How Soon After Cutting Hay Can You Feed It To Horses?

2-8 weeks.
So how soon can you feed new hay? If the hay is cut and bailed in perfect conditions with less than 12% moisture in the bale, it should be safe to feed straight away. But due to how hard this is to get accurate; it is recommended to wait 2-8 weeks before feeding.

How long after cutting can you feed hay?

Answer: New hay can be fed just after harvesting. Any hay that has been properly cured and dried before being baled should be stable and can be fed as soon as needed. There are no nutritional advantages to storing hay for weeks or months prior to use.

How long does it take to cure hay?

about three days
It basically takes about three days of good weather to cure hay. This can be a challenge in late May or early June. A good strategy is to mow just before or right after a rain, because of the likelihood of good weather for the next few days.

Can horses eat freshly cut hay?

So how soon can you feed new hay? If the hay is cut and bailed in perfect conditions with less than 12% moisture in the bale, it should be safe to feed straight away. But due to how hard this is to get accurate; it is recommended to wait 2-8 weeks before feeding.

Can you feed freshly baled hay to horses?

Any hay that has been properly cured and dried before being baled should be stable and can be fed as soon as needed. There are no nutritional advantages to storing hay for weeks or months prior to use.

How long does hay need to dry after cutting?

For haylage: if drying conditions are good, rake multiple swaths into a windrow just before chopping (usually takes 5 to 7 hours after mowing). For hay: if drying conditions are good, merge/rake multiple swaths into windrow 12 to 24 hours after mowing (when forage is 40 to 60% moisture to avoid leaf loss).

What time of day is best to cut hay?

Though starches and simple sugars accumulate during the day, a substantial amount of these carbohydrates are used up during the night for growth and maintenance (via the processes of respiration). Therefore, cutting the crop at night will likely maximize the sugar in the crop, at least at the time of cutting.

Can horses eat hay that has been rained on?

Rained-on hay can be a suitable forage, especially for horses prone to laminitis. Forage quality tends to be retained if: The rain occurs soon after cutting when the forage has had little time to dry. The rainfall was a single, short event.

What happens if horses eat fresh cut grass?

Feeding lawn clippings will dramatically upset the balance of microbes in the hindgut, potentially leading to colic or laminitis, as the amount of highly fermentable carbohydrates in regularly clipped lawns is dangerously high. Excessive intake results in a high rate of fermentation in the hindgut.

Do horses eat first or second cut hay?

Timothy must be harvested in the pre- or early-bloom stage to ensure a high nutrient content. The first cutting usually has a higher weed content, and quality decreases after the second cutting, so the second cutting is usually the best to feed.

How many bales of hay should a horse eat per day?

A horse can eat anywhere from 15-25 pounds of hay a day, which generally equates to a half of a 45/50-pound square bale of hay per day (~15-30 bales per month).

Can horses overeat on hay?

Yes, you can give a horse too much hay. Horse overeating is, unfortunately, a circumstance that has taken the lives of horses in the past. One factor that may cause a horse’s feeding behavior to tend toward gluttony is if your horse is bored.

Can hay be too rich for horses?

Providing grain and supplements (e.g. a supplement for hoof, or generally vitamin and mineral supplements) can make up the rest. Richer hay can provide more nutrients; however, you have to be careful not to provide hay that is too rich or “hot” for your horse, donkey or mule.

How do you know when hay is dry enough?

“As a rule, small bales should contain no more than 18-20% moisture, large bales 16-18%.” Moisture levels can be easily tested with a moisture reader that is specifically designed for testing hay.

How long do you let cut hay dry before baling?

When preparing to bale hay, the transition from freshly cut, high-moisture grasses and legumes to dry forage is known as curing. This process takes on average 3 days—in good weather.

Can you bale hay the day after cutting?

Hay mowed early in the morning could be tedded that afternoon, as long as the mowed swath is dry on the top surface. It may require a second tedding the next day to speed up the drying process. Too much tedding can shatter the leaves of alfalfa or clover, lowering the quality of the hay.

What is better hay first or second cut?

IT MIGHT BE ABOUT THE CUT
The first cutting in any cut will have thicker stems, perhaps have flowers (usually called tassel), and is the highest in fiber of any cut. The second cutting is softer, greener, has a higher protein but lower fiber than first cutting. Flowers and stalks are usually not present, just leaves.

When should you not cut hay?

Cutting grass hay into October makes it almost impossible to get dried; therefore, most dry hay production will stop in September, leaving the preferred four to six weeks of regrowth by default.

What is the best height to cut hay?

For hay production of cool-season pastures, mow or graze before seedheads develop, and down to 3 to 5 inches. For warm season pastures, mow or graze down to 8 to 10 inches for proper regrowth.

How long will a round bale of hay last 2 horses?

Most owners with 2 or 3 horses get 7-14 more days out of a bale with a 1.75″ hole. For example, this time lapse video shows one bale being eaten by 3 horses over a period of 22 days. We have 6 horses at the Texas Haynet barn. One round bale lasts about 8-10 days using our regular round bale hay net with 1.75″ holes.

Does salt help wet hay?

In the past, some farmers have applied salt to the surface of hay that was baled wet, but research has shown little benefit from salting. While the theory is good, the amount of salt needed would be very large and expensive, and would likely reduce the palatability of the hay.