This year, vast swaths of the country have borne the burden of one of the largest droughts in nearly 50 years. Compounding the lack of rain have been boiling temperatures, breaking or tying over 170 all-time records during June 2012 alone, according to the National Climatic Data Center. As of mid-July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared counties in 26 states federal natural disaster areas.

In other areas, unseasonable weather has come in the form of heavy rains and flooding, such as in the Northwest and in Southern states like Texas and Louisiana.

The weather can be rough on polo, and not just because it has been uncomfortably hot, dry or wet at many polo clubs across the country. In areas with combined heat and water problems, it can be a real task to keep your horses healthy and hydrated.

Closely monitor horses turned out to pasture as grazing withered grasses and roots can lead to numerous problems, like sand colic or nitrite poisoning. It also may be necessary to supplement your horses' nutritional needs with hay or feed if they are turned out in withering fields. Dry fields can also cause hooves to become dry and brittle.

In areas with extremely wet conditions, a variety of problems may occur. Hooves can become soft and more susceptible to bacterias, while skin can get infected. Another concern is the spread of mosquitoborne illness, which intensifies when mosquito populations rise due to the abundance of standing water. Illnesses carried by mosquitos can include West Nile virus and equine encephalomyelitis, which are potentially fatal.

Horsemen across the country—even in areas not directly affected by extreme weather—are beginning to find weather conditions are making it hard to maintain their strings. "I've been seeing the price of hay and feed fluctuate," says Joey Casey, who has polo operations in both Florida and Oklahoma. "It's been difficult."

Casey noted that while the cost of hay continues to rise, the quality has suffered from the last few years' extreme weather conditions. Last year, when a drought struck Texas and parts of Oklahoma and New Mexico, Casey saw 33 percent less hay yielded by his suppliers. The hay that was available was described as "half as good" and up to three or four dollars more expensive per bale. Casey, who raises hay in Oklahoma and ships it to Florida for his own operations, also bemoaned the cost of freight, which has put high pressure on the price of hay.

Producers and suppliers of hay and feed are also finding the weather averse for their businesses. "I haven't seen rain since planting season, which was around April," said Troy Lansing of Iowa-based Lansing Hay Company, who supplies hay to several high-goal polo operations. "Normally we get three or four cuttings of hay in a season, now it's around two."

As most horse owners know, hay is a composite of several different species of grass and legumes, a few of the most common being alfalfa, orchardgrass, red clover and timothy grass. Few of these plants grow in the same region, and each has specific climatic and nutritional needs. Moreover, the methods for growing even the same plants vary from region to region.

In the Western states, like Washington, Oregon and California, hay farms are largely irrigated, meaning weather conditions will have little effect on the production of hay. Even timothy grass, which is not very resistant to drought, is being produced in normal numbers this year in these states.

On the other hand, growers around the Rocky Mountains, who rely primarily on mountaintop snow melts for water, are having a tough year resulting from a mild winter, which left mountain snowcaps significantly smaller than average.

Hay farms in the middle and Eastern states are the hardest hit because they are primarily dry land farms, which do not use irrigation and rely on the natural cycle of rains to sustain crop growth. Yields there are about 40 percent lower than usual, according to National Hay Association president Ron Bradtmueller. Some states in the Midwest and east of the Mississippi are having such difficulty producing hay that they are importing it from states that are not hit as hard by the drought.

But the weather is only one of several factors affecting the supply side of hay. For one, the rising cost of freight has been a thorn in the industry's side. Another factor is the loss of acreage to corn, as the global demand for ethanol and cereal grains continues to rise.

Lansing also noted that hay is a crop which demands very high labor compared to corn and beans, so many farmers short on labor find it easier to plant and harvest those crops rather than hay; and the fact that the population of farmers is aging only aggravates this problem. Finally, the livestock industries, the largest consumers of hay, are often closer to farms and buy up what hay is produced long before horse owners get a chance.

But Tom Creech, of Kentucky-based Creech, Inc., says the current conditions should not scare consumers. "There's no question dry land hay will be affected," Creech told Polo Players' Edition, "but the best thing you can do is remain calm and stick to your regular supplier."

According to Creech, those who get their hay from irrigated regions should see little change in product. Elsewhere, consumers should expect to find the same quality hay they are used to receiving, but likely with some changes to the component grasses.

Lansing said one such change might be the mixed orchardgrassalfalfa hay favored by many polo players will likely be harder to find. That is because orchardgrass requires more regular watering and is thus particularly susceptible to parched conditions, unlike alfalfa and other drought-resistant legumes. Orchardgrass is also grown largely on dryland farms in Kentucky and the Midwest, states among the hardesthit by the drought.

Both Creech and Lansing suggested consumers will likely begin seeing more protein-rich hay, meaning it may be necessary for horse owners in that situation to cut back on grain-based protein-rich feeds. This may even be beneficial from an economic standpoint, since the price of grain-based feeds is rising faster than the price of hay, as well as from a nutritional standpoint, since equine digestive systems are much better suited for eating forage than grains. Always consult with your veterinarian before you make any changes to your horse's dietary program.

Creech stressed that the last thing consumers should do is get too nervous about changes in the market. If consumers begin going on their own to find hay from farther afield than their local dealer, this could bring about drastic increases in the price of hay.

This is, in part, what happened in Texas and Oklahoma last year. Consumers began looking for hay as far as Canada, resulting from a severe drought that struck the state. At that time, dealers capitalized on consumer panic by raising prices by more than double, according to the New York Times (Oct. 31, 2011). It is your regular dealer's job to find hay if their usual suppliers are out, and they are better able to do so without making averse ripples in the market. Casey also suggested it is easier to find good, consistent hay through a hay broker who has connections to hay farms than through shopping around piecemeal.

But consumers should not expect the price of hay to lower anytime soon. A rebound in the weather would certainly help the immediate supply problems and could potentially mean another sorely needed cutting of hay for many farms. But until hay becomes a more attractive crop to plant, the long-term may bode darkly for consumers' wallets.

If you have the storage space, buy what hay you will need for the year and store it. Buying bulk in advance can lower the price, ensure your horses are eating consistent hay, and secure the same price for your year of hay if the market continues to change. Lansing said he has been advising his customers to buy hay to last at least through the winter months, as supply is expected to be most scarce during those months.

If you plan on storing your hay, be sure to take the proper precautions. Casey, who stores 4,000 to 5,000 bales of hay for his operations, advises that hay be stored in a shed with ample ventilation on the top and sides for air circulation. Place it on palettes so air can get under it, although a concrete floor may also be acceptable. Unlike with stored grain feed, vermin are not usually a problem with stored hay. But horse owners should still look out for droppings in the hay, which can make horses ill.

Hay is not the only crop that will be affecting polo operations around the country. The past year has seen high pricing volatility and decreased supplies for grains like corn, oats and soybeans. Approximately 60 percent of the nation's corn and soybean acreage is within drought-affected regions.

In July 2012, the USDA reported that corn production has been reduced from 166 bushels per acre to 146 per acre; more conservative estimates put that number around 130. What this means for this year's projected feed grain supply is a staggering 22 percent drop, from about 14 billion bushels to about 11 billion. Soybean meal, a common ingredient in horse feeds for its high protein content, has also been rising sharply in price, with the price-per-ton among all-time highs.

According to Bradtmueller, whose Florida-based business Central States Enterprises supplies feed grain to distributors, horse owners could see the average 50 pound bag of pelleted feed exceed $20 this year. The good news is such extremes should only be temporary. Unlike hay, acreage for growing cereal grains has expanded—and still continues to expand—meaning it could just take a lucky break in the weather to turn those prices around. Further, authorities within the industry expect the markets to react to lower consumer costs.

Storing feed grain can be more problematic than storing hay. For one, pests like rats and insects are attracted to the feed, so store it securely in a cool, dry place and inspect it regularly for signs of contamination.