The shortage of hay in many areas of Canada will continue. This may cause a price increase in the months ahead due to high demand compared to supply. While the importance of testing hay to understand its nutritional value is always stressed, this year it is especially important.

Why is it important to have your hay analyzed? Horses require a diet that is primarily based on forage, and therefore it is essential to understand the nutritional value of your hay in order to make sound decisions regarding the supplementation of calories, proteins, vitamins, and minerals.

While mature, non-working horses may not require a high-protein diet, growing horses, mares in gestation or lactation, breeding stallions and performance horses will likely require additional protein supplementation to make up for the lack of protein in their hay.

When reviewing your hay analysis, the values that are important in determining digestibility are Acid Detergent Fibre (ADF), Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF), and lignin.

I. ADF measures cellulose and lignin, the least digestible plant components. Cellulose varies in digestibility and is negatively influenced by the lignin content (the indigestible component). As lignin increases, digestibility of the cellulose decreases. ADF values increase as hay matures, and higher ADF concentrations mean lower digestibility. Hays that are too high in indigestible fibres can increase the risk of gastric disturbances and distension of the digestive tract.

II. NDF measures all the fibre in the plant: hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin. The NDF value is related to the amount of forage a horse can consume; as NDF increases, intake decreases.

III. The relationship between ADF and NDF is important: if two hays have comparable NDF, the hay with lower ADF will be of better value for your horse. If your hay is of poor digestibility, its nutritional value to your horse will be decreased, and this will have to be taken into consideration when making feed decisions this year.

How do you make the most of the hay available?

First, plan now for peace of mind later. Remember that different forages have different calorie and digestibility values. Weigh your hay to understand exactly how much you are feeding per day. This helps to prevent overfeeding or unnecessarily wasting hay. You will thank yourself in late winter when your hay stores aren’t surprisingly lower than expected, and there is no hay available for purchase. Slow feeders and hay nets are great options to control intake and prevent unnecessary wasting; feeding round bales without a feeder results in hay wastage of up to 50%!

Second, feed to body condition, and understand what that means. By having a good understanding of your horse’s body condition, you will be able to make sound choices when it comes to choosing what and how much to feed to maintain a body condition score (BCS) of approximately 5/6 (on a scale of 1 to 9). It is also important to understand the difference between an overweight horse and a horse that has a hay belly. With hays of lower quality and poor digestibility, horses on a forage-only diet will need to consume more hay to meet their nutritional requirements. On the flipside, the low digestibility will mean the hay is spending a longer time in the digestive system as the microbial population attempts to digest the fibre, causing distention and resulting in the infamous hay belly.

We often hear complaints of “horses with hay bellies” but with poor muscle tone (topline evaluation scores [TES]), poor coat quality, and visible ribs. Owners with horses displaying “hay bellies” are often reluctant to feed a concentrate. However, in these cases, it is important to manage the hay intake, improve hay digestion by feeding a product containing probiotics and prebiotics, and/or a live yeast culture, and if necessary, supplement with a high fibre product containing good quality protein, vitamins and minerals to balance the deficiencies in the hay. For performance horses, growing horses, pregnant or lactating mares, senior horses and other horses where forage alone is not meeting their caloric requirements, choose a product designed specifically for their needs, and feed according to label directions at levels that will maintain a healthy body condition. Additionally, to stretch your hay supply throughout winter, you can look at products that can replace a portion of the hay in your horse’s diet. The horse’s digestive system is designed to function primarily on forage, and hay provides the long-stem fibre required to function optimally. Therefore, it is much better to stretch the existing hay source throughout the season instead of feeding all the hay first and then running out halfway through winter. Some options include hay cubes or chunks like SuperFibra Classic, pellets like SuperFibra Nature and complete feeds containing highly digestible fibre sources that can be fed as partial hay collaborators. A horse should consume a minimum of 1.5 to 3% of bodyweight per day of long-stemmed forage and following the feeding instructions specific to the product you choose will help eliminate the risk of digestive disturbances, or the development of stereotypies associated with low fibre diets. By replacing a portion of the hay diet with a hay supplement, you will be able to stretch your hay supply further, while providing a good quality source of highly digestible fibre and protein.

Various products also offer other additional advantages; some may solely provide an additional source of digestible fibre and protein in a convenient, dust-free product, others may offer those, plus added vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and prebiotics. Many of these products are also low in sugar and starches, which make them suitable for horses whose sugar and starch intake needs to be managed. Choose the product that is suited for your horse’s life stage and nutritional requirements.

Third, balance for vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Even in the best of years, hay is not able to provide all of those components to meet a horse’s nutritional requirements. By having a clear understanding of how much concentrate and how much hay supplement you are feeding, you will be able to meet the missing vitamin and mineral requirements with a good quality ration balancer. If you are feeding less than the recommended amount of a concentrate or complete feed, you must balance for all your macro /micro nutrients as well as your amino acids. If your hay is low-protein and has poor digestibility, choose a Ration Balancer with appropriate levels of amino acids, such as Equilizer or Optimal.

Lastly, and most importantly, always keep hydration in mind. Changing from pasture to hay, changing fibre sources, feeding poor quality hay, or even the seasonal change to colder temperatures can increase the risk of digestive upsets, especially if horses are not properly hydrated. Clean, fresh water that is not too cold is essential in encouraging your horse to drink. Adding loose, white salt to your horse’s diet can help increase water consumption. Soaking feed and/or hay are also options for horses especially prone to digestive upsets. If in doubt, seek out the advice of an Equine Nutrition Consultant. They can help sample your hay for analysis, interpret the results, body condition score your horses, evaluate your nutrition management practices and balance rations for specific needs.

Contact your Equine Nutrition Consultant today at connect@equipurina.ca