Can Fodder Replace Hay For Horses?

Horses can eat fodder. The amount you choose to feed depends on how much you produce and your horse’s needs. Fodder has some nutritional advantages over dried hay, and some horse owners may find that it’s cost effective as well as nutritious.

Can you replace hay with fodder?

That solution came in the form of fodder: sprouted seed grown for less than a week that can be used as a partial substitute for hay and grains. Fodder offers livestock what Aaron calls “forever grass”— fresh, green, nutrient-packed sprouted grains, every single day, rain or shine, winter or summer.

What can replace hay for horses?

Six Hay Alternatives for Horses

• Bagged chopped forage. It can replace all of your horse’s hay, if necessary.
• Hay cubes. Chopped cubed hay (usually alfalfa or timothy or a combination) is another 100-percent replacement.
• Hay pellets.
• “Complete” feed.
• Beet pulp.
• Soybean hulls.

Can you feed horses fodder?

In summary, fodder is an excellent addition to a horse’s diet if there is no access to fresh pasture, but it is not an ideal replacement for all concentrates or forage in the diet, particularly for a hard-working horse.

What can I replace hay with?

10 Forage Alternatives to Hay in a Drought Year

• Beet Pulp. Beet pulp is an alternative that makes sense if the price is right.
• Almond Hulls. Almond hulls are another feed that can replace forage and will also provide good NDF digestibility.
• Cottonseed.
• Bran.
• Wet Feeds.
• Grain Hays/Silage.
• Wheat Straw/Barley Straw.

What should I feed my horse besides hay?

If hay isn’t enough, grain can be added, but the bulk of a horse’s calories should always come from roughage. Horses are meant to eat roughage, and their digestive system is designed to use the nutrition in grassy stalks. A horse should eat one to two percent of their body weight in roughage every day.

How much fodder does a horse eat a day?

Horses are able to consume about 1.5 to 2% of their body weight in dry feed (feed that is 90% dry matter) each day. As a rule of thumb, allow 1.5 to 2 kg of feed per 100 kg of the horse’s body weight.

Can a horse live without hay?

Horses can adapt to balanced rations that do not contain hay or pasture, but the absolute minimum of fiber necessary has not been established. However, low fiber/high concentrate rations have been documented to increase the risk of colic, gastric ulcers, and wood chewing behavior of horses.

How long can horses go without hay?

Ideally, horses should go no longer than 4 hours between forage meals and be fed on a consistent schedule. However, it’s hard to predict when, or if, an extended time period without forage will cause health issues like colic and ulcers.

Do horses prefer hay or grass?

While most horses do well and thrive on a grass hay diet, other horses with different needs and medical conditions are better suited to being fed a diet of grass/alfalfa mix, or an exclusively all alfalfa.
Feeding Grass vs Alfalfa Hay.

Which fodder has highest protein?

Laboratory analysis showed that Fagopyrum dibotrys were the fodder species with the highest crude protein (CP) content (26.89%), followed by Polygonum molle (21.88%) and Hydrangea longipes (21.12%).

Which fodder is more suitable for hay making?

Hay is made only from leguminous crops which are very rich in protein and minerals. The green fodder crops which are soft, are suitable for making hay, such as berseem, cowpea, lucern and ryegrass.

What is the difference between fodder and feed?

Fodders crops are cultivated plant species that are utilised as livestock feed. Fodder refers mostly the crops which are harvested and used for stall feeding.

Do horses need hay if they have grass?

A horse’s digestive tract is designed to consume foods 24/7; therefore, it is essential to provide hay to a stalled horse.

Why would a horse stop eating hay?

“Horses might stop eating if they are in pain, stressed, or nervous. If something has changed in their circumstances or environment, they may not be interested in eating. This might happen if they lose a stablemate, have moved to a new location and are not happy in their new environment, or don’t like their stablemate.

Can you feed chaff instead of hay?

Chaff or chopped hay and/or straw are commonly fed to horses and ponies to stop bolting of the feed. In years when good quality hay is scarce, chaff feeding is often increased as it provides a valuable hay replacer.

What is the cheapest way to feed horses?

Less grain, more hay: The bulk of your horse’s diet should be in the form of forages. It’s actually cheaper to feed hay, rather than concentrates. With the right high-quality forage, your horse may not even need grain or supplements.

Should horses have hay all time?

Because we like to think our horses follow the same schedule that we do, many people think that horses need less hay at night because they’re asleep (and therefore, not eating). However, that’s a myth. Horses need access to forage at all times of the day.

Do horses need hay and feed?

Horses need to graze on small amounts of forage almost constantly. Hay, which provides fiber, nutrients and vitamins in a relatively low-calorie dose, can be fed in this manner all year round, allowing even horses with zero turnout time a chance to eat like their ancestors.

How many pounds of fodder do horses need?

Approximately 2% of body weight is a good starting point. If you have a 1,000lb horse, that’s 20lbs. Remember that fodder is not intended to be a complete feed.

What is the nutritional value of fodder?

The alfalfa fodder contains calcium, minerals and vitamins – B, C, D, E, K and offers a lot of benefits. It provides energy and is an excellent source of amino acids and increases the longevity of the animals.