Can I Touch Hay ?

[georgie]

Could I be Glutening myself by feeding my horses ? Its wheat hay ......

[Guhlia]

It's absolutely possible. You could be glutening yourself just by being around your horses. If they're feeding on wheat, then rolling around and kicking up dust, it could get into your stomach through your nasal passages. Wearing a mask would solve this problem. Also, if you're not washing your hands (and probably changing your clothes too if you're around it enough) it's likely your getting gluten into your system.

Maybe I'm just a pessimist or overly paranoid, so don't get upset by my post please. I'd wait for a second or third opinion.

[ravenwoodglass]

It's absolutely possible. You could be glutening yourself just by being around your horses. If they're feeding on wheat, then rolling around and kicking up dust, it could get into your stomach through your nasal passages. Wearing a mask would solve this problem. Also, if you're not washing your hands (and probably changing your clothes too if you're around it enough) it's likely your getting gluten into your system.

Maybe I'm just a pessimist or overly paranoid, so don't get upset by my post please. I'd wait for a second or third opinion.

I totally agree with this. My mystery glutening stopped for the most part after I gave away my bird, (there is no safe bird seed and they are most likely the only creatures that should be eating that stuff) and switched my other pets to gluten-free food. Well except for the fish in the pond and I wear gloves when feeding them and only water nonfood plants with the pond water.

[georgie]

This is amazing...I am having a light globe moment .... Do we get more sensitive to trace amounts of Gluten after being gluten-free for 10 months or so ?? I suddenly realised also that I have changed my dogs to gluten-free food recently...so the house now is 100% gluten-free. But then ...I am feeding the horses with wheat hay and yes - I do get wheat dust ....OMG

[ravenwoodglass]

This is amazing...I am having a light globe moment .... Do we get more sensitive to trace amounts of Gluten after being gluten-free for 10 months or so ?? I suddenly realised also that I have changed my dogs to gluten-free food recently...so the house now is 100% gluten-free. But then ...I am feeding the horses with wheat hay and yes - I do get wheat dust ....OMG

Many of us do seem to get more sensitive after everything has finally been gotten out of the system and our bodies have had a chance to feel recovery our bodies can become quite unhappy when we get even trace amounts. I consider this a good thing as it helps motivate me to not take as many chances.

[Canadian Karen]

Open Original Shared Link

[Citrine]

Hi,

I have horses and had to swap mine from wheat, oat and barley straw bedding to woodshaving because one of them developed copd (horse asthma) I immediately felt better lol and so did my horse!

Reading this thread made me realise that the question I wanted to ask on this forum was if it is possible to get 'glutened' from inhaling the flour and handling bread whilst making the kids sandwiches, is very similar to the wheat hay problem... DOH of course it is and explains my relapses.

I have been gluten free for three years now and my reaction to gluten has been getting more and more severe and acute. Some supermarkets that pump the smell of fresh bread from the air in their in store bakery make me ill now. I have to go to France and I worry about the cc there from all that floury french bread.

Oh Help!

Citrine

[blueeyedmanda]

This could be very well what is causing you ill. One of the last things you would have thought though, huh?

[celiac-mommy]

After a day at the pumpkin patch last October, my daughter came home complaining of stomachaches. Her teachers and I went over EVERYTHING she ate and the only thing we could come up with is the hay maze/bales. She had hay stuck in every piece of clothing. Her teachers were so concerned about it before symptoms that they actually wiped her down before getting on the bus. None-the-less, she vomitted all night. Learned the lesson the hard way-it never crossed my mind till then...

[L.A.]

I wear gloves at the barn and get my kids to deal with the hay etc--even have to be careful when grooming the horses. Do lots of hand washing at the barn

[2kids4me]

I thought most horse owners fed alfalfa hay (?)

Wheat usually yields straw for bedding as it is combined for the "heads" ( or grain) and never baled with heads on.......

Hay can hecome moldy leading to "heaves" in horses (like asthma).

Is the hay moldy? If so - the mold will cause issues for people too.

Maybe this is getting picky - but hay - as a rule - is from grass crops / legumes and fed a source of nutrients.

Oats are commonly fed as well.

Straw however often comes from grain crops such as barley and wheat.

At least in this end of the country ( prairie) - wheat straw is used as bedding and can certainly cause issues for a celiac, but alfalfa and other grass hays seldom do.....

Pelleted feed is avbailable as well.

With horses, they do need to graze otherwise they have teeth problems. (their teeth erupt continuously)

Grass hay should pose no problem unles it is moldy.

Wheat straw will create issues and if fed to horse has little nutient value. It can also lead to impaction colic.

Wheat fed to horse cause intestinal issues becasue it has so much energy when digested.

EVERYTHING she ate and the only thing we could come up with is the hay maze/bale

Wheat straw is used on most "hay rides" and in areas where bales are used - this is because straw is cheaper. Hay is used as feed. Straw is used as bedding. If someone is actually using hay bales - it likely has mold and that can be a source of health issues.

Straw: The stems or stalks (esp. dry and separated by threshing) of certain cereals, chiefly wheat, barley, oats, and rye. Used for many purposes, e.g. as litter and as feed for cattle, as filling for bedding, as thatch, also plaited or woven as material for hats, beehives, etc.

Hay: Grass cut or mown, and dried for use as feed; formerly (as still sometimes) including grass fit for mowing, or preserved for mowing.

Sandy - mostly mom, AHT in my spare time

[CMCM]

I just attended a lecture by Dr. Ken Fine of Enterolab, and this was exactly the question I asked him. He said most definitely YES, the longer you are free of gluten the more sensitive you may be to any exposure.

I asked him this because after I found out about myself, my sister learned she has the celiac gene so she went gluten free for the most part. However, she has mentioned lately (after doing this about 6 to 8 months) that any gluten now seems to give her digestive upsets, whereas before she didn't feel she was getting any reactions at all.

This is amazing...I am having a light globe moment .... Do we get more sensitive to trace amounts of Gluten after being gluten-free for 10 months or so ?? I suddenly realised also that I have changed my dogs to gluten-free food recently...so the house now is 100% gluten-free. But then ...I am feeding the horses with wheat hay and yes - I do get wheat dust ....OMG

[nowheatnomilk]

Carp I live around wheat fields... they are getting read to harvest it... OH NO!

[missflavor]

Carp I live around wheat fields... they are getting read to harvest it... OH NO!

I think you are gonna need to move! I just saw this so now it's Sep. How'd you do with the harvest in June?

[missflavor]

Canadian Karen - I figure after all of my diagnoses, humor is just about all that cannot be take away, and I'm with ya. Laughter, the best medicine and family...the best. Lot's of work, but also the most rewarding. Health - well - ah - Celiac definitely annoying, MS pretty darn annoying but add other stuff I won't mention you obviously know how it is and ya just gotta laugh. I miss food but someday maybe a pill? Now there are some good jokes with that one. I love the picture. Is that your cute pup? so cute --- Love the picture. Keep laughin'...

[Guest j_mommy]

When we hay....I wear a mask...it's really dusty and get everywhere when we're cutting and baling and then putting it up!

[georgie]

I thought most horse owners fed alfalfa hay (?)

Wheat usually yields straw for bedding as it is combined for the "heads" ( or grain) and never baled with heads on.......

Hay can hecome moldy leading to "heaves" in horses (like asthma).

Is the hay moldy? If so - the mold will cause issues for people too.

Maybe this is getting picky - but hay - as a rule - is from grass crops / legumes and fed a source of nutrients.

Oats are commonly fed as well.

Straw however often comes from grain crops such as barley and wheat.

Its definately wheat hay. Where we live its too dry to grow alfalfa and legume hays. We can ship it in from across the country but its costs HEAPS. I am rereading this topic as I think I really have a problem with this now. When I started the thread it was winter and I was wearing more clothes to go into the barn. Now its summer here, I wear shorts and am wading through ankle deep straw / dust in sandals ... I always wash my hands immediately after - but not my legs or change clothes ....... I have a shed of 300 bales of hay !!! What can I do to clean it out ?????

[HAK1031]

My horse gets fed grass hay... which is good because I pretty much cover myself in it four times a day .

[home-based-mom]

In October I was telling the Biblical story of Joseph to a group of young children. I bought a bundle of what was probably wheat at Ralphs for $1 to show them what a sheaf looks like. Ralphs was selling it as a Halloween decoration, so the timing was perfect for me!

I tried really hard to be careful, but I guess not hard enough because I had all my classic symptoms the next day.

I think I will look harder for a picture before I tell that story again.

[georgie]

My horse gets fed grass hay... which is good because I pretty much cover myself in it four times a day

Where I live we don't have grass or grass hay ...... The choice is wheat, barley, oats or lucerne if you buy it from across the country .....

At the moment the wheat hay I am using is very powdery as the mice have eaten bits of it. ...Lots of straw on the ground that I walk through 2x a day ..... When I throw the hay over the fence a huge cloud of wheat dust flies everywhere Lately I have been tired and constipated .... omg...what am I going to do ? If that dust cloud is significiently bad - then my clothes , hair, skin are all being exposed to gluten!

[deb445]

I am so grateful for these old posts.

As my boys are writhing in bed, and fighting fevers with a tag team of Tylenol and Children's Motrin - I'm left trying to figure out how they got glutened. I was trying to determine, what was new? What did we do differently. Well, I think I've confirmed it now. They decided to "renovate" the dog's house. There was hay in it. The boys (unbeknownst to me) were renovating the INSIDE - with shovels! Where do they come up with stuff?! They both are now vowing never to go INSIDE the dog's house again. And I'm kicking myself for not thinking of hay as being a risk factor. The fever, muscle and bone aches, and the loss of appetite may last a couple of days. Oh, and the whining. The price of childhood curiosity when you react to gluten. Poor kids. Didn't we just go through this a few weeks ago? It doesn't get any easier, does it?

[Mom23boys]

Well, I'm glad you bumped this old thread.

I always had a difficult time on hayrides, with fall decorations, even the little bit of hay in a Christmas scene. I'm not seeing a connection.

[smsm]

I am confused by this thread - are celiacs not supposed to be around hay? I thought hay was a grass. I know it is only Spring, but are we suggesting that celiacs not got to fall festivals/hayrides/pumpkin patches/etc. Please tell me this isn't true.

[Bubba's Mom]

I am confused by this thread - are celiacs not supposed to be around hay? I thought hay was a grass. I know it is only Spring, but are we suggesting that celiacs not got to fall festivals/hayrides/pumpkin patches/etc. Please tell me this isn't true.

Most hay rides and Fall decorations use bales of straw. It's much cheaper than hay, which is a valuable feed for animals. The straw can be from oats or wheat.

My hubby got a bale of straw to spread out in the yard where the dogs had made a nice batch of mud, which they were tracking in. As he spread it he noticed grain heads mixed in. He glutened our yard! He quickly raked it up and covered the area with wood chips.

[IrishHeart]

I am confused by this thread - are celiacs not supposed to be around hay? I thought hay was a grass. I know it is only Spring, but are we suggesting that celiacs not got to fall festivals/hayrides/pumpkin patches/etc. Please tell me this isn't true.

I do not think you need to stop your Fall festivities.

Hay is mowed grass, alfalfa, clover and sometimes herbs and legumes. Yes, sometimes wheat or oat may be included in fodder for cattle.

The difference between hay bales and straw bales derives from what they are made of. Hay bales are comprised primarily of grasses. These grasses still have grain or seeds attached.

Straw bales are comprised of only the stalks of plants, such as grain plants; as a rule the stalks do not have seeds or grains attached, although some seeds or grains may remain due to the inability of machinery to remove them all.

Go on your hayride, but don't eat the hay.... no grazing!

If I am wrong, come back in October and yell at me.

Of course, if you are ALLERGIC to any of these plants or grasses, that is a different story.

I am going to quote from a previous thread:

"Neither timothy nor alfalfa are sources of gluten. They are grasses, not grains. Contamination is a possibility. It is also entirely possible to be allergic to either of these plants"