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AUGUST 2017 THE RIDER /39


Equine Wellness: Health and Nutrition with Jean Klosowicz, Superior Equine Health and Nutrition Inc.


Hay: Are You Choosing The Right One For Your Horse?


you feed, you will be look- ing for suitable, nutrient quality hay. Some people think that


Whether you feed your


horse hay all year round or just for the winter, many of you are starting to load up your barns with fresh cut, off-the-field bales. Bales come in all differ- ent sizes and your choice will mainly depend on how you feed your horse(s) and your personal preference. Do you portion your feeding or do you allow for free choice? No mat- ter the size of the bale or how


“hay is hay” and they are all the same thing from one producer to the next. Oth- ers may think that if cows eat it then it’s good for their horses too. Well in some cases that may be true but often enough there is quite a big difference. Learning to distinguish one hay qual- ity from another can save owners a lot of money in supplemental feeds and grains, keep your horse healthy and maintain good weight. A lot of health and be- haviour problems can be solved by choosing the “right” hay for the “right” horse. So what is nutrient quality


hay? Generally speaking, there are four main quality types:


excellent, good,


poor and the “do not feed!” hays. It is very important to distinguish one from the other and to know the base rules about hay for horses. It is also very important to match up the right hay for your particular horse, or know how to adapt to it. For example, horses that are high performance, hard working, pregnant/lactating mares, breeding stallions,


cause of the maturity or from leaf shattering during the baling process The seed heads will be more pronounced. Protein and calorie levels will be lower, so rather than just a vitamin/mineral supple- ment being used, a quality feed will have to make up any short falls. Poor quality hays are those


and young, growing and some senior horses would be fed highly nutritious “excellent” or “very good” hay. While horses that are in no or light work can benefit from a “good” quality hay. Poor quality hay is ques- tionable as to it’s use, may be used as something to chew on for horses between the main meals, and if used will require additional feeds. The “do not feed!” kind is unacceptable be- cause of mold issues, poison- ous plant, significant weeds, etc, regardless of when it was harvested and it’s nutrient qual- ity.


So let’s take a closer look


at each type. ALL hays for horses should have less than 10% weeds, no poisonous or sharp weeds, no mold or dust,


is always required to balance nutrients and to meet your horse’s requirements. An initial “sensory” assessment followed by a forage analysis will deter- mine the following: Excellent hay will have a


fresh “just cut” aroma with (in most cases) a nice green colour. The hay is “soft” and there are lots of green leaves attached to the stem (greater than 50:50 leaf to stem). Leaves are where most of the nutrients are stored. This hay will be of early matu- rity, have plenty of protein and nutrients, and higher in calories compared to other qualities. Additional feeds may or may not be needed for the horse, however vitamin/mineral sup- plement (s) will still be needed to complete your horse’s nutri- ent requirements. Which one and how much will depend upon what shows up on the for- age analysis. Good hay will have a


fresh aroma and good colour but the maturity is “mid”. Therefore the stems will be a little more course and there may not be as much leaf be-


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more of it than a good or excel- lent quality hay. Consider also using forage cubes with this type of hay. Feed these with caution as some horses may be prone to impaction colic with this quality of hay. The “do not feed!” hays


are those with weeds, poison- ous plants, sticks and have been rained on or at high risk of being mouldy. While these hays may be used (in some cases) for cattle as cattle have


and preferably stored under cover. Remember that NO hay is nutritionally complete for any horse; additional supple- mentation of vitamins/minerals


that are harvested late in the season, with a lot of course long stem and little leaf. The seed heads are very mature. These are low in nutrients and if fed, would have to be supple- mented heavily with additional feeds. The horse is very selec- tive so you will find that there is more waste with this type and you have to feed much


greater tolerances, these should never be used as horse forage because of the equine’s sensi- tive respiratory and digestive systems. Whether the forage in this group is early or late matu- rity, it is not worth the risk to feed to horses. For more forage tips


please visit our blog page on our website, and our facebook page. Questions? Send us an email


superiorequine@gmail.com.


**Free Equine Nutrition As- sessment for a limited time! Visit our facebook page for more details (@SuperiorE- quine).


Cheers!


Jean Klosowicz Equine Nutrition Consultant and Educator Superior Equine Health and Nutrition Inc. Bruce Mines, ON www.superiorequinenutrition.c om www.feedmyhorse.ca f. @SuperiorEquine


All values are expressed on a Dry Matter Basis (DM); ppm (mg/kg) refers to concentration in the total diet; NRC refers to NRC’s Nutrient Requirements of Horses, 6th ed. All articles are for general


information purposes only and are not intended to replace the advice of a veterinarian, or pro- vide a diagnosis for your horse.


at


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