Hello again. In this lesson, we'll discuss the different types of feed available and by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to identify several types of feed and discuss the various benefits and detriments of each. There are only two basic elements in a horse's diet: water and forage. Grains and supplements can be added to provide calories for performance and growth or to supply nutrients that the natural forage is lacking. We talked about water in a previous lesson. So now, we'll discuss forage and types of grains or concentrates. Forage provides long stem fiber, which is important for good motility through the digestive track and adequate energy from fermentation by the microbes in the hindgut. It also helps the horse be content for hours, providing them a natural activity. Forage can be provided as pasture, cured hay, commercially supplied high fiber cubes or pellets, green chop which is haylage, which is partially dried hay that is fermented and often wrapped in plastic, or silage which is fermented and not usually used for horses. A nutritional pasture has many possibilities of grass types depending on the local climate and season. Pasture maintenance, quality, quantity, and the stocking density that it will support is a science onto itself worthy of further exploration. Check in with your local cooperative extension to guide you on pasture selection. It's important to remember that pastures should be monitored for toxic plants. Horses will avoid most toxic plants if there is enough preferable forage and stocking density is not too high. As we discussed in an earlier lesson, you must pay attention making sure that fencing and shelter are appropriate and in good repair. Always be on the lookout for hazards and realize that toxic plants planted adjacent to pasture or fenced areas can become accessible to horses, should they escape or should the leaves of those plants blow in the wind into the enclosure. Some breeds of horses are prone to medical conditions associated with the overeating of pasture grass, so their access to grass may need to be limited. This is especially true during spring when grasses are growing at their peak and have high concentrations of sugar. Overeating rich grasses not only can cause obesity, but can also cause digestive upsets and serious health problems, most commonly laminitis, which is a painful and serious condition of the hoof. Some farms mow the fields to reduce the amount of pasture feed available to the horses. Consult with your veterinarian before you wean your horse onto pasture. Let's start with the basics. Hay. Hay is forage that has been grown in a field to its optimal nutritional maturity and then harvested, dried, and baled. Bales can come in different sizes, weights, and density depending on the type of forage and regional preferences for harvesting machinery. Some bales weigh as little as 40 pounds and are easy to handle. These bales are divided up and often fed out to individual horses several times a day in sections known as flakes. Most bales contain approximately 14-16 flakes. Some hay comes in very large round bales and is put out as a whole for a group of horses to feed on overtime. Hay types fall into three categories; legume hay, grass hay, or cereal hay. Legume hay includes plants such as alfalfa and clover. These tend to be high in protein and calcium. These are very dense bales of hay and they are not available in all regions. Legume type hay should never make up more than 50 percent of a horse's diet and consult with your veterinarian regarding the amount of legume appropriate for your horse. Grass hay is often a mixture of native or planted grasses such as Timothy, Bermuda, Orchard, and Rye. Grass hays are lower in protein and calcium, but can supply adequate nutrition if they are harvested properly at the peak stage of growth which provides the highest nutrients. It is often recommended that grass hay be tested if it be the sole source of nutrition for a horse and a ration balancer be added specific for grass hay that will meet the calcium and other micronutrient requirements of the horse. Cereal is the final category of hay and includes oat hay, which provides the long stem fiber of the stocks with some cereal grains still attached. Cereal hays also provide adequate protein depending on harvesting and handling and analysis of cereal hays is also recommended. As with grass hay, calcium may be low in the cereal hays and there may be more high fiber stem in some of the cereal hays. Costs and availability varies with region, so feeding cereal hays may not be an option where you live. Quality of hay varies widely, so it is important to know and trust your supplier and always keep a vigilant eye on the smell of the hay to avoid feeding dusty and moldy hay. Analysis of the hay for nutrient content is recommended. Sometimes, toxic plants are accidentally harvested, so it is important to know and identify toxic plants in your region. Cubes and pellets are made from hay that has been processed to chop and compress the long stem fiber. The result is a consistent, usually less dusty form of fiber. Most horses do like these products and tend to waste less. However, there are certain precautions to take when feeding these extremely firm products. Because the appearance of the hay is mashed in the pellet or the cube, sometimes lower quality hay is used to make these products. While these products will be easier to handle and take up less storage space than bales of hay, they also have some distinct disadvantages. As we said, the quality can be difficult to assess and the horses tend to eat faster and consume more. Horses may also bolt down the feed and end up with esophageal choke or resort to wood chewing from boredom and lack of digestive track fill. Finally, some of these products can be more expensive than baled hay. Most horses do not need concentrates in their diet. Concentrates may be gradually added to a horse's diet to increase the amount of calories they are consuming and can be important in maintaining weight in equine athletes who are putting out significant calories through training and in pregnant mares or mares who are lactating. Concentrates are lower fiber and higher energy than the forages. They have an acidic quality and can affect the pH level of the stomach in GI tract. This may cause digestive upsets by altering the microbial balance in the hindgut and care must be taken to feed smaller amounts of concentrates at regular times. There are many options for concentrates including whole grains such as oats, corn, and barley which may be steamed or rolled. Mixed grains are commercially available often coated with molasses and there are several varieties of formulated life stage mixes, such as for young stock or pregnancy or old age. Formulated feeds are also available for special needs like horses with allergies or horses who require a low carb diet. Some formulations are mixed with high fiber pellets to compensate for the lower fiber levels. Consult with your veterinarian regarding the addition of concentrate to your horse's diet. While there is a place for supplements in some horse's diets, this is a topic for careful consideration and conversation with your veterinarian to make sure the product fits the horse's needs. Some options for commonly used supplements include beet pulp, which is used as a source of additional fiber for energy and is high in calcium. Wheat bran increases the moisture content of manure when fed wet, but is very high in phosphorus and can throw off the calcium phosphorous ratio of the horse and should not be fed on a daily basis. Rice bran is another supplement which is high in fat and can add a significant number of calories to the diet without increasing the carbohydrate load. Selenium and vitamin E are often fed as a supplement or added to commercial grain mixes where regional soils are deficient, so the forage may also be deficient. These are needed for immune function and muscle and nervous system health. However, horses can suffer from selenium deficiency and selenium toxicity, so make sure and check your feeds to evaluate the total selenium content the horse is getting through multiple feeds. Vegetable oils, such as corn and soy, can provide non-carbohydrate energy derived from fat and may be added up to a cup per day and any introduction of vegetable oil should be done so gradually. Remember that vegetable oils can become rancid in the heat and should be discarded if they have a bad smell. Finally, other vitamin and minerals supplements can be found in feed stores and online from a variety of suppliers. Sometimes, they are used by horse owners without consulting their veterinarian. In general, vitamins and minerals should be used with care and you should select balanced formulations based on the specific needs of your horse and the diet that they are on after a conversation with a knowledgeable professional. A couple of notes of safe storage of feeds. Bulk hay should be stored in a separate building from the horse's stalls to avoid dust, mold, and a potential fire hazard. Hay that's needed for just a short time, for example, for a week, can be safely stored inside the barn near horse's stalls, but should not be kept overhead if possible due to the tendency for dust to constantly fall downward and affect the air quality of the horse. Hay needs to be dry to avoid the accumulation of mold. This means avoiding moisture contact coming from the ground, as well as humidity and rain. Ideally, hay should be stored on pallets to allow some circulation of air underneath the hay. Store grains and supplements in a secure space away from curious horses. A trash can with a bungee cord will not be enough. It is important that grains are actually stored in a shed or in a locked area that horses do not have access to. Grains should also be kept in a tight container to avoid rodent infestation. Coming up, we'll discuss the basic nutritional requirements for horses and how to be sure these are met. See you later.
