What Makes Hay Horse Quality?

Horse hay should be bright green, leafy and fine textured, with a fresh, pleasant aroma. Musty hay or other indications of mold or heating, and dust, weeds and other foreign material in hay can be unhealthy for an animal. Color is an indicator of quality and nutrient content; good hay is a bright green.

What determines hay quality?

Essentially, hay quality is affected by five major factors; stages of maturity, leafiness, color, foreign matter, and odor and condition. Out of all of these factors, the stages of maturity are the most important. The growth stage of the hay plays a huge role in the quality of hay you feed your livestock.

What is a good hay analysis for horses?

A basic hay analysis costs about $20. Optimum horse hay moisture ranges from 10 to 15 percent. ADF values under 45 percent are generally good for horses. NDF values under 65 percent are generally good for horses.

Does hay lose quality over time?

A: Hay begins to lose its nutritional value at the time of cutting and continues to lose nutrients both while drying in the field and while in storage. The nutrients most affected by harvesting and storing are vitamins. Conversely, the protein and mineral content of hay is quite stable.

How can you tell if hay is high quality?

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.

What is the most important indicator of hay quality?

Leafiness, the ratio of leaves to stems, is an excellent indicator of hay quality. Leafiness in legumes is particularly critical because legumes lose their leaves during curing and handling more readily than grasses.

What are the 4 categories of hay?

Hay falls into several categories: grass, legume, mixed (grass and legume) and cereal grain straw (such as oat hay). Some of the more common grass hays include timothy, brome, orchard grass and bluegrass. In some parts of the country fescue, reed canary grass, ryegrass and Sudan grass are common.

What two considerations are most important when evaluating hay for quality?

Quality hay should be low but adequate in fiber content, free of dust, musty odor, detrimental weeds, and excessive foreign material. Stage of Maturity – The stage of plant development at the time of harvest is considered one of the most important and influential factors affecting quality.

What is a good hay mixture?

Some of the more popular combinations are orchardgrass/alfalfa and tall fescue/alfalfa. These mixed hays are readily eaten and healthy for all types of livestock.

Does fertilizer improve hay quality?

Forages and all green plants require moisture, nutrients, heat and light for growth. To make hay, you need good nutrition to maximize on productivity and quality of the final product.

Can hay be too dry for horses?

The key to properly cured hay lies predominantly in moisture content. For best results, hay should not be baled until there is less than 20% moisture. Hay baled too wet might mold, heat, and pose a fire risk. Conversely, hay baled too dry might lose its nutritional value through broken or fallen leaves.

Does hay lose nutrients if rained on?

What happens to quality for rained-on hay? The majority of the damage from untimely rains is the loss of soluble nutrients from the hay (the sugars). Even before rain damage, we lose some sugar during plant respiration that occurs from the time forage is cut until it reaches about 50% moisture content.

What is low quality hay?

Characteristics of low-quality forages include high fiber content, low crude protein (CP) and energy (total digestible nutrients or TDN) content, and reduced fiber digestibility. Low-quality forages also may have tough, coarse stems and reduced leaf-to-stem ratios, which can reduce palatability to livestock.

What is the best grade hay?

Alfalfa is the best variety of legume hay, and Orchard grass is the grass hay I recommend; however, Timothy, bermudagrass, bahiagrass, and Kentucky bluegrass are also excellent choices.

Do horses need good quality hay?

Poor quality hay can have an adverse effect on a horse’s health: not only can dust and mould spores cause breathing difficulties, but a poor palatability will result in the horse eating less than he needs and reduced nutritional content can lead to weight loss and associated health problems.

What is so special about timothy hay?

Its low protein, high fiber, and high energy content make it easily digestible. Due to its low protein levels, Timothy hay can be fed regularly to satisfy appetite without excess calories and protein, and in some cases provides enough protein for less active and stabled horses.

Which of the following is an important factor affecting the quality of hay?

Remember, stage of maturity is the most important factor affecting hay quality and will also affect leafiness, color and condition. However, the only way to truly know the quality of hay you plan to buy, sell or feed is to have it tested.

What are three important factors for forage quality?

Moisture, temperature, and the amount of sunlight influence forage quality. Rain damage is very destructive to forage quality.

What is the difference between horse hay and regular hay?

“Cow hay” is generally viewed as lower quality hay that is ideal for most beef cattle. “Dairy hay” is an extremely high protein, high energy hay suitable to support milk production in dairy animals. “Horse hay” is extremely clean, no dust or mold, hay that contains moderate levels of both protein and energy.

What is the softest type of hay?

Soft Orchard Grass
Soft Orchard Grass is high in fiber and low in both protein and calcium. It is the softest type of hay we carry and makes a great alternative if you or your rabbit, guinea pig, or chinchilla are allergic to Timothy Hay. As your small pet gets older, softer feed may become more and more of a necessity.

What are the types of horse hay?

Hay can be classified into three general types: legume, grass, and mixed. Mixed hay is usually defined as a blend of grass and legume plants, though some hay producers and horse owners may define it as a combination of several grasses.