Is Bermuda Hay Good For Horses With Laminitis?

Because of its more moderate nutritional content, Bermuda hay can be a good filler in the feed. So you can mix it in with more protein and calcium-rich types of hay. However, it does have more carbs than hay from legumes, which means it should not be given to horses that gain weight easily or have laminitis.

What hay is best for laminitic horses?

Hay – The Core Feed For A Laminitis Diet
Safer-type forages include Timothy, Teff, and Rhodes grass hays. Avoid hays containing high amounts of fructan such as ryegrass, oaten, wheaten, or barley hays. If you are unsure of the NSC level of the hay or chaff, you will need to soak it in water to leach the sugars out.

Is Bermuda hay good for foundered horses?

Giant Bermuda hay is excellent for foundered and obese horses. Giant Bermuda hay is a good choice for horses that require a low protein and calcium diet, and it is a good choice for ponies and donkeys.

What is the best grass for laminitic horses?

Try to graze paddocks that are sown with grasses that are naturally lower in sugar such as Timothy. Some grass types such as ryegrass are much higher in sugar and are commonly found in former dairy pasture.

Is Bermuda hay high in sugar?

Bermuda grass is also low in sugar and calories, which can be beneficial for horses that are obese or easy keepers. In addition, this type of hay is resistant to mold and other fungi, making it less likely to cause digestive problems in horses.

What is the best hay to feed a foundered horse?

Feed grass hay, possibly a little alfalfa hay, or rinsed sugar beet, BUT stay away from corn, oats, barley, and especially stay away from sugar as molasses. Feed extra fat in the form of oil or rice bran if you need to get energy into the horse.

What kind of hay is best for foundered horses?

What is the best hay choice for laminitis prone/foundering horses…

• Lucerne – 2nd grade dry land lucerne – can be mixed with grass.
• Grass/pasture.
• Millet.
• Meadow.
• Rhodes grass.

Is alfalfa or Bermuda better for horses?

Alfalfa hay is leafy, significantly higher in protein, depending on the hay maturity usually lower in fiber, and more easily digested than Bermuda grass hay.

Is Bermuda or timothy hay better for horses?

For all of these reasons, timothy hay is an excellent choice for horse owners who are looking for nutritious and healthy hay for their animals. Bermudagrass hay is typically the cheapest grass hay for horses, so it’s a good option for horse owners on a budget.

How much Bermuda hay should I feed my horse?

When properly managed, bermudagrass has a high digestibility and handles overgrazing and treading fairly well. So why the bad reputation? Horses need to consume approximately two percent of their body weight daily. At least one percent of their body weight needs to be in some type of forage.

What hay is lowest in sugar?

What is this? In addition Timothy hay is higher in fiber and lower in sugar and calories than most other types of horse hay, making it a great choice for overweight horses. Timothy hay is also higher in calcium, which is essential for horse health.

What can you not feed a horse with laminitis?

Avoid grain or sweet feed that is high in starch and/or sugar. If additional calories are needed, either add a fat supplement or a fiber-based feed with <20-25% NSC. (Horses with a history of laminitis should have feeds 14% NSC or less.)

What do you feed a senior horse with laminitis?

Forage: High quality grass hay is the ideal forage for a horse prone to laminitis. Feed: A product specially formulated for metabolic issues or a ration balancer are the best bet to feed your laminitic horse.

Is Bermuda hay better than alfalfa?

Clearly, alfalfa is higher in energy content and protein value as compared to Bermuda grass. Further, alfalfa is higher in calcium and quite similar in phosphorus content as Bermuda grass.

What horse hay has the lowest sugar?

If you are looking for low-sugar hay for a metabolic horse, it’s all about how the hay is grown and managed. Teff can be as low as 5% sugar and the only other hay that’s this low in sugar is bluegrass straw—which is also used a lot for metabolic horses.”

What hay is best for insulin resistant horses?

Alfalfa can be an excellent addition to most horses’ diets, even for those that are insulin resistant (IR). I often recommend feeding it because it boosts the overall protein quality of a grass-hay diet and, in general, enhances the horse’s muscle tone, immune system and overall health.

Can too much hay cause laminitis?

What causes laminitis continues to be an area of huge research. It has become evident in recent years that although the over consumption of grass or feed high in starch or sugar is still commonly associated with horses developing laminitis, up to 90% of cases have an underlying hormonal cause.

Can laminitic horses eat hay?

Conserved forage, such as hay and haylage , is the cornerstone of the laminitis prone horse’s diet; as they typically spend longer periods stabled, or in a no-grass area. When it comes to food for laminitic horses, people often think about the bucket feed first.

How much hay do you feed a laminitic horse?

Feed: Hay – feed approx. 1.5-2% bodyweight hay (depending on whether weight loss is needed (1.5%) or not (2%), so 7.5-10 kg for a 500 kg horse, 3.75-5 kg for a 250 kg pony), soaked for at least 1 hour then drained to reduce sugars (or analysed to show combined sugar/starch no more than 10%).

What hay is highest in sugar?

Oat hay tends to be higher in nitrates and also high in sugar (NSC), so this hay is not an option for insulin resistant horses. Here’s a comparison chart so you can see the differences between alfalfa hay, timothy (grass) hay and oat hay.

Does soaking hay help laminitis?

Horses that require a low-sugar diet, such as those with laminitis or insulin resistance, might benefit from soaked hay. Soaking Orchardgrass hay for an hour, for instance, can reduce NSC by approximately 40%.