types mature at diff erent rates so it is unlikely the hay will be cut when both are at an opti- mal stage of maturity. Also, should you need to increase or decrease the amount of alfalfa being fed, this is not easy to do.
Other Forms of Forage Typically horses are not fed silage; how-
For the best forage and nutritional products, see:
ever, there are a few sources of ensiled hay made specifi cally for horses known as chaff hay or Chaf aye. Chopped grass or alfalfa is packaged into vacuum-sealed bags and inocu- lated with bacteria that utilize the sugars and starch in the plant to multiply and partially digest the fi ber. T e result is a product with lower starch and sugar and improved feed value that is highly digestible with no dust. As it comes in small 50 lb bags, it can be fed before it spoils, which is a major concern of feeding traditional silage to horses. Hydroponic fodder is becoming popular as a way for owners to grow their own
HorseTech, p.4 Life Data Labs, p.51 Nutrena Cargill, p.35 NagHorse Ranch, p.57 Horse Health USA, p.19 Science Pure Nutraceuticals, p.53 Summit Equine Nutrition, p.73 Smartpak Equine, p.21 T e Nibble Net, p.34
forage. Grains, typically barley, are placed into a specially built hydroponic growing chamber, such as those produced by Fodder Solutions, and allowed to sprout over a period of six to eight days, at which point the sprout mats are fed fresh. T e sprouts are high in moisture, a great way of get ing more water into the horse but it also means that the total dry mat er intake is low. Horses must eat at least 1% of their body weight (ide- ally no less than 1.5%) per day as dry mat er to ensure healthy gut function. As the dry mat er content of the sprouts is typically no more than 15%, it can take a lot of sprouts to fully replace hay, which is typically greater than 85% dry mat er. T erefore it may not be possible to produce enough sprouts to support the horse’s entire forage requirement. However they can be successfully combined with lower quality (more mature) hays due to the high digestibility of the nutrients within the sprouts. Beet pulp provides a highly digestible form of fi ber and may be used to replace up
to about 40% of the hay in the ration. Pound for pound, it provides more calories than hay so one pound of beet pulp can be used to replace about 1.5 pounds of hay. While it does not have to be fed soaked, soaking is a great way of increasing the horse’s water intake and improving palatability. T e energy density and form of beet pulp make it a very good choice for horses that have diffi culty chewing. If feeding larger amounts of soaked beet pulp in warm weather, be sure it is fully consumed before it spoils. Another innovative way of feeding forage and increasing water intake is Purina’s
new Hydration Hay™. T is product is a combination of chopped alfalfa and grass hay that has been compressed into a lightweight block. Placed in a bucket and combined with about fi ve quarts of water, it expands to equal the equivalent of about a fl ake of traditional hay. T is makes it super convenient for travelling as well as a good base for mixing supplements. Of course none of the mentioned sources of forage has to be fed exclusively, and
you might decide to add a number diff erent types to make your hay last longer and add variety to the diet. However tempting, forage is not the place to cut costs. Investing in good quality forage can actually save you money elsewhere in your management pro- gram. Look for Part 2 of this series in August where I will discuss quantitative ways of assessing forage quality and how you can use the results of a forage analysis to inform your feeding decisions.
Clair T unes, PhD, takes the guesswork out of feeding horses by helping horse owners create personalized diet plans optimized for health and performance. As an independent equine nutritionist and owner of Summit Equine Nutrition LLC, an equine nutrition consulting company, she has clients across North America ranging from miniature donkeys to horses short-listed for the 2011 Pan American Games. Dr. T unes is available for personal consultations by phone, email or in
person. You can fi nd her online at her website
www.summit-equine.com or on Facebook by search- ing for SummitEquineNutrition.
34 | June 2013 •
WWW.TRAILBLAZERMAGAZINE.US
FMI
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100