Is Brown Hay Ok For Horses?

Dark-brown or black: stay away. Hay this color was baled when wet, and doesn’t offer adequate nutrition. It also could make your horse sick.

Is hay supposed to be brown?

Nutritious hay is rarely, if ever, brown. If a tobacco-like odor accompanies extremely off-colored hay, this is likely due to overheating during storage caused by excessive moisture and fungal growth. Palatability of low-quality brown hay is usually poor.

What do the different colors of hay bales mean?

Hay Bales or Silage Bales wrapped in different colours has no real meaning. The different colours are just what the bailing contractor has on hand at the time. There are times when bales might be wrapped in a colour to represent a special time of the year or bring awareness to a special cause.

What color is dry hay?

bright green color
Hay that was cured quickly and stored properly is usually a bright green color while hay that was cured slowly or damaged by rain after partial drying may be pale yellow or brown because of bleaching and/or leaching.

Can horses eat old hay?

If the hay was of good-quality when harvested and stored in a dry place with sufficient airflow, hay is likely suitable for consumption for two to three years. Keep in mind that hay, even premium forage, loses much of its vitamin content in the first few months of storage.

What does rotten hay look like?

The best way to know if your hay is going bad is to learn how to identify high-quality horse hay! Signs that your horse hay may be bad include a lack of color or dried-out appearance, a moldy smell, excessive dust, visible mold, or excessive heat towards the center of the hay bale.

Can horses eat slightly moldy hay?

Don’t feed moldy hay to horses. Most moldy hay problems are from mold spores, which can produce respiratory disease in horses. Many of the common mold toxins develop in the field during a delayed harvest. If you suspect a mold toxin problem, review your horse’s nutrition and health.

Will horses avoid eating moldy hay?

Horses will eat moldy hay, especially if they have no alternative forage, but consuming moldy hay is dangerous and can cause digestive and respiratory diseases.

What happens if a horse eats a little moldy hay?

Moldy hay frequently causes respiratory problems in horses. Recurrent airway obstruction, commonly known as heaves, is a lung disease that compromises a horse’s ability to breathe. It is similar to asthma in humans and is a chronic condition that can only be managed, not cured.

What hay is brown?

Alfalfa hay which contains, 30 per cent or more of moisture when placed in the mow or stack is likely to become brown during storage (14, 24, 26). This color varies from brown to black, depending upon the amount of heat developed during storage (10).

What does low quality hay look like?

Poor-quality hay may be damp and moldy with a musty or fermented smell. Hay that appears weathered, straw-like, or brown is likely low in nutritional value. If hay has been cut late in maturity, seed heads will be apparent in grass hay and blooms will be evident in alfalfa hay.

What is the color of good quality hay?

Good hay color remains green and leaves and branches stay connected. This can be assessed by taking the material in the hands, if feels dry, then hay is ready for feed and high nutrients are available in the hay.

Can hay be too dry for horses?

Perhaps the biggest factor in making horse hay is making hay at the correct moisture level. Our best hay is dried the quickest so as to not sacrifice a loss in color. However, if the hay is too dry when baled, it can become dusty. Dry hay also loses an excessive amount of leaves which contain most of the nutrients.

How do you keep hay from turning brown?

3) Leave space for bales to breathe.
“Generally, we start adding preservative when moisture levels get much above 15 to 16%,” says Chris. “In addition, we try to leave a space between each stack of bales when we put them in the shed. That allows the air to move around the bales so they maintain their green color.

Can hay be too dry?

While hay with exceptionally low moisture might not be at risk of growing mold and bacteria, that’s because much of that hay’s nutritional value is already gone. When hay is too dry before baling, the leaves of the forage become stiff and brittle, making them much more likely to fall off.

Can old hay make horses sick?

Molds commonly found in hay include Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporum, Fusarium, Mucor, Penicillium, and Rhizopus. These molds can produce spores that cause respiratory problems, especially in horses and, under some conditions, will produce mycotoxins.

What hay is toxic to horses?

Endophytes present in tall fescue and ryegrass produce mycotoxins that are toxic to equines. Endophyte-infected fescue hay can cause reproductive problems resulting in dystocia (foaling difficulties) and poor milk production.

Can old hay cause colic in horses?

A change in the type of hay may cause colic for many reasons. Hay of poor quality is often less digestible, predisposing to impaction. Changing types of hay as in alfalfa and bermuda, may be related to colonic pH changes resulting from calcium differences in the two hays.

What color is mold in hay?

Moldy hay generally presents as darker areas which are grey or black. If you find mold, refuse the bale – mold indicates that the hay was baled when it was too wet. Feeding moldy hay to horses can result in serious problems, such as colic.

Does old hay lose its nutritional value?

Losses During Storage
The longer it stays in a barn, the more nutrition it loses. In fact, after just a few months, the losses will start, and within a year it could lose 5% of its value. This includes protein, fiber, vitamins, sugars, and minerals. From there, hay does not lose nutrition that much.

How can you tell a good hay for a horse?

Look for the following characteristics: Maturity – High quality hay will have a high proportion of leaves in the bale, with few or no coarse stems or seed heads. Condition – High quality hay will contain little dust or mold. Color & odor – High quality hay generally has a bright green color and a sweet, fresh odor.