What hay is best for horses?
Hay is just hay right? I’m afraid not. That’s when the question, ‘what hay is best for horses?’ comes into play. Whilst hay is simply dried grass, the variety of grass it the important factor. Some types of grass are higher in energy than others, and, after availability, this will be one of the determining factors of which hay is best for your horse.
There are as many types of hay as there are types of grass. However, most horse owners will buy whichever hay is available in their area, as long as it is good quality. Most hay can be placed in one of two categories; grass hay and legume hay. Alfalfa and Timothy hay are probably the best known types and each have their own benefits.
Now that I have to feed soaked hay all year round for my pony with EMS I’ve delved quite deep into the different types of hay and their individual benefits. Hopefully this article answers all your questions.
What are the different types of hay?
There are many different types of hay that can be fed to horses and ponies. However, they can be broadly separated into two categories; grass hay and legume hay. Grass hay is the category that Orchard hay and Timothy hay fall into, whereas Alfalfa falls into the legume hay classification.
Alfalfa has more calories than grass hay, and is also higher in Calcium and vitamin A. This hay ought not be fed to young-stock as it can affect growth rates and therefore bone development. If you are feeding Alfalfa it would be wise to check the quality and contents of your grazing pasture to find out if you need to increase the phosphorus your horse receives. The reason for this is that horses need a specific balance of calcium to phosphorus to remain healthy.
Legume hays also include Clover hay.
Orchard and Timothy hay are grass hays. Orchard hay unlike Alfalfa, does not normally have an excess of one component and is still very palatable to horses. Grass hay normally provides the all the protein that your pony requires, so apart from feeding a vitamin supplement as desired, you should not need to feed additional food unless your horse is doing more than light work, or has a medical issue that requires increased feed.
What type of hay is right for my horse?
The right type of hay for your horse is tied up in the type of horse, its condition, age, workload, living conditions, and the other forage available.
For example, if you have a fine bred horse that needs additional weight who is stabled overnight in moderate work, then you may want to feed a legume hay such as alfalfa. This will provide your horse with additional calories to help with weight. Furthermore, such a horse is likely to be receiving supplementary hard feed so it will be easier to ensure that the correct calcium/phosphorous ratio is achieved.
Conversely, if your pony is a good doer, or needs to lose weight, and is only in light work, then a grass hay would be advisable, and it would possibly be a good idea to give soaked hay to further reduce the sugars and calories without removing the quantity of forage.
All horses and ponies have evolved to be eating almost constantly, indeed, if forage is removed for longer than 4 hours studies have shown that a this has a negative impact on gut health.
Although you may know which hay you’d like to feed to your horse, the likelihood is that your choice will be governed by the availability in your area. As long as the hay you give to your horse is free of ragwort and poisonous weeds, is not mouldy or dusty, you can alter the other sections of your pony’s diet to ensure that they remain healthy.
If you are unsure as to the quality/type of hay you are giving to your horse, there are now companies who will give you an in-depth analysis of your hay at a reasonable cost. Unfortunately, unless you grow and cut your own hay, the hay make-up will change depending upon when it was cut, the field it was from, and even how it has been stored, even if you use the same supplier. Checking each batch could become a costly process.
1st or 2nd cutting; which is best?
As if it weren’t difficult enough to decide which hay is best for your horse, it is also necessary to decide (if you have the choice) if you want your hay to come from the first or second cutting, or even if you want last years hay rather than this years.
The main differences are that the 1st cut tends to be more less nutritious and have a lower calorific value. This is simply because it’s been left to grow for longer, so shoots are tougher, and weeds have had more chance to become established.
The 2nd cut generally has the higher nutrient value. This is a result of lower rainfall damage, and more sunlight. However, if the rainfall comes and the harvest is delayed, the nutrient value can drop to that found in the first cut.
1st cut hay tends to be coarser owing to the rainfall over the growing period. Whereas 2nd cut hay is finer and tends to be more palatable. If your horse has dental issues and/or is a fussy eater, the second cut may mean you have less wastage and a happier horse.
If you’re intending to soak your hay in any case, the difference between 1st and 2nd cut can become negligible.
How long after cutting can hay be fed?
The answer to this depends on who you ask. Some people are quite happy to feed hay to their ponies straight off the field after harvest, and their ponies never exhibit any negative results. Others prefer to leave freshly cut hay for several months to ensure it has reached the optimum moisture levels and will not bring on colic.
Brand new hay straight off the field, as with any cut grass, can cause colic or digestive upset as it ferments after the cutting process. This happens soon after cutting and can be stopped by correct storage. However, if fed to horses too soon, loose stools and unusual excitability of your pony could be signs that the hay should be stored for longer before use.
To check your hay you can use a moisture monitor – if the bale is below 12% moisture it should be completely safe for your horses to eat.
If you’re in any doubt though, or don’t have a moisture monitor handy, then soaking it before feeding would be wise. This way, any excess soluble sugars will leech into the water instead of being consumed by your horse.
Best hay for horses types
The best hay for older horses is probably alfalfa or second cut grass hay. Alfalfa will contain more nutrients and as will second cut hay, which is also finer and easier to chew for an older horse who may have dental issues.
If you have a good-doer, then first cut grass hay, possibly soaked, will be of benefit to your horse. The extra coarse nature of the hay will slow down the eating time, the nutrients will be lower, and should you soak the hay, the sugars can be substantially reduced.
With a good doer, if soaking is not possible, or is still not having the desired effect, rather than cutting down on quantity (2% bodyweight of forage across hay and grazing is the minimum) then you could add an amount of straw to your hay nets. This will bulk up the meal but provide very little in the way of calories. Be careful to make any changes in diet very gradual so as not to upset your pony’s stomach.
Those horses who may need to gain condition, or are in hard work, and therefore need the extra calories could also be fed on haylage. Most horses find this extremely palatable and it has a high calorific value.
Timothy v’s Orchard hay
To be honest, as long as the hay has been cut, baled, and stored correctly, the difference between Timothy hay and Orchard/Meadow hay is quite small.
Orchard hay is often slightly finer and has a higher calorie and protein content simply because it is easier for a horse to digest.
The main bonus of Orchard grass is for the producers who can often get 3 cuts in a year as opposed to the normal 2 cuts with Timothy hay.
If the lowest calorie content is high on your priority list then Timothy hay should be chosen over Orchard hay.
Rye grass hay for horses
If you have any choice when selecting your hay, then Rye grass should be avoided. Although many people do feed rye grass successfully it can have a toxic affect on others and should therefore not be fed.
Rye grass hay is especially bad for ponies suffering from laminitis as it has a high sugar content; exactly what you need to avoid.
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How much hay does a horse need?
An average horse with an average workload should consume between 1.5% and 3% of it’s bodyweight per day. This is the total amount of forage, so will not only be made up of hay if the horse is on pasture during the day.
However, we all know that there is no such thing as an average horse with an average workload! Some horses are good-doers, gaining weight simply looking at grass, whilst others need twice as much to keep them in good condition.
The first thing to do is to body score your horse and be realistic about the amount of exercise you will be doing. Work out the weight of hay for the exercise you do, rather than the amount you think you ought to be doing, or would like to do!
If your horse is not known to be a particularly good-doer and is scoring as ‘healthy’ when you body score, then start with say 2% of hay if he’s also spending time in the paddock. Check his/her score after a week and see if you are happy. This is the time to raise or lower the % depending on how they are scoring now.
If your pony is carrying far too much weight, then limit hay (and soak it overnight/during the day) to 1.5% and try to limit grazing whether this is by using a track system, a muzzle, or strip grazing. Keeping your overweight pony in is the last resort as more exercise is the key and they won’t get any of that stood still all day.
If you find that your horse hoovers up the hay too quickly then invest in double nets, or even triple nets. There are also slow feeders on the market that claim to slow down eating speed.
In the summer it is unlikely that you will need to feed hay at all unless there has been a drought and the grass is failing to grow.
Are there alternatives to hay?
Horses need access to forage and have developed to spend most of their lives eating fibrous stalks and grasses to survive. There are not many alternatives to hay if you find your grazing depleting too fast and don’t wish to use baled hay.
The main ‘substitutes’ are hay nuts, hay blocks, hay pellets etc. Horses can be given more coarse feed to keep up nutrients and dietary fibre but that’s not a fantastic alternative as no chewing is involved.
Sugar beet and soybean hulls are sometimes offered instead, but the chewing problem remains.
Horses are programmed to chew, if they’re not chewing grass stalks whether that be in the field, or hay in the stable, then they’re going to find an alternative. This could mean chewing stable doors, fence posts etc. virtually anything that you don’t want them to!
Apart from the annoyance and cost to replace these, this unwanted behaviour may ultimately lead to more severe demonstrations of stress such as wind-sucking and cribbing. Once ingrained these habits are almost impossible to reverse and can cause serious health problems.
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Cut your own hay or buy?
If you have the spare grass and the right machinery then it’s a simple decision to cut your own grass for winter hay. However, if you only have a small acreage and are reliant on others to come and do the work it may not always be such an easy choice.
If all goes well and the sun shines at the right time, cutting your own hay can be cheaper as well as knowing exactly what has and hasn’t been sprayed on the field, so better for your horses.
Unfortunately, quite often the weather doesn’t get this memo, and with a smaller acreage you’re likely to be quite far down the list. The weather may not be so ideal when the contractor finally gets to you. If your hay is cut so late that your paddock does not have sufficient time to regrow before it needs to be grazed once more, you’ll end up using all the hay you’d been able to cut before the really bad weather hits. If this happens you’ll still need to buy in hay which defeats the object in the first place.
What is the difference between hay and haylage?
The main difference is how the grass is cut and stored. Haylage is normally cut earlier in the season and left in the field for less time than hay.
Hay is cut and left to dry, being tedded (turned) so that it drys evenly. Haylage is wrapped in plastic before it gets a chance to dry out fully.
To stop the hay moulding it is necessary for it to be at least 80% dry before storage, whereas with haylage, although the moisture level is higher, mould is stopped by excluding oxygen using the plastic wrapping.
Although haylage often contains more sugars, if you are feeding by dry matter weight, you’d need to feed more haylage than traditional hay. This is because haylage contains more moisture so its actual dry weight is less.
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Is hay or haylage better for horses?
Whether hay or haylage is better for your horse very much depends upon your horse and the field from which the hay/haylage is harvested. The quality of either will always be determined by the quality of the grass it has been cut from.
Haylage is often preferred by those who have horses with respiratory problems as hay can aggravate the condition. However, you can mitigate this problem by soaking your hay for 10 minutes before draining and feeding.
Conclusion
In conclusion, when choosing what hay is best for horses, it is important to think of your horse as an individual. Considering your pony’s workload and current health will almost certainly determine whether you feed alfalfa or similar for weight gain/hard exercise, or soaked meadow hay for good-doers in light work. Horses need up to 3% forage each day, but this will also include any grazing they have during the day. Always remember that changes to hay should be made gradually, even from batch to batch so as not to upset your horse’s digestive system.
