Most horse owners in eastern NC are familiar with sandbur, also called sand spurs or sand stickers. These are irritating to human and animal alike. If you've ever stepped on one in bare feet, you learned a painful lesson! Obviously, such an object in hay would cause injury to the horse's mouth, lips and gums, at the very least. However, horse owners should also be observant for foxtails in hay, and this applies to horse owners in a much greater portion of our readership area.
Foxtails of the Seteria species are quite common throughout NC. The seeds of foxtail have small barbs that can lodge in soft tissue of the lips and gums, and can even cause irritation of the gastrointestinal tract. Foxtails in NC are usually either Green Foxtail, Yellow Foxtail, or less frequently, Giant Foxtail. All are warm season annuals. For pictures of the seedheads, click this link to a University of Tennessee website.
https://extension.tennessee.edu/WebPacket/Pages/WP-2015-12-Horsesandfoxtail.aspx
It should be pointed out that the seedheads are the problem. If foxtail is present in a hayfield, but it is mowed frequently enough to prevent seedhead formation, the grass itself is of little concern. (Although, from a nutrient standpoint, foxtail is not generally as digestible and nutritious as most improved grasses.) Chemical control of foxtail can be difficult. In fescue and other cool season grasses, there are no options for broadcast control of foxtail, so it would have to be controlled by spot spraying with a non-selective herbicide. In bermudagrass, Pastora has fairly good activity on foxtail, but may require multiple applications for satisfactory control. For more information about control and management, contact your local Cooperative Extension office.
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