| space or just plain procrastination, many other horse
owners are purchasing their hay now and will continue to purchase it through the winter.
Because forages such as grass or hay should be the main component of mature horse diets, horse owners should select good quality forages for their animals. A forage analysis is the only definitive way to determine a hay’s nutritional content, however good quality hays usually have some common characteristics that horse owners can use in their selection process.
1) Forage
species. Most hays are similar in energy content, but protein, vitamin and mineral content varies with the plant species and harvesting conditions. Legume hays (clovers and alfalfa) usually contain more protein, calcium and carotene (for vitamin A) than grass hays, however they often contain more dust and mold than grass hays. Also some clovers are not very palatable to horses.
2) Stage of
maturity. The main factor that determines a hay’s nutritional value is its stage of maturity when harvested. Overly mature plants have less nutritional value because they contain more fiber and less protein and are less digestible than immature plants.
Seedheads, blossoms and thicker, more woody stems are typical of more mature plants.
More desirable, immature, plants generally are softer, more flexible, have a higher amount of leaves to stems and have immature seedheads or blossoms.
3) Amount of
leaves. About two-thirds of the plant’s protein is in the leaf. Therefore leafy hays are usually higher in protein content than hays with a low amount of leaf. If hay is too mature (more stem than leaf) or leaves are lost during the baling process (leaf shatter), the hay will be lower in nutritive value. Hays that are too dry and brittle may lose leaves during feeding reducing their nutritive value.
4) Color. Hay color is an indication of the vitamin content. Hays that are green in color usually contain more carotene than hays that are sun bleached. Yellow hay is too mature and lower in quality than green hay. Brown or black hay indicates that the hay has gotten wet during baling or storage and should not be fed to horses. When evaluating the color of hay be sure to inspect the interior of the bale because stored hay may be sun bleached on the outside, but contain high quality green hay on the inside.
5) Appearance and
odor. Good quality hay should be free of foreign materials such as weeds, insects and trash. It should smell fresh. Hay that smells musty or mildewed may contain molds that are poisonous to horses and should not be fed. Dusty hays should be avoided because dust may cause respiratory problems in horses. |
