What type of hay for my new horse is best?

Question

I would like to know what types of hay are the most nutritious for my 10 yr old mustang mare. Growing up, my family had horses, but i never really paid attention to what the different kinds of hay were. This is our first horse of our own, and we want her to stay healthy & happy. Please only answer only if you know what you are talking about. Thanx, Greatly Appreciated.

Answer 1

Alfalfa hay is favored in my area but it has many different classifications by what area it is produced. J/S

Commonly used plants for hay include mixtures of grasses such as rye grass (Italian rye grass, Lolium multiflorum), timothy, brome, fescue, coastal bermuda, orchard grass and other native species, depending on region. Many types of hay may also include legumes such as Alfalfa (lucerne) and clovers (red, white and subterraneum). Pasture flowers are also frequently a part of the mix, though other than legumes, which ideally are cut pre-bloom, flowers are not necessarily desired.

Oat, barley and wheat are occasionally seen in hay products, though more often only the stems are dried and baled after the grain is harvested, making a product called straw that is used for animal bedding and generally is considered poor animal fodder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hay

Answer 2

First of all it depends on what area of the nation that you live.

In Texas grass hay is the best I feed a Coastal Mix or Bahaya to my heard. Try to stay away from round bails they can cause collic because they get wet and mildew can make a horse deathly sick. You can also feed Alfalfa but introduce it really slow, little at a time and not more than a flake morning and night. It has really high protein.
If you live in the west you can feed Oat or Wheat hay and those are great either one. Most of the midwest doesn't have that type.

If you feed grass hay I suggest at least 4 lbs ( 2 in the morning and 2 at night) of a grain like pellets or sweet feed with it.

Watch his wieght and adjust acordingly. Good Luck.

OH and make sure what ever you do, introduce it slowly over a week or two. I just payed a $1000 collic bill because i changed a feeding for one night.

Answer 3

First, whatever she has been eating, keep giving it to her, avoid abrupt changes in feed. When you decide on the type of hay you want to feed, start slowly mixing it with what she has been eating.

You don't state where you live or what other feeds you give (grains, supplements, etc.). Some hays are more readily available in some areas than others. Go to your local feed store and look at their hay. You want to see clean, fresh smelling hay. Avoid any that is musty or muldy, anything with a lot of dust. Find out how quickly they have turn-over, you don't want hay that sits around for months.

I live in California and alfalfa is readily available and fed. 4-way, bermuda and orchard grass hay are also available. Some people feed a mix. It also depends on what you use your horse for. A horse in heavy training (eventing, jumpers, etc.) need more protein, so alfalfa is a good choice. If you are a casual trail rider than a lighter protein hay may work, like 4-way.

Some horses will only eat alfalfa. It's all about finding what your horse will eat, how available certain hays are, what the cost is, etc. Perhaps you could find a local barn and talk to the owner or trainer, look at their hay, where they get it, and see if that gets you on the right track.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

I would echo what the other folks have said and add one thing since your relatively new to horse ownership: Your horse loves to graze. And if he were still in the wild, he'd do it 12-16 hours a day.

Just because your horse is no longer in the wild, doesn't mean he has lost his natural grazing instincts. He'd put away a whopping 25-30 pounds of natural feed every day if he could. It's just how horses are wired.

Domesticated horses don't need that much food, especially if his horse feed includes grain or alfalfa hay. He'd make himself sick in a hurry on 12 hours of that.

So to satisfy his grazing instict, here's what I do. I give him some mature grass hay that's high in roughage and low in protein and energy.

It kind of acts as a pacifier. It keeps his jaws busy without allowing him to gorge himself on more food than he really needs.

Sierra Lynch
http://www.horseiq.com

Answer 5

It doesn't really matter what type of hay you are going to be feeding- just make sure it is horse quality. A horse quality hay should have a good amount of calories with very little weeds.

I feed my horses straight coastal or Tifton 85 along with alfalfa.

If you are wanting to feed off round bale I suggest introducing this slowy.....just don't park a round bale in front of your mare the first time. Horses that aren't use to free choice hay will often gorge on the round bale. They end up with a huge grass belly, some will even founder if the calorie content is high enough, others will develop laminitis because they stand in that one area with little movement, and others will sometimes colic. If you are feeding off the round bale introduce by setting bale on other side of a horse safe fence or inside a bale herder. This will make the bale less accessable to your equine and she'll either move off the bale when she's bored or when she's full.

If you are feeding off square bales- throw her a couple flakes in the morning and somemore at night. You can also throw her alfalfa- although I don't recommend throwing this in large quantities.

What ever your choice- you should talk it over with your vet and see if she needs special feed care instructions. I'd hate for anyone to follow instructions off of here without talking to their vet first. You don't want to take the risk of your horse getting sick or gaining or losing to much weight. Your vet will be able to tell you how to care for her and the exact type and amount she will need.

Answer 6

BLM feeds the mustangs straight alfalfa hay when the mustangs are in the holding pens. They do this to help put weight on the horses and better their coat condition. My mustang free eats from a round bale with 4 other horses, it's a coastal bermuda bale. He's younger and developing slowly, so I feed him twice a day and he also has access to alright grazing. Typically coastal berrmuda isn't highly "nutritious", but it's natural for a horse to graze all day, and if your pasture isn't top notch, your horse may choose to graze on the hay all day. If your horse is grazing on a rich hay all day it could cause health problems.

Answer 7

My horses have access to grass hay in a round bale feeder at all times. I also give them a chunk of alfalfa once a day in the winter. In the summer, they have pasture. Also get grained and my 28-year old gets his senior stuff. If your mare looks skinny, worm her and see if her teeth need to be floated. If she looks fat, cut back a little.
Whatever you do, NEVER make a drastic change in their diet. Introduce something new slowly. You don't want her to colic or founder.
Enjoy your mare!
Yes, reading the other answers, round bales can get moldy, but so can big or small square bales. There is where you get a good quality scource and if it smells foul or has white clumps or dust don't feed it. When a horse eats, his nose is breathing all that in and they can get the heaves and be incurable.

Answer 8

RE:
What type of hay for my new horse is best?
I would like to know what types of hay are the most nutritious for my 10 yr old mustang mare. Growing up, my family had horses, but i never really paid attention to what the different kinds of hay were. This is our first horse of our own, and we want her to stay healthy & happy. Please only answer...

Answer 9

I feed orchard grass hay but it will mainly depend on where you live. If you have friends who have had horses and are experienced then it would probably be good to ask them. That is what I did when I was starting out with a horse of my own and it really helped me.

Answer 10

There are many different types of hay. I feed my twenty three year old mare bermuta hay ad grass hay. It's nutritous and tastey for her