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The High-Quality Hay for Horses

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The High-Quality Hay for Horses ALFALFA The high-quality hay for horses Glenn E. Shewmaker University of Idaho Dan Undersander University of Wisconsin Laurie M. Lawrence University of Kentucky Garry D. Lacefield University of Kentucky 2 lfalfa is often the pre- Food—especially forage—passes rela- ferred forage for horses The horse’s tively rapidly through the stomach and because of its high small intestine, but can be retained for quality, high digestibility, digestive system many hours in the hind gut (cecum).The and good roughage orses evolved as grazing animals. hind gut is populated by a diverse Avalue.Well-preserved alfalfa hay should Compared to most other non- microbial population that digests the be the foundation of a feeding program Hruminant species, the horse has a fibrous components of hay and pasture. for young growing horses, recreational relatively small stomach, a normal-sized The horse’s digestive tract is generally horses, and active horses.This publica- small intestine, and an enlarged hind gut not as efficient at digesting fiber as the tion describes the horse’s digestive (figure 1).This arrangement makes digestive tract of a cow or sheep. system and nutritional needs and how horses better adapted to grazing contin- However, for high-quality hays such as to select alfalfa hay. It provides informa- uously than to eating one or two large early bloom alfalfa hay, the difference is tion on purchasing, storing, and feeding meals a day. Compare the size of a horse’s much smaller than for lower quality hays alfalfa hay; and uses science to discuss stomach (figure 2) to the volume of hay such as late-maturity grass hays. myths and realities of feeding horses. a horse will consume in a day, and it’s High-quality hay (or pasture) can be an easy to see why horses should be allowed excellent source of nutrients for most access to forage throughout the day. classes of horses, and in most cases should be the predominant type of feed in a horse’s diet. However, some classes of horses will require supplementation of their diet with a concentrate. A con- Figure 1.The digestive tract and internal organs of the horse. centrate feed can be a plain grain such as oats or corn, or it can be a commer- cially manufactured mixture of grains and other feed ingredients. Concentrate cecum bladder spleen esophagus feeds are higher in energy than hay because the cereal grains contain more rectum stomach nonstructural carbohydrates, especially starch. trachea heart colon liver small Figure 2. A model of a horse’s stomach from an 1100-lb horse shown intestine next to the daily ration (15 lb) of hay. Because of their relatively small stomachs, horses are better adapted to eating forage all day long instead of eating one or two large meals each day. ALFALFA 3 In horses, starch can be digested in the also shown.These concentrations are small intestine and absorbed as glucose. Meeting the based on average expected feed intakes Research has demonstrated that when of the horses in each physiological class. large amounts of starch are fed, the nutritional needs To accurately determine the appropriate capacity of the small intestine to digest dietary concentration for a nutrient, it is the starch will be overloaded.The undi- of horses necessary to know the feed intake of the gested starch is moved on to the large orse nutrient needs change with horse. For example, if a horse consumes intestine where it is fermented. age and production state.Very 25 lb of feed per day and it requires 2 lb Fermentation of starch in the large intes- Hyoung horses usually require the of crude protein, then the feed must tine is less energetically efficient than most nutrient-dense diets because they contain 8% crude protein (2 ÷ 25). digestion and absorption from the small are growing rapidly.The diets have to be However, if the horse only consumes 20 intestine. More importantly, fermenta- nutrient dense to meet the animal’s high lb of feed per day, then the feed must tion of excess starch in the large intes- nutrient requirements and limited intake contain 10% crude protein to provide tine can result in digestive problems capacity. As horses age, diets that are the needed crude protein each day. such as diarrhea, colic, and, in severe less nutrient dense are usually required. Most horses will consume at least 2 lb of cases, founder. Lactating mares and horses with strenu- feed (forage and concentrate, 90% dry When an 1100-lb horse consumes a ous physical activities have much higher matter) for every 100 lb of body weight. meal containing more than 2.0–2.5 lb of requirements than horses that are kept However, if very low-quality forage is starch, there is potential for some undi- at maintenance or are used for light fed, feed intake might be less. gested starch to reach the large intes- recreational riding. Conversely, if highly palatable feed is tine. Cereal grains vary in starch content, Table 1 shows the approximate amounts offered, intake may increase. Some so the actual amount of grain that can of several nutrients required by horses in horses, especially lactating mares and be fed without starch by-passing to the different physiological stages on a daily growing horses, may consume 3 lb of large intestine will vary also. Corn can basis.These values may need to be feed per 100 lb of body weight. contain 60–70% starch whereas oats adjusted for specific horses, particularly contain 45–55% starch. Many commer- if they are exposed to unusually hot or cially manufactured feeds will have a cold weather. For some nutrients, the starch content of 45–55%, although approximate dietary concentrations are feeds with lower amounts of starch are becoming more available. If a horse is fed a concentrate containing 50% starch, the amount that could be fed in a single Table 1. Recommended nutrient intakes for horses with an expected meal with minimal starch by-pass to the mature body weight of 1100 lb.* large intestine would be 4.4 lb.There- Class Digestible fore, when the daily concentrate intake of horse energy** Crude protein Calcium Phosphorus exceeds 10 lb, the concentrate should be Mcal/ lb/ % in lb/ % in lb/ % in divided into three meals per day. day day diet day diet day diet Recreational 20 1.8 10 25 0.30 18 0.20 Pregnant 20 1.9 11 37 0.45 28 0.35 Lactating 28 3.1 13 56 0.55 36 0.35 Weanling 16 1.9 14 35 0.70 20 0.40 Yearling 20 2.1 13 35 0.50 20 0.30 Performance Moderate 26 2.2 11 32 0.35 24 0.25 Heavy 32 2.9 12 40 0.35 30 0.25 *Expressed as total daily intakes or dietary concentration on a 100% dry matter basis. **Digestible energy = (gross energy of food) – (energy lost in feces) Source: Adapted from NRC (1989) “Nutrient Requirements of Horses” THE HIGH-QUALITY HAY FOR HORSES 4 Typical dry matter intakes (per 100 lb of Mature horses used for Table 3 shows two diets using alfalfa hay body weight) for horses are shown in that will meet, or slightly exceed, the table 2. Also shown are the amounts of recreational activities needs of a mature 1100-lb horse used dry matter from forage and concentrate Many horses are used for recreation for recreational riding. Both diets meet in typical diets. Forage should be the (which includes weekend riding, occa- the nutrient needs of the horse, but cornerstone of horse diets, comprising sional showing, and similar activities) which diet is best? One consideration the largest part of the dry matter intake where the horse is exercised at a low to might be cost. Another consideration as a guard against energy-dense feeds moderate intensity for less than 5 hours might be total feed intake.Total feed such as starch, to meet the need for a week. In general, these horses have low intake is highest when diet A is used.The large particle size for fiber requirement, to moderate nutrient requirements and lower feed intake with diet B could be and for continuous supply of nutrients. nutrient deficiencies are relatively rare. an advantage if you have a picky eater. These guidelines for feed intake are best Typically, the biggest nutritional However, diets with low feed intakes applied when mid-maturity forage is problem facing these horses is excess often mean more idle time for the used.When early-maturity forage is nutrient intake, especially calories, which horses (especially those confined in used, the amount of concentrate in the can result in obesity. stalls or small paddocks) and increased diet can usually be reduced, whereas potential for stall vices such as wood when late-maturity forage is used, more chewing. Because these diets use alfalfa concentrate will be necessary. hay as the forage source, they provide more protein and calcium than are required for recreational horses. Most nutritionists agree that exceeding the protein and calcium requirements is not harmful for normal healthy horses. Table 2. Expected dry matter intakes by horses (lb DM/100 lb of body weight). Total dry Forage Concentrate Class of horse matter intake (lb) intake (lb) intake (lb) Recreational 2.00–2.25 2.00–2.50 0.00–0.25 Pregnant (last trimester) 1.75–2.00 1.50–1.75 0.25–0.50 Lactating 2.25–2.75 1.50–2.25 0.50–1.25 Growing 2.25–2.75 1.50–2.00 0.75–1.25 Working 1.75–2.50 1.00–1.75 0.75–1.25 Source: Adapted from NRC (1989) “Nutrient Requirements of Horses” Table 3.
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