Horse Hay
Guide To Choosing and Feeding
Feeding your horse hay is a basic component of proper nutrition and care. Since horses naturally are grazing animals, they are built to digest small amounts of forage through the day.
In order for horses to maintain optimal digestive health and functioning, they must eat at least one percent of their body weight in grass or hay on a daily basis.
Below we will be looking at the different types of hay available and how to test horse hay when selecting some for your horse.
Contents Of Hay
The types of plants and grasses used in the hay you buy has a lot to do with the region you live in. The plants most commonly used in hay include grass mixtures such as ryegrass, timothy, brome, fescue, Bermuda grass, and orchard grass.Legumes such as alfalfa and clovers may also be included in horse hay mixtures.
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Hay Bale Types
Horse hay comes in different types of bales. What you choose for your horse depends on your horse's needs and to some degree your personal preferences.
Square
Bales: This is the most commonly used type
of baled hay used by horse owners. They are smaller in size compared to
round bales and therefore, are much easier to utilize and store.
Square bales are typically bound by twine and weigh around 50-70 pounds. When storing this type of hay, you should make sure that the lower bales are raised off the ground to prevent absorption of moisture. You should also make sure to store your square bales in a separate building from your stable because they are a fire hazard.
Round Bales: This form of baled horse hay is much larger than the square bales and can weigh up to 1200 pounds. The sheer size of the round bale make them more appropriate in use at larger equine facilities with multiple horses.
Heavy equipment, such as a tractor, is needed to move around bale. This makes it harder for smaller horse set-ups to use or even need a large amount of horse hay.
Cubed Hay: This type of hay comes in a bag making it also very easy to store. The cubes are typically made from alfalfa and are also more expensive than other hay options.
Testing Hay
Hay that is of good quality is greener in color and not too coarse. It includes a mixture of plant heads, leaves, and stems. Hay that is of poorer quality is dry, coarse, and bleached out. This poorer quality hay may also contain dust and mold which can contribute to bouts of colic and possibly respiratory issues.Therefore, it is important to make sure you choose quality hay for your horse. As mentioned above you can judge hay by its general appearance and color. You can also tell a lot by how the hay smells.
Yes, that means you need to take a nice whiff off your hay to see how it smells. It should smell sweet and grassy, not dusty or moldy.
Feeding Hay
Since hay is an important staple in your horse's diet you want to make sure you have a consistent feeding program set in place. Since horses are built to continuously digest small amounts of food, most feeding programs consist of 2-3 feedings per day.Below is a helpful video that introduces some basic horse hay feeding concepts.
