The Lockyer January 12 2022 Page

HORSE
HEY! WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT HAY?
There are so many different types of hay and
it can get confusing when you start to try
figuring out which hay to use and why. Or
which hay to avoid and why. Here is my hay
by hay take on… hay:
to feed just before you ride or work horses to
fill their stomach up and protect it from ulcers
too. Plus it is rich in essential amino acids so
it will help support the guts needs for the
amino acids it needs to stay healthy!
cereal hay it will feed the bad bacteria in the
hindgut and may cause some discomfort
from excess gas production.
LUCERNE HAY
PROS
Horses love lucerne so you rarely ever get
‘meals sent back to the kitchen’. Lucerne
is also super nutritious; it contains lots of
minerals (especially calcium), is rich in fibre
and high in quality protein.
Lucerne hay is LOW in starch and water
soluble carbohydrates (collectively known
as the non-structural carbohydrates or NSC).
Which means lucerne hay is SAFE for laminitic
horses and ponies.
It is also high in calories, which makes it the
perfect hay for horses needing to gain weight
and build muscle.
I love lucerne as part of almost every horse’s
diet. It adds great nutrition and it brings the
aspect of variety in the form of a legume
forage to the diet.
CONS
It is a high calorie hay so for horses who are
overweight it can be an issue. You need to
feed it in very restricted amounts as it is easy
to make horses too fat on too much lucerne.
Lucerne’s high protein levels mean you can
feed too much protein if you feed too much
lucerne. For most horses this isn’t an issue. But
for horses in stables it means their boxes will
be wet and smelly (as they need to drink a lot
and urinate more to rid the excess nitrogen
from the protein out of their body). This
excessive urination can also lead electrolyte
depletion and in extreme cases, tying up in
working horses. It is important to remember
though that it is not the lucerne causing this
as such. It is the excess protein. So if you feed
appropriate amounts of lucerne, you won’t
see these issues.
Its high calcium characteristic also needs to
be managed carefully, especially for growing
horses. Diets that contain only lucerne
for youngsters will often have a calcium:
phosphorus ratio that is too high, which can
then cause phosphorus deficiency and may
affect correct bone development.
Lucerne for gut health: A big thumbs up!
Studies show lucerne helps gastric ulcers
heal. It is a natural buffer so it is a great forage
CEREAL HAY (OATEN, WHEATEN,
BARLEY)
PROS
When made-well, horses usually love cereal
hay. Being ‘grasses’, cereal hay is lower in
protein so it can be used as the base forage
in a horse’s diet without providing too much
protein.
Cereal hay contains lots of great fibre.
Depending on its stage of harvest and its
starch and water-soluble carbohydrate
content, cereal hay may be anything from a
high calorie to a very low-calorie hay… if you
have the luxury of choice and are using cereal
hay, you can select which is best for your
horses.
CONS
Cereals are temperate grasses. So they has
the ability to store LARGE amounts of starch
and water soluble carbohydrates (WSC),
including fructans. I have seen oat forage
with 30% plus starch+ WSC (collectively
called non-structural carbohydrate, or NSC);
which means cereal hay must be avoided for
any horses that need a low NSC diet.
Cereal hays with a high fructan content can
also cause a shift in hindgut bacteria toward
the ‘bad’ bacteria. Fructan is one of their
favourite meals. When horses are on a high
fructan cereal hay, you might see some of the
behavioural changes and some loss of fibre
fermentation (with possible issues holding
weight) that we see in horses on ‘uncooked
grain’ diets. Plus fermentation in the hindgut
of a high fructan cereal hay can cause
excessive gassiness and mild colic.
Not all cereal hay is high in fructan, but my
advice would be if you are going to buy cereal
hay in large amounts, get it tested before you
purchase it.
Cereal Hay for Gut Health: It is a bit of a lucky
dip. If you manage to get a low fructan cereal
hay then it is great for gut health. It provides
lots of fibre to keep the good bacteria in the
hindgut healthy and it is a hay that requires a
lot of chewing so it’s great to stimulate saliva
production.
On the downside, if you do get a high fructan
RHODES GRASS HAY
PROS
This is one of my favourite hays, for many
reasons… Rhodes grass is a subtropical grass
which means it can’t store large amounts of
starch or water soluble carbohydrates (WSC).
Rhodes grass will usually have a starch +
WSC content (known together as the nonstructural
carbohydrates, or NSC) of less than
12%, making it consistently safe to feed to
horses that need a low NSC diet. Including
laminitic horses and ponies.
Rhodes grass hay is usually a moderate
protein, moderate calorie hay (depending on
its stage of growth when it was harvested)
so it lends itself well to being the base hay in
almost any horse’s diet.
Horses don’t love Rhodes grass hay, so they
will often take their time in eating it. If you
have easy keepers on restricted hay diets, this
is a good thing. It extends the amount of time
they are chewing and salivating which should
then reduce the risk of stomach ulcers.
CONS
For horses that are a bit fussy, Rhodes grass
hay may be somewhat of a frustration. Other
than that, there are really no downsides to
this hay. It can make a valuable addition to
any balanced diet.
Rhodes Grass Hay for Gut Health: Rhodes
Grass Hay comes in with flying colours on
the gut health front. Lots of fibre to provide
food for our favourite friendly bacteria. Plus
it is consistently low in starch and fructans so
it won’t support the bad bacteria in any way.
TROPICAL GRASS HAY (INCL.
HUMIDICOLA, PANGOLA, JARRA,
PANIC GRASSES)
Grass species commonly found in Northern
Australia.
PROS
Tropical grasses tend not to accumulate
large amounts of NSC (especially fructans)
compared with temperate grasses, generally
making them safer for laminitis-prone horse.
Tropical grass hay is usually a low protein,
moderate calorie hay (depending on its stage
of growth when it was harvested) but it lends
TALK
itself well to being the base hay in almost
any horse’s diet – especially in hot humid
environments where the amount of protein
in diets is best kept not in excess.
CONS
These grasses contain a moderate amount
of oxalate and have been observed to cause
suspected ‘bighead’. When feeding them,
careful supplementation with calcium is
required.
Tropical Grass Hay for Gut Health: No
negatives. Good levels of fibre to keep the
hindgut healthy and generally lower in
fructans so it won’t upset the healthy balance
of microbes.
NATIVE GRASS HAY
True native grass hays are very rare – mostly
found in Northern Australia. Some native
grass species that can be found as hay
can be Creeping Bluegrass, Red Grass and
Queensland Bluegrass.
More often than not, hay is labelled ‘Native’
when it is from unimproved pastures and
many of the grasses these contain are likely
to be low fertility introduced grasses such
as; Southern Australia & New Zealand -
sweet vernal, fog grass, brown-top, bromes
or prairie grass or Northern Australia – digit
grasses and panic grasses.
PROS
A true native grass hay is likely to be low
in NSC, a great source of fibre plus lower in
protein and calories than introduced grass
species.
CONS
Hard to source. Some fussier horses may find
native grass hays less palatable.
Native Grass Hay for Gut Health: No negatives.
Good levels of fibre to keep the hindgut
healthy and generally lower in fructans so it
won’t upset the healthy balance of microbes.
Until next time horsey people.
I hope you are having a happy horsey New
Year.
The Barn Cat
Silas Strachan
Qualified Master Farrier (Cert. IV Farriery - University of Qld) / Horse Trainer
Call: 0423 66 33 02
• HOT/COLD SHOEING • TRIMMING
• HORSE STARTING • TRAINING
Advertise in The Lockyer NOW - Call 0411 896 004
THE LOCKYER - Wednesday January 12, 2022 - Page 7