How Much Hay To Feed Horses: Where To Begin. Horses thrive on diets rife with forages, whether it is a medley of pasture grasses, baled hay, or another forage product, such as hay cubes, hay pellets, or haylage. They are capable of processing huge quantities of forage to meet their nutritional demands, but where does a horse owner start in determining how much forage to feed?

An estimate can be made based on the horse’s age, body weight, and physiologic state. Here’s a quick reference table to illustrate expected forage consumption by horses.

Forage Consumption:

Using the information in the table, let’s work through an example: suppose you have a new mature gelding in your care. He’s going to be a walk-trot trail horse once or twice a week. The weigh-tape estimates his weight to be 1,150 lb (520 kg). Based on his future workload, he would be classified as a maintenance horse or a low-level performance horse.

“Using the table, we would estimate that this gelding should consume 1.0-2.0% of his body weight in good-quality forage per day, which would be about 11.5-23 lb (5.2-10.5 kg),” explained Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a nutritionist with Kentucky Equine Research.

If forage constitutes his entire diet (and he receives no other feedstuff, such as a concentrate), he should be at the upper end of that range, Whitehouse said.

While a forage-feeding program can begin with just this information, feeding horses is part science and part art. Fine-tuning the diet may be required, as multiple factors have a role in determining forage intake.

Forage Intake Factors:

• Forage quality. High-quality hays contain more calories and more nutrients, so more or less can be fed based on a horse’s nutritional needs;

• Forage selection for the individual horse. All horses deserve hay that is free of dust, mold, and other impurities, but not all horses require nutrient-dense hays; others need average hay. This is largely based on metabolism (easy vs. hard keepers); and

• Digestive-health concerns. Horses are meant to chew on forage for much of the day; not doing so can cause gastrointestinal problems, including gastric ulcers.

All-forage diets do not contain optimal levels of vitamins and minerals, so it is important to supplement with a suitable product.

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Article by: Kentucky Equine Research

Electrolytes and Muscle Function: What’s the Connection? Electrolytes are necessary for normal muscle contraction and relaxation. “When electrolytes become depleted or imbalanced, fatigue and muscle cramps can result,” says Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a nutritionist with Kentucky Equine Research (KER).

Muscles contract with the help of an electrical charge. This contraction, in physiological terms, is called an action potential and is essential to create movement. Electrolytes are electrically-charged-minerals. They facilitate action potentials. Electrolytes can carry a positive (cation) or negative (anion) charge, and dissolve in body water to create a solution that can conduct electricity, although the solution itself is electrically neutral.

The Science:

Sodium is outside of cells. Similarly, potassium is inside of cells, along with calcium and magnesium. Major anions in the body include chloride, bicarbonate, and phosphates. The body tightly regulates the concentration of each electrolyte. Because electrolytes help conduct electrical charges, balance is a key component of proper muscle function.

A horse’s sweat is heavily concentrated with electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium). For this reason, heavily sweating horses lose substantial amounts of electrolytes during prolonged exercise. If losses are great enough, a disruption in the balance of electrical charge both inside and outside of a muscle cell can upset normal contraction and relaxation processes.

For example, excessive losses of calcium and magnesium can cause the main nerve to the diaphragm to fire in sync with the heart, a condition known as “thumps.” Thumps occurs in extremely dehydrated horses. In addition, significant loss of potassium can contribute to muscle cramps.

Feeding Strategies:

“Proper diet and supplementation are the best ways to help a horse stay in electrolyte balance and recover from strenuous exercise,” says Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., longtime nutritionist for KER. Studies have shown that horses that received an electrolyte supplement prior to endurance-type exercise drank more water, lost less weight, and maintained higher blood sodium and chloride concentrations compared to unsupplemented horses.*

Key feeding strategies include providing a horse with plenty of water alongside the regular diet. If exercise is to take place during hot, humid conditions, provide electrolytes and extra water the night before the event.

Top-dress on feed or mix elextrolytes into a paste (try water, applesauce, or yogurt). This will help the horse start off fully hydrated. In addition, give electrolytes at regular intervals. Electrolytes are water soluble. Feeding too much at once will simply result in excess being excreted.

Above all, remember to always provide a salt block and plenty of fresh, clean water. Hydrated horses in electrolyte balance are much better able to maintain exercise, control body temperature, and perform compared to dehydrated horses.

Australian horse owners should look for these research-proven products.

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Article by: Kentucky Equine Research

*Düsterdieck, K.F., H.C. Schott, S.W. Eberhart, K.A. Woody, and M. Coenen. 1999. Electrolyte and glycerol supplementation improve water intake by horses performing a simulated 60 km endurance ride. Equine Veterinary Journal Suppl. 30:418-424.

Starch and Inflammation: Considerations for Old and Overweight Horses. Body-wide inflammation contributes to the development of acute and chronic diseases in horses such as laminitis or metabolic syndrome. High-starch meals appear to induce inflammatory responses in certain young, old, and overweight horses. However, at differing time points and severities.

Research:

Researchers at Sam Houston University recently explored the pro-inflammatory responses of middle-aged versus old horses. As well as lean versus overweight horses following meals rich in nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC).^* Steam-rolled barley fed horses at a rate to provide 1.2 grams of NSC per kilogram of body weight daily. In addition, they received grass hay, ration balancer, salt, and water.

Inflammation was evaluated at various time points in the study by measuring blood levels of the inflammatory mediator interleukin (IL)-1β.

When considering the effect of body condition in middle-aged horses, overconditioning—a body condition score between 6.5 and 8 on a 9-point scale—was associated with an immediate postprandial increase in IL-1β on day 1. In contrast, leaner horses with a body condition score of 4 or 5 did not have this increase in IL-1β until 14 days after being fed the high-starch diet. Further, older horses between 20 and 23 years of age also had increased IL-1β levels directly after consuming the high-starch diet.

“This study builds on previous work that assessed pro-inflammatory response to diet. Older and overweight horses have a more immediate and elevated inflammatory response, which could be linked to underlying conditions such as the inflammaging process,” explained Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a nutritionist for Kentucky Equine Research.

Feeding Management:

Given the results of this study, the feeding management of older and overconditioned individuals should emphasize lower nonstructural carbohydrate intakes. This is according to the researchers.

Take care in how calories are provided to horses on low-starch diets. “High-fat diets could also result in similar immune responses depending on the fatty acid composition of the diet. Kentucky Equine Research continues to conduct research on how long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in EO-3, can reduce the production of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids and cytokines, which are inflammatory mediators,” Whitehouse said.

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Article by: Kentucky Equine Research

 ^*Suagee-Bedore, J., N. Shost, C. Miller, L. Grado, and J. Bechelli. 2021. Age and body condition influence the post-prandial interleukin-1β response to a high-starch meal in horses. Animals (Basel) 11(12):3362.

Hay for Horses: A Question of Quality. Ask horse owners to describe a perfect flake of hay, and the diversity of responses may astonish. The owner of a plus-size pony may mention a blend of local pasture grasses, sweet-smelling and pillowy to the touch; another might specify densely packed alfalfa, bright green and laden with leaves. A third owner may extol the nutritional virtues of early-maturing timothy, with its long blades and barely-there seed heads.

Given the assortment of responses, it is safe to say that different management situations call for different hay. Italian researchers recently described three case studies in which hay caused unexpected problems in horses.*

Wounding potential of plants:

Impurities in hay are problematic on many levels, according to Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a nutritionist with Kentucky Equine Research. “Some hays are harvested when plants are too old and stalky or extremely weedy. When those weeds include toxic plants, hays transition from unworthy to wholly unacceptable, to be avoided at all costs.”

Somewhere in the middle lie those plants that are not poisonous but are nevertheless capable of injuring the horse. Particularly the soft tissues of the mouth and the esophagus.

In the first case study presented by the researchers, three horses with no pasture access began to refuse their forage, a low-quality meadow hay. The owners also noticed blood-tinged drool falling from the horses’ mouths. On physical inspection, the oral cavities of all three horses revealed painful, bloody lesions.

Examined Hay:

They examined the hay. It contained the seed heads of yellow foxtail (Setaria glauca) and barnyard grass (Echinochloa crusgalli). Samples of plant material removed from the gingiva of the horses matched these plants. With time and new forage, the horses recovered.

Yellow foxtail and barnyard grass both possess awns, stiff bristles that develop on the grain-sheaths of certain grasses. While awns may be soft and pliable when grasses are young, as plants mature, they become stiff and sharp, capable of piercing soft tissue and becoming wedged in the throat. Migrating awns may burrow and lodge deeply in tissue, leading to abscesses.

Examples of other injurious plants include cocklebur, stinging nettle, and thistles. “Many horses relish the taste of thistles. However, eradicate thistles from pastures whenever possible,” recommended Whitehouse.

“Purchasing hay from reputable growers who understand the needs of horse owners is the first step in protecting your horse from weeds and other unwanted vegetation,” Whitehouse explained. “The second step is visual inspection of the hay prior to feeding. Ultimately, it’s up to the owner to determine what he puts in front of his horse.”

Aggravation of irritated tissue:

Forage constitutes the basis for most equine diets. In the absence of pasture, hay often becomes the forage of choice. Occasionally, though, a health problem precludes the feeding of hay.

In the second case study, the researchers recount instances in which hay proved unsuitable for two horses, both of which had trouble swallowing, a condition called dysphagia: one horse was diagnosed with esophageal diverticulitis and another horse with selenium deficiency and related degeneration of the masseter muscle, the muscle responsible for closing the mouth.

Veterinarians assumed long-stem forage made swallowing more painful. They offered the horses hay pellets softened into a slurry. Appropriately, a balancer pellet to fulfill vitamin and mineral requirements was also offered to the horses. When choosing fortification, select a scientifically formulated balancer pellet or a research-proven vitamin and mineral supplement.

“Dysphagia often requires a short-term change in diet due to the irritating nature of some long-stem forages, especially mature, stemmy hays,” explained Whitehouse. “Alternative forage sources such as pellets are fitting substitutes. Make all changes in diet gradually whenever possible.”

Free fecal water syndrome:

Two horses were identified with signs suggestive of free fecal water syndrome. Veterinarians provided treatments to reduce signs, including probiotics and steroid therapy. None of the treatments worked, however. The diets of both horses included about 22 lb (10 kg) of meadow hay and 3 lb (1.4 kg) of high-starch concentrate daily.

For example, rework both diets. The amount of long-stem meadow hay was divided in half and provided by a different supplier with a notable uptick in quality. Replace the remaining half  with ground or pelleted meadow hay. The horses grazed more than they had. Up to 4 hours each day. Replace the high-starch concentrates with low-starch fibrous mixes. Increase the number of concentrate meals from three to four. With these diet changes, the horses showed improvement in free fecal water.

As a result, the researchers summarized that “feeding different kinds of forages leads to different patterns of microbial populations in the hindgut, and remodulating the diet may change these clusters of bacteria, positively affecting the predisposition of individual horses to free fecal water syndrome to digest the fiber, and improving their fecal characteristics.”

Gastrointestinal health revolves in part on the consistency of diet. Moderate the effect of dietary changes. The hindgut buffer maintains the pH of the cecum and colon. EquiShure is a  hindgut buffer. It supports gastrointestinal health.

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Article by: Kentucky Equine Research

^*Cavallini, D., L. Panazzi, E. Valle, F. Raspa, D. Bergero, A. Formigoni, and I. Fusaro. 2022. When changing the hay makes a difference: A series of case reports. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 113:103940.

Aged Horses: Digestion of Grain and Hay. In the mid-1980s, research on digestion in Quarter Horse and Thoroughbreds over the age of 20 revealed something. Senior horses had reduced apparent digestion of protein, phosphorus, and fiber relative to younger horses. Both groups were fed pelleted alfalfa (lucerne). In fact, the digestive profile for these aged horses was very similar to that reported for horses that had 90% of their large colons removed.

Trials:

Two subsequent digestion trials on aged horses still showed reductions in digestibility. However, the differences, especially in protein, were not as apparent. In the first trial, horses were fed hay plus a commercial sweet feed or one formulated specifically for aged horses. After an adaptation period, fecal analysis showed differences in apparent digestibility. The senior feed yielded better digestibility of protein and calcium. The difference could have been related to higher intake of these nutrients in the senior feed.

In the second trial, aged mares were fed hay and a commercial sweet feed. In addition, daily injections of equine somatotropin. For these horses, analysis showed that apparent digestion levels of protein, phosphorus, and calcium were within normal limits.

Comparing Results:

Comparing results of digestion trials that used different feeds, horses, and conditions is somewhat risky. Sarah Ralston, V.M.D., Ph.D., the investigator who performed all the trials, said. However, the trend toward increased digestibility from older to more recent research has several possible explanations.

One potentially significant difference between the studies was that some of the horses in earlier studies were in thin body condition and had poor dental condition. Horses in the more recent studies were in fair to good body condition with no major dental abnormalities.

Advances in deworming products might be another factor that has contributed to more efficient nutrient digestion. With fewer parasites and less scarring of the intestinal surface, more recent generations of horses could be expected to have better digestion of protein, phosphorus, and fiber.

This idea has been borne out by some current findings on digestion of nutrients by older horses. Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., equine nutritionist at Kentucky Equine Research, said, “Today’s older horses do not automatically require changes to their main diet if they are in good health and body condition. This is because no statistically significant differences in the apparent digestibility of energy, neutral detergent fiber, crude protein, fat, calcium, and phosphorus have been found as long as horses are otherwise healthy.”

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Article by: Kentucky Equine Research

Rhizoma Peanut Hay for Horses: When horsemen think of legume hay, alfalfa invariably springs to mind with clover or lespedeza as possible runners-up. Few people probably think of rhizoma peanut (Arachis glabrata Benth), a warm-season perennial legume. While rhizoma peanut gets high marks for productivity and persistence in varying management and environmental conditions, how does it stack up nutritionally against alfalfa, the long-revered gold standard of legumes for horses?

Researchers at the University of Florida intended to find out by comparing rhizoma peanut with alfalfa and bermudagrass in terms of nutrient intake, apparent digestibility, and nitrogen balance in mature horses at maintenance.*

Quarter Horse geldings were assigned randomly to one of the three hay treatments for three 21-day experimental periods. Each experimental period consisted of a 14-day adaptation period followed by three days of total fecal and urine collection, and then a four-day rest. During each period, horses were fed a particular hay at 2% of body weight per day in three meals. Consequently, researchers collected core samples of all hays to determine nutrient composition.

The researchers concluded that “rhizoma peanut is a high-quality legume hay providing nutrient intake and digestibility intermediate between alfalfa and bermudagrass. For example, the nutrients provided by rhizoma peanut hay meet the nutritional needs of horses at maintenance, while resulting in less nitrogen excretion than alfalfa.” However, in light of environmental concerns centering around nitrogen, horse owners may choose to feed rhizoma peanut hay when available and appropriate for the intended horses.

Key points concerning rhizoma peanut hay include:

Rhizoma peanut hay should not be confused with “peanut hay” or annual peanut hay, which is made from the plants that remain after peanut harvest. Therefore, hay made from annual peanuts is unsuitable for horses, as it is usually sandy, dusty, stemmy, and low in nutritional value.**

As a warm-season perennial, rhizoma peanut hay tends to grow well in areas in which alfalfa does not.
Similarly, horses find rhizoma peanut hay as palatable as alfalfa. In one study horses preferred rhizoma peanut hay to alfalfa hay, potentially because the horses favored the finer stems of the rhizoma peanut.+

Rhizoma peanut is often used like alfalfa, as a source of supplemental calories. Subsequently, because of its palatability, overconsumption may result in excess body condition in easy keepers.

While all-forage diets are appropriate for many horses, forages do not provide a complete complement of nutrients needed for optimal health. Above all, horses on all-forage diets should be supplemented with a high-quality vitamin and mineral product.

In conclusion, do you have questions about Rhizoma Peanut Hay? Contact us at J & J Hay Farms by clicking here!

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Article by: Kentucky Equine Research

In addition:

*Vasco, A.C.C.M., K.J. Brinkley-Bissinger, J.M. Bobel, J.C.B. Dubeaux Jr., L.K. Warren, and C.L. Wickens. 2021. Digestibility and nitrogen and water balance in horses fed rhizoma peanut hay. Journal of Animal Science 99(11):1-9.

**Hill, G.M. 2002. Peanut by-products fed to cattle. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice 18:295-315.

+Lieb, S., E.A. Ott, and E.C. French. 1993. Digestible nutrients and voluntary intake of rhizomal peanut hay, alfalfa, bermudagrass, and bahiagrass hays by equine. In: Proc. 13th Equine Nutrition and Physiology Society, Gainesville, p. 98.

Refeeding the Starved Horse: Horses, like other animals, use the food they eat to meet the requirements of growth and maintenance. Horses eat enough grass, hay, and grain to provide plenty of energy for body functions as well as whatever exercise they are required to perform under normal circumstances. They can sustain most functions for some time when low levels of feed are available. However, weight loss may result as stored fat is burned. As the period of low or no feed is extended, they utilize protein (tissue from muscles, heart, and gastrointestinal tract) for energy. It is this burning of protein and resultant loss of body mass that differentiates a starved horse from one that is merely low on calories for a short period.

Mudbound: Feeding Horses in Muddy Pastures.  When it comes to horse care, mud makes everything harder. How can horse owners deal with sloppy mud and still provide wholesome meals to their horses?

Here are some tips:

Keep hay off the ground

That’s not as easy as it sounds, is it? In a perfect world, every horse will consume every stem and every leaf of every flake of hay ever offered. In reality, horses are prone to wasting hay. When it’s muddy, it seems the waste is even more abundant. What to do? Hay feeders that stand off the ground are one option. Horses will yank hay from these feeders, sometimes vigorously, so some hay still hits the ground, but less is wasted. Some of these feeders can hold more than one bale of hay, which can make feeding multiple horses more efficient.

For owners that feed round bales, specially designed feeders can keep hay tidy. Be sure to use feeders intended for horses. Feeders engineered for cattle are sometimes not appropriate for horses. Because of height differences between species, small horses and ponies can become trapped in them.

One resourceful owner placed old stall mats over a stone base to create a sizeable area in a paddock. She fed hay out of an old, cracked water trough that was anchored to fence posts. Any hay that landed on the mats stayed dry and clean, and fallen hay remained palatable and was easily retrieved by horses. A hose and a stiff-bristled broom was all that was needed to scrub the mats when they became dirty.

If the horse is in a pasture or paddock with lots of grass and only areas around feeders are muddy, toss hay into different grassy areas each day. This will keep areas from becoming too churned up from excessive traffic.

Provide concentrates in feeders

Many horse owners cringe when horses fling or drop grain onto the stall floor. The same owners wince when horses try to gather dropped grain from muddy ground. How can this be avoided?

Deep, weighted feeders are the best bet. Some horsemen have fashioned feeders from old tires by securing a bucket or pan inside the tire. Horses have difficulty overturning a tire even with aggressive pawing. Soft rubber pans are popular, but they are easily flipped or stomped. The deeper the feeder, the harder it is for the horse to sling grain from it.

Consider feed form

Certain feed companies provide some formulations as large, easy-to-feed pellets or cubes, measuring about 0.5 inch (1.25 cm). These cubes are convenient for outdoor feeding situations because they can be easily picked up from the ground by horses if dropped. Some managers feed these large cubes directly off grassy ground.

Consider pecking order

When feeding a group of horses, be aware of who’s boss and who’s not, and tailor feeding programs to keep mealtimes as peaceful as possible. This is doubly important in mud, as horses will be unable to retreat from aggressive horses as quickly and injuries may occur.

One suggestion: place feeders or hay piles far from one another to keep a dominant horse from attempting to control more than a single feeding station. Thirty to forty feet of space between feeders will generally deter even the most determined alpha horse from seizing more than his fair share.

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Article Sources: Kentucky Equine Research

Sampling Techniques for Hay Analysis: Accurate hay analysis depends on sample quality. In short, laboratories cannot do a worthwhile job if they have only poor samples to analyze. Laboratory personnel tell stories of receiving a complete flake or slab of hay, a handful of hay pulled from a bale or grabbed from the hay feeder, or a small wad of hay cut up with scissors. These submissions are not quality samples and cannot be used by a laboratory.