Feeding 2002 Hay

 

 

This issue will focus on one of my favourites – what to expect from the hay crop of 2002. As horse people we have all been well trained in what to look for in good hay. Emphasis is on the looking (green as opposed to black) and smelling (sweet as opposed to dank and disgusting). We know that leafy as opposed to stalky hay is preferred as there is better nutrition to be found in the leaves. We know that unless we are in the breeding business, grass hay (mostly Timothy) is preferred to legumes as alfalfa and clover have to be fed sparingly due to their high protein content.

 

So what is it that a visual inspection doesn’t tell us? The impact that the weather throughout the growing season has had on the current hay crop. None of us can deny that the wet spring followed by a dry summer has given us a very high yield of hay. The hay was ready to come in early because the spring rain had made it grow quickly and the ensuing drought had the fields dry enough to support the tractors and haybines early in June. Furthermore the continuing dry weather ensured that the hay dried well in the fields. Not much dust and mold to be seen or smelled in those bales. Should be a great year for high hay quality as well as great yield because we continued to hay from May to September.

 

Unfortunately, hay is not always as good as it looks. Two issues have become apparent this year. Hay sampling has shown higher mold values than anyone would have predicted in very nice-looking bales, a matter easily taken care of by watering the hay. The second issue is the digestible vs non-digestible content of the hay. Because of the growing conditions lignin values are tending to be high. Lignin is one of several not-so-digestible components of hay and is used as a marker to determine the value of a hay crop to the horse. At a certain point the horse will simply refuse to eat it.

 

How they know by sniffing or looking, I have no idea. I do know that nothing is more frustrating than coming into the barn in the morning and finding a mound of perfectly good-looking hay and a cranky horse.  The easy assumption is that he isn’t hungry, is being overly picky just to annoy us, or help – is he in trouble? It is important to know that he just doesn’t like his broccoli cold. The solution is to feed him a lot more hay than you think you have to in order to ensure that he gets his 1-2.5% of body weight requirement in hay into him and put up with throwing what he doesn’t eat out to the cows, bless them. Or pay a premium for fantastic hay that some amazing farmer managed to grow despite the weather.

 

Many people will reach for the bag of roughage feed in the many forms that it comes in. We have to remember that it is made from the same hay crop that your hay came from, and may be no more digestible than your nearest bale. How can you tell? Your local feed store, veterinarian and OMAFRA office are all able to sample and test your hay for lignin values. Knowing your strategy before you get into the winter heavy hay feeding months is a wise precaution.

 

 

Kasia Miedzinska, PhD

Certified Equine Nutritionist