Pedigree Query

Which is the better equine hay?

griff

Timothy is used as a filler in my barn. We feed a flake to two flakes of alfalfa depending on the horse per day.

Yup, what Zinn said

Alfalfa is far superior in nutrition to any grass.

Any grass hay is better than alfalfa

We grow and bale our own Tifton and feed a flake of alfalfa twice a day.

What is the basis for your opinion, valjoe?

HI Tiz,
So here is what I think. Alfalfa is too rich in nutrients, mainly calcium and protein and can also be toxic if it’s been infested with blister beetles. Calcium/Phosphorus ratio is way off balance. Horses need long stem hay for proper digestion, which alfalfa is not. Also I have heard from vets that horses on alfalfa diet are more likely to develop intestinal stones.
However I’m not completely against alfalfa and I feed my horses a little bit of it, about 15% but I’ve also noticed that they do great on hay alone, but if I have to choose between any good quality grass hay and alfalfa my vote goes for the hay

Alfalfa hay is long hay, as it only has to be an inch or so to qualify. Blister beetles are attracted to the blooms. Most hay farmers cut alfalfa in early to mid bloom, so for the most part the beetles haven't infested the field at that stage. The use of insecticides is probably useful as well.
Good pasture is richer in nutrients then alfalfa, too.
Mostly, though, I feed alfalfa because my horses look like they aren't being fed at all when they get grass hay.

The use of insecticides is probably useful as well

That just adds another reason I wouldn't want to use it

Timothy is sort of like lettuce is for humans. It's excellent fiber, great for a horse's digestion, but not many calories. Alfalfa has a lot of protein, builds strong muscles, but can create digestive problems (some horses are allergic and will have loose stools) and is not at all recommended for horses which have had laminitis. Alfalfa can contribute to epistaxsis ("bleeding") in race horses when fed excessively. Timothy is an outstanding hay to put in a hay net and leave for a racehorse to nibble on, but it would not really put weight on a horse. Horses that eat alfalfa drink more, and will leave a wetter stall.

So the horse owner has to evaluate his horses and decide if they need weight or to reduce, the availability and cost of local hay, and whether the horses enjoy it and will clean it up, or leave it scattered to rot. It's no good buying nice hay if they won't eat it. Most of my horses will push and shove to clean up the first bale of grass hay I bring home, but after that they stomp around and kick each other until I bring out the alfalfa again.

Timothy is hard to get and expensive in Northern California, so I feed alfalfa in the morning and oat hay at night to my horses at home. The racetrack horses get orchard grass hay with a quarter flake of alfalfa. If timothy was cheap and available like it is elsewhere, I'd love to feed it to many of my tubby horses.

Our horses refuse oat hay like poison. In fact, this year we reseeded a couple of fields with oats, instead of annual ryegrass. It grows like a weed, and is a nutrient scavenger, so it doesn't need fertilizer. Also did very well without much rainfall. Generally just a great annual pasture alternative, and our horses would not eat it. Any ideas on why?

Tiz, from your description it sounds like you did not bale up this hay, right? You are wondering why they did not eat it out of the pasture, I think. Horses do not like raw, uncured oat hay. It has all of those little cilia hairs all over the leaves and stems. In CA, it's dry enough that eventually the hay would cure in the ground, and then the horses would usually nibble it. But when it was still fresh, they never seem to touch it.

I have lots of people tell me that their horses do not like oat hay. I am fortunate enough to buy from an outstanding farmer, so they eat it all and there's no waste all over the ground. Volunteer oat hay is often nibbled at, but then there is all this wasted organic matter all over the ground, and that breeds flies.

No, we attempted to pasture it when it was about 6 to 8 inches high. They hated it. I chewed some and it tasted kind of sweet to me. No hairs, probably because it was young.
The oat hay we fed was beautiful, baled right. It looked like bedding however, after they refused to eat it for days.

Well, sometimes horses just don't like a particular hay. Usually if I try to buy some grass hay, they'll eat the first bale because it is something different, and then just step on the rest so it's a waste of money. A lot of people tell me their horses don't like oat hay. All of mine eat it like candy, even the new ones, so that's why I think it has something to do with my farmer.

If you grew it out of your pasture, I wonder if it grew out of their manure? I know my horses won't eat grass grown near any piles of poop. If you spread your manure on that field, maybe it was too fresh and the hay has a quality they recognize as having grown out of manure?

Or as I said, maybe they just like what they like!