|
Author
|
Topic: What type of hay?
|
Jessi
Member
Member # 637
|
posted April 30, 2004 04:03 AM
What type of hay should my horse have? I know it has to be first cut, but other than that I'm clueless.
He's an 8 year old QH-X gelding, and he could stand to put on a few pounds, but he's already been gaining a little. He's on hay all summer because we've only got one paddock right now and he eats all the grass. He gets about a 1/2 bale per day. ^Hope that helps ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
--------------------
If this were a logical world, men would ride sidesaddle.
Posts: 182 | From: Upstate NY | Registered: Aug 2003
|
|
Blistering Winds
Member
Member # 843
|
posted April 30, 2004 08:10 AM
Alfalfa is an excellent hay for a legume hay. I don't know what grass hay's are available nor legume hay.
Different hay's are available in different part of the country.
--------------------
Horses should not be treated as people. They should be respected for who they are and what they are capable of doing!
Born Free Now Expensive
Posts: 4337 | From: Texas | Registered: Oct 2003
|
|
MissBandit
Member
Member # 1377
|
posted April 30, 2004 10:39 AM
No it doesn't have to be first cut. The more cuts a field has, the better the hay gets. Usually a field will get 3 cuts in a season. 3rd cut is much better quality than 1st cut. Just FYI.
--------------------
You know you are a horse person when...
...You pull change from your pocket , and hay falls out.
...you yell at the kids, and the horse's name pops out.
...you actually get to a point where flies don't bother you so much.
Posts: 2292 | From: BC, Canada | Registered: Jan 2004
|
|
Super_Trooper
Member
Member # 1344
|
posted April 30, 2004 10:56 AM
I feed a timothy alfalfa mix...
--------------------
True commitment begins when you reach the point of not knowing how you could possibly go on, and deciding to do it anyway!
Posts: 2411 | From: BC Canada | Registered: Jan 2004
|
|
harli36
Member
Member # 1587
|
posted April 30, 2004 11:53 AM
It doesn't matter so much what cut of hay you get what matters most is when that hay was cut in relation to the plants level of maturity. For example alfalfa should be cut between when it grows it first full bud to it's first flower. After that time or before you will have a lower quality hay.
--------------------
...................................
THE MORE PEOPLE I KNOW THE MORE I LOVE MY HORSE
Posts: 613 | From: northeastern Pa | Registered: Feb 2004
|
|
MissBandit
Member
Member # 1377
|
posted April 30, 2004 12:06 PM
The price of hay increases with each cut as the quality gets better and better. I'm not talking about alfalfa, just grass hay.
--------------------
You know you are a horse person when...
...You pull change from your pocket , and hay falls out.
...you yell at the kids, and the horse's name pops out.
...you actually get to a point where flies don't bother you so much.
Posts: 2292 | From: BC, Canada | Registered: Jan 2004
|
|
harli36
Member
Member # 1587
|
posted April 30, 2004 12:24 PM
I wasn't arguing with you Miss Bandit. I agree with you that it is fine to feed 2nd and 3rd cuts of hay. I just wanted to add to what you said by saying that it also depends when the hay is cut in relation to it's stage of growth. Sorry if that was unclear.
Posts: 613 | From: northeastern Pa | Registered: Feb 2004
|
|
Sandra-A1
Member
Member # 588
|
posted April 30, 2004 12:52 PM
If you are wanting to provide free choice hay for your horse since he is kept in the one paddock and you do not have a lot of acreage available for grazing, I would go with a good grass hay. I have no idea what is available in your part of the country but if it was me would most likely stick with a good grass type than a legume like Alfalfa. I think there is a lot of the alfalfa-timothy mixture grown up your way but if your wanting to provide your horse with hay to replace grazing and give him something to do I would try to locate a good grass hay if at all possible.
--------------------
"It is our choices Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
-Dumbledore
Posts: 1863 | From: Alabama | Registered: Aug 2003
|
|
Blistering Winds
Member
Member # 843
|
posted April 30, 2004 12:53 PM
The "growth" is very important. When you cut the hay, the growth of that particular place restarts. Problem with $$ isn't the quality. They yield usually drops toward the end, as summer heat kicks into full swing, and the plant starts worrying about surviving than growing.
At least down south, that is the issue on $$.
--------------------
Horses should not be treated as people. They should be respected for who they are and what they are capable of doing!
Born Free Now Expensive
Posts: 4337 | From: Texas | Registered: Oct 2003
|
|
Jessi
Member
Member # 637
|
posted April 30, 2004 01:04 PM
Thanks guys. I was always told to only use 1st cut because after that it had too much carbon dioxide in it or something...of course, it wasn't from the most reliable source.
--------------------
If this were a logical world, men would ride sidesaddle.
Posts: 182 | From: Upstate NY | Registered: Aug 2003
|
|
Blistering Winds
Member
Member # 843
|
posted April 30, 2004 01:08 PM
Carbon Dioxide? Never heard that one.
It DOES, however, have more lignin in the stem as the growth increases in the summer. Which makes many nutrients unavailable. Especially if they wait too long to cut it and the summer heat starts kicking into gear.
--------------------
Horses should not be treated as people. They should be respected for who they are and what they are capable of doing!
Born Free Now Expensive
Posts: 4337 | From: Texas | Registered: Oct 2003
|
|
harli36
Member
Member # 1587
|
posted April 30, 2004 01:32 PM
This person is from upstate NY I myself am from NE Pennsylvania and up here we aren't usually as concerned with heat damage to hay unless there is a bad heat wave. As always it is best to have your hay analyzed for nutrient content. Your ag extension agent can do this for you and help you formulate a ration for your horses. For free I might add.
Posts: 613 | From: northeastern Pa | Registered: Feb 2004
|
|
CJ
Member
Member # 1979
|
posted April 30, 2004 03:38 PM
You might even find that excess alfalfa gives your horse the trots/runs/ diarrhea. I had a horse like that and spent years avoiding alfalfa, other than trace amounts.
Posts: 662 | From: NJ | Registered: Mar 2004
|
|
Horse&Pony luver
Member
Member # 1864
|
posted May 01, 2004 11:47 PM
For some horses alfalfa is fine but watch your horse closely. Some horses digestive systems just cant handle it. I dont feed alfalfa at all. It isnt good for horses anyway. Their systems just werent made to handle it. Cows are better set up digestively to eat alfalfa.
And for those who argue against me, my words "it isnt good for horses anyway" comes from lots of reiable vets and their clinics. (just trying to stop arguements before they start) ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
--------------------
Jumping is just dressage with speed bumps!
Proud Owner of:
San Bar Frost aka Sandi
Justabita Scribbles aka Bubba
Little Bit O'Trouble aka Little
Reddy For Anything aka Red
Baby's Gone Blues aka Babe
Classic Lines aka Molly
Twozone Top Chex aka Two
Posts: 213 | From: Fort Bragg, California | Registered: Mar 2004
|
|
Blistering Winds
Member
Member # 843
|
posted May 02, 2004 07:27 AM
Well, I'll start the argument based upon Equine Professionals and Feed Nutritionists and OTHER vets.
Alfalfa is one of the BEST sources for nutrients there is as far as hays/grasses. Legumes period are superior in nutrients over all grass hays. They are very rich in them. Protein, Energy, Calcium, and Magnesium all are very high compared to grasses.
As for digestion, horses bodies are made to digest this stuff. They don't have as many microbes to digest the grass hays, and alfalfa leaves usually digest in the small intestine because of the smaller surface area. The longer stems move through the system into the hind-gut area (cecum) and are digested there by the bugs. The nutrients acquired from the leaves were absorbed in teh small intestine, where they needed to be absorbed. Any higher quality nutrients, like protein, calcium, magnesium, etc won't be absorbed once it reaches the hind gut. The microbes use the protein for themselves, and the rest are basically flushed out of the body. So the nutrients that are locked up in the cellulose/hemicellulose are lost because there isn't absorption of many of the nutrients past teh small intestine. Which grass hay, many of it IS locked up in the cellulose/hemicellulose and possibly lignin (which is totally undigestible)
Now, I will agree, that some horses get the runs. Many times because the owner just tosses them the alfalfa and expect that they will do ok. Wrong. Some horses bodies need time to adjust to the richness of the hay. Adding a half a flake (yes, complicated) to their hay and increasing it every week till the alfalfa has taken over to 100% of the diet, or where ever you want it to be (1/2 and 1/2) is the safest way. Just like adding grain and such. Slower the better.
There are a few who cannot handle the early cuts of alfalfa. VERY few. Start these horses on a later cut and they might come around better. Might not.
The fun part about this lecture, is that if you feed your horses pellets, your horse IS getting alfalfa. Alfalfa is the #1 ingredient used during pelleting processes in almost all livestock pellets, especially horses. So their body has already had alfalfa, in a sense.
Many of the digestion issues, diarrhea and sensitive horses, are created by us. If a horse gets slightly loose stool for a while, and they will until the gut changes and adjusts, many owners just stop completely instead of waiting it out. It takes about a week of loose stool before you see a difference.
--------------------
Horses should not be treated as people. They should be respected for who they are and what they are capable of doing!
Born Free Now Expensive
Posts: 4337 | From: Texas | Registered: Oct 2003
|
|
ejforrest
Member
Member # 1414
|
posted May 08, 2004 06:18 AM
"Legume hay such as Alfalfa or clover might contain 20% or higher crude protein while grass hays such as timothy, bermuda grass or orchard grass average 11% to 14% protein". "The protein content of hay is largely determined by the time in which it is cut". **"The younger the hay is, the higher the protein". "Hay cut past the mid-bloom stage(when about 50% of the plants have flowered and gone to seed) is a good deal lower in protein content, and mature(full-bloom or past-bloom) hay might be inadequate to meet an adult horses nutrient reequirments".
"There are actually three types of hay, but one type, cereal grain hay, is rearely fed to horses in North America as it is not terribly economical". "It is nutritionally similar to grass hay".
"Far more common are grass hays and lugume hays".
"More than half of the hay harvested in the United States is alfalfa, or an alfalfa/grass mix".
"Horses should ingest 1.5% to 3% of their body weight each day; at least half of their diet should be forage, such as hay or pasture grass".
"Contrary to popular belief, protein is a poor energy source.
"A value of 0.60 grams of digestible protein per kilogram of body weight per day is appropriate for most adult horses".(10% daily)
"Fiber is the most important ingredient of the equine diet".
"Fiber should make up at least 50% by weight, of a horses diet".
"Fiber content in pastures can fluctuate according to climate, time of year, and soil quality".
"Light to moderate working horses(trail riding-jumping) dont require grains, unless there a hard keeper. Grains are a starch/carb and cause colic, tying up, founder, diarrhea, and other health problems".
"Fats are now recognized as a valuable energy source and are well tolorated".
"A fat supplemented diet can contain up to 8%-10% fat".
"Forage provides horses with most of the nutrients they need."
--------------------
ej
Posts: 278 | From: michigan | Registered: Jan 2004
|
|
Rocking BT Ranch
Member
Member # 1840
|
posted May 08, 2004 07:57 AM
Got a question. I feed ground up alfalfa from Purina. They call it dehydrated alfalfa. The barn where I will be boarding Roney at when we move (3 weeks from now) feeds alfalfa cubes. Is this a good thing ? I have never even seen alfalfa cubes. What is the difference, if any?
--------------------
Happy Trails :)
~ Billy & Teresa ~
To view our photo albums of us, our children and our 4 legged kids click on the link. :)
http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/rockingbtranch
x-x-x-x If God brings ya to it, He will lead you through it x-x-x-x
Posts: 188 | From: Arkansas-mving to Upstate NY | Registered: Mar 2004
|
|
Blistering Winds
Member
Member # 843
|
posted May 08, 2004 08:00 AM
dehydrated is fine. all pelleted feeds have dehydrated alfalfa in it to bulk it up.
Just you need LONG STEM roughage as well. For gut motility.
--------------------
Horses should not be treated as people. They should be respected for who they are and what they are capable of doing!
Born Free Now Expensive
Posts: 4337 | From: Texas | Registered: Oct 2003
|
|
|
|
Lu
Junior Member
Member # 2428
|
posted May 11, 2004 07:53 AM
Pelleted feeds that are fixed formulas list the ingredients on the tag. Many brands use no alfalfa at all in their pelleted feeds. If you are feeding a pelleted feed that is not a fixed formula, it will list collective terms such as "GRAIN PRODUCTS", "PLANT PROTEIN PRODUCTS", "PROCESSED GRAIN BY-PRODUCTS" "ROUGHAGE PRODUCTS".
This is called a least cost ration. This type of ration can change ingredients from batch to batch. You could actually be changing your horses ration from one bag to the next.
Most maintenance horses can get most of the necessary nutrients from forage, but should be receiving a forage balancer to provide the minerals and often vitamins that are lacking in most of our forages today.
Fermentable forage carbohydrates should be the main source of energy for maintenance, but for our athletes, young growing horses, and for lactation, the addition of a concentrated form of carbohydrates from grain is usually necessary. Feeding carbohydrates in the form of grain can be done safely. When excess carbs create problems it is likely due to management problems such as overfeeding.
Lu
--------------------
Lu Morris
Posts: 5 | From: Delaware Ohio | Registered: May 2004
|
|
|
