Feeds
(Continued from Page E 6)
in protein, energy, vitamins
and calcium.
Hay can be long-stemmed
in hay bales, or come
bagged in cubes, or pellets.
Many horse owners feed
grass hay or straight alfalfa
or a combination of grass
and alfalfa to their horses.
Grasses commonly used as
hay are brome, orchard, and
timothy.
Long stem hay is the tra
ditional baled hay. It is cut,
cured, and baled. It can be
bundled in 50- to 80-pound
square bales or large, round
or long square bales that can
weigh tons.
Hay cubes are about an
inch wide and 1- to 3-inches
long. Hay pellets are ground
hay compressed into two
inch by Vi inch pellets.
Horses need good quality
hay. It should be bright
green, leafy and fine tex
tured, with a fresh, pleasant
aroma. Musty hay, or other
indications of mold or heat
ing, and dust, weeds and
other foreign material in
hay can be unhealthy for an
animal.
Color is an indicator of
quality and nutrient con
tent; good hay is a bright
green. Most nutrients in hay
are in the leaves, and leafy
bay is a valuable source of
food.
Leafiness is influenced by
the kind of hay, its maturity
when cut, the weather con
ditions while growing and
curing the hay, and curing
procedures of the hay.
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Dust is objectionable in
any feed for horses. It not
only reduces the taste of the
hay, it also aggravates respi
ratory problems. Sprinkling
or dunking dusty hay in
water can reduce dust.
Avoid feeding moldy or
dusty hay. In the field,
heavy rain can break off
drying hay leaves and leach
es energy and protein from
the hay.
Hay baled before it is dry
enough will lose nutrients
through fermentation, or
heating in the bale. This
sometimes starts fires
through spontaneous com
bustion in barnyard stacks
of stored, baled hay. This
type of hay is unacceptable
for horses.
Good pasture or grass
that an animal can graze
can be an economical food
for horses, but pasture must
be maintained. If animals
are allowed to graze on a
pasture too long, the grass
may be killed.
Well-managed pastures
reduce feed costs and pro
vide energy, protein, vita
mins and minerals to ani
mals. An exercise lot with a
few blades of grass is not a
pasture; such a lot, or over
grazed pasture, is not a
source of nutrients and can
be a serious source of inter
nal parasites. When a grass
stand becomes too thin,
overgrown, coarse or unap
petizing to a horse, it should
be clipped or mowed.
Lush pasture forages can
act as a laxative in early
spring and may cause
founder. Introduce horses
gradually to pastures by
slowly increasing their daily
grazing time.
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Small grains, such as
com, oats and barley, are
known as concentrates.
Concentrates are lower in
fiber and higher in energy
than roughages.
The grain should be
clean, mold- and insect-free,
with a bright color. Grain
quality is just as important
as hay quality. Grains may
be cracked, steamed or
rolled, but, if pound too
finely, may cause respirato
ry problems or colic.
Oats are the safest and
easiest pain to feed with
hay because it is high in
fiber and low in energy, and
higher in protein than com.
Com has the highest en
ergy content of any pain
and can put weight on a
horse quickly. It can be fed
on the ear, cracked, rolled
or shelled.
Barley is an intermediate
source of energy and protein
content. All grains are low
in calcium, but high in
phosphorus.
Supplements
Protein and vitamin-min
eral supplements are added
to the diet to increase the
diet’s concentration. Grains
are energy supplements to a
high forage diet.
Only add supplements to
the diet if something is miss
ing. Some protein supple
ments are oilseed meals,
soybeans, cottonseed, lin
seed (flaxseed) meal, peanut
meal, sunflower seed meal
and rapeseed (canola). Vita
min and mineral supple
ments should only be added
to the diet if the horse is de
ficient.
Generally, the only min
erals of concern in feeding
horses are calcium, phos-
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phorus and salt. In some
geopaphical areas, lack of
selenium and, in powing
horses, copper and zinc, is a
concern. Other minerals are
likely to be present in ade
quate amounts in a normal
diet.
Commercial pain mixes
or complete feeds concen
trated mixes are cereal
pains with supplements
added to increase the specif
ic nutrient content of the
mix. A complete feed is a
pain mix that is high in
fiber because it contains a
forage or high-fiber byprod
ucts feed such as hulls.
Complete feeds are held
together, usually by extru
sion (puffed up like dog
food) or by forming into pel
lets. If you are feeding a
commercial complete feed,
you will not need to feed
hay (follow the label for
feeding recommendations).
There are also feeds for spe
cific classes of horses.
Some feeds are specially
formulated for young, grow
ing horses (weanlings and
yearlings); and for geriatric
(aged) horses that are old
and have specific nutritional
needs. Some commercial
feed companies make pre
mixed, convenient, easy-to
use formulated feeds for
horses that are on different
hay diets such as grass or al
falfa. You should not need
to add any other supple
ments to the diet.
These feeds may be more
expensive than developing
your own ration, but they
are good for the owner who
does not want to spend time
to research their horse’s
diet.
Nutrient requirements for
different horses the nutrient
______ requirements of a
horse vary with its
age, weight and the
amount of work it
performs. Good quali
ty hay is sufficient
feed for a mature
horse that is ridden
very little. With an in
crease in work, grain
should be added to its
diet.
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