, we were left with huge piles of loose hay. The hay was fine. It had fallen from the bales we had carried, or the twine had broken. When a square bale of hay is made, the hay falls into segments or flakes. The gigantic pile of loose hay reminded me that up until the invention of the first automatic, pick-upself tying hay baler appeared on a farm in Pennsylvania 50 years ago, all hay was tied and baled by hand, or loosely stored in barns. To "hay," you must have a mower, a rake, and a baler.

Heading up Market Street Wednesday, June 6, Ty Townsend takes a load of hay to the Mackinac Island Carriage Tours barn on Cadotte Avenue.

The first step in making hay is the mowing of the standing crop of grasses. Farmers in Michigan wait until the grasses usually have water content of 80 to 90 percent, and lay that in "windrows." This is done by a hay mower on a tractor. In the old days, the "mower" was a person with a knife, or later a horse-driven machine pulled by a team. The windrow of cut hay is left in the field to dry and a rake or related equipment moves those windrows to a narrower windrow for a more effective drying process. After it has dried longer, the baler gathers the hay from the windrow and compresses the hay into denser blocks, which are the bales. It takes three to four days to allow the hay a good drying. Farmers cutting hay may base their farming on high-tech weather reports, but many still look to the skies and pray for clear dry days and nights.

Hay harvesting 100 years ago was a community event for farms and ranches. The machines were known as balers. In those days, it was required that the hay be brought to them, as they were stationary. Harvesters manually tied the bales with twine or wire after the hay had been fed through the machine. The hay was then pulled by wagons and stored in lofts where air could circulate.

If the hay in bales does get wet, it will mold, and that mold will produce a distinct smell, as well as feel hot to the touch. The mold will spread to more bales, and the potential for heat increases. Not only can moldy hay be devastating for the horses who eat it, there can be a real potential for fire.

An average square bale of hay weighs between 30 and 45 pounds. Some hay balers make bigger bales, and a farmer can even buy "specialty balers." In any case, there has to be a person who drives the tractor, and he must work hard to stay in line with the dried windrows. The baling machines usually operate on the right side of the tractor, but some operate behind.

Hay can also be made into large, round bales. These can weigh as much as 750 pounds. A skid loader usually is needed to maneuver them. Round bales are a good way to feed many horses. Mackinac Island Carriage Tours and Arrowhead Livery use round bales in their turnouts because they have the machines and manpower to handle them. On the Island, round bales are off loaded from the dock in town onto our horse-drawn drays and head up the "hill" to the barns.

These days most of Mackinac's hay comes from the Upper Peninsula, or the southern Straits area. Square bales are still the traditional choice. One hay bale alone is handled many times before it comes to the barn. Thank goodness it comes compacted, and in a rectangle, instead of loose.

Candice Dunnigan is an active member of the American Equestrian Association, the Waterloo Hunt, and the Mackinac Horsemen's Association. Seasonally she resides at Easterly Cottage.