What hay do you prefer?

[idahopinto]

I just purchased my first mini this weekend and was wondering what everyone prefered to feed hay wise and why?

Thanks for the help. I have both hays availalbe to feed.

Timmery

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

i always feed alfalfa and always have. Many feed grass hay thinking it is much lower in protien however... if you dont have your hay tested you really don't know. Good quality grass hay can have as much as 15-18 percent protien.

Protien of course needs to be figured as a total part of there diet not the amount in one feed but just making a point that grass hay when good quality isnt always a low protien feed.

Anyway all of that said..

I feed my minis alfalfa hay they all get soaked beet pulp as well.

 

[Lil' Horse Lover]

I feed grass/alfalfa mix. Its 70% grass and 30% alfalfa. I have been really happy with it and my horses do really well on it. Yep, thats what I feed and I prefer it over straight alfalfa or straight grass.

 

[susanne]

We feed a mix of orchard grass or Eastern Oregon grass hay and some great local grass hay. I didn't realize how lucky we were to have this guy right in our "neighborhood" until the end of last winter when he ran out...nobody else was even close in quality.

I feel that this combination gives them both quality nutrition and the munch factor.

Edited for fly-away fingers typo...duhh

 

[kaykay]

like lisa we feed alfalfa. always have always will.

 

[JWC sr.]

The preponderance of hay we feed is what is called Coatal Bermuda hay (12- 17%) here in Texas for the majority of the horses. And we feed alfalfa to the show horses as a finishing hay.

:saludando:

 

[HJF]

Straight alfalfa can be hard on the kidneys since it usually contains higher protein percentages. We have a horse who got kidney failure and now he is on good quality grass hay only (very low protein %) Where we get our hay the percent of straight alfalfa was I believe 19-20%. We usually do feed a grassXalfalfa mix though..may switch to just grass. Also feed soaked beet pulp to some horses.

 

[chandab]

I prefer grass hay or grass/alfalfa mix (light on the alfalfa). I have had mostly easy keepers, large and small horses and found I can feed more of the grass without excess weight gain or belly issues (as long as its good quality) and thus they are able to better satisify their need to chew (and then leave my fences alone).

Also, I have one mini that does not tolerate alfalfa well at all; she was on it before she came to me and she was obese and a mess (since being on grass hay she is quite happy and no dietary issues related to hay). I have a senior horse that can only have limited amounts of alfalfa or he has problems with it (for some reason it's ok processed like in a senior feed, but the baled hay doesn't sit well with him).

 

[Jill]

I like to have my horses on orchard grass hay. I feel that is easy for them to digest and they love what we've been getting. Someone I know and where some of my horses used to train and board feeds alfalfa and what she gets is so coarse. I know it's not all like hers, but my husband and I both feel that was a huge, huge (HUGE) factor in one of our horses needing colic surgery several years ago. The surgeon told us "it's as if she had access to very coarse feed." Ever since, I am so cautious about the texture of what my minis are fed.

 

[justjinx]

We feed an alfalfa/grass mixture. Any coarser hay (like 1st cutting) goes to the bigger horses. Later cuttings are usually softer and have a larger percentage of grass and this is what we give the minis. jennifer :saludando:

 

[Loess Hills]

We prefer the brome grass hay. Around here it is plentiful, some off our own pasture. Show horses get alfalfa during show season, and we also feed some alfalfa mixed with grass hay during the winter, for an extra boost during cold weather. Too much alfalfa is too rich a diet.

 

[idahopinto]

Thank You all for your insight on what hay you feed and why. It sure helps alot as a first time mini owner.

 

[HGFarm]

It's REALLY hard to find decent grass hay of any kind here....... but we have always fed alfalfa to horses big and small with never any problems. I find the alfalfa seems to give the protein too that Minis need. They keep their weight distributed better it seems up over their back/rear etc....

A nice mix would be nice, but we dont have that here.

 

[Erica]

We grow and bale our own hay and it is very fine bremuda (grass) hay - we have had it tested and don't remember off hand but it had a very good protein rating. I do supplement the show horses with a handful of alfafa cubes/pellets/or bagged alfafa - but they mainly get grass hay that we grow.........all the other horses are on grass hay only.

 

[Jean_B]

Somewhere along the way, someone said "protein is good"....and no one bothered to check to see if there is such a thing as "protein toxicity". THERE IS !! I will never ever again feed alfalfa. Been there, done that, and had WAY too many health issues. Since going to 100% grass hay, my horses have never been healthier.

Alfalfa can be linked to kidney failure in horses. It is also a primary culprit in such problems as cushings, founder, hypothyroidism, etc.

There is way too much protein in good alfalfa for a horse's kidneys to get rid of. If you see your horse has darker urine (it should be a VERY pale, almost clear yellow and have almost no ammonia smell), it is because there is too much protein in its diet.

I prefer bermuda, timothy or orchard grass. I have my hay tested. I do not want it any higher than 16% protein. Good alfalfa can run 25% or more protein!! That's a killer for horses. As far as I'm concerned, good alfalfa should be fed to dairy cows....and maybe some beef cows that are lactating. But I would never feed it to horses.

Here is a quote from only one of many on-line articles about the inadvisability of feeding alfalfa to equine (just "Google" the words "alfalfa" and "hypothyroidism" and you'll get a ton of hits):

"Feeding alfalfa can cause: hypothyroidism high calcium causes lower absorption of iodine which causes lower thyroid function. (Cresty necks) Tying up- feeding higher then what a horse needs in protein decreases the thyroid function. Too much calcium causes magnesium levels to decrease which leads to lactic acid build up in muscles. kidney problems - ammonia smell from urine is not good. excess protein from alfalfa can clog the kidneys over time. The calcium can turn into kidney stones. Lowers the immune system- too much protein and low in fiber diets lead stressed horses to get sick easier. Enteroliths- this is more common in CA and other western states where diets are high in alfalfa. Excessive protein in alfalfa causes ammonium, magnesium, and phosphate to come together to form enteroliths. Changes the development of bones- too much calcium throws off the absorption of copper and zinc. Copper and zinc are very important for healthy bones. Colic- alfalfa is too low in fiber to keep the digestive system happy. Arthritis- protein digestion causes acid. feeding alfalfa causes more acid in the stomach. The body pulls minerals from muscle and bones to help get the acid levels down. This causes build up of calcium on joints which leads to arthritis."

 

[disneyhorse]

Alfalfa is very rich... it is very nutrient dense and you don't have to feed a lot of it. It puts a good ''bloom'' on the coats of show horses. Grass hay allows the horse more ''munching time'' as it isn't as dense, but the flakes of hay are lighter and you will have to feed more of it. It also isn't as laxative as alfalfa is.

That said, my horses get a mix of both. Here they are on orchard grass and alfalfa.

Andrea