Different Hays?

Barbara F · Grand Prix

Different Hays?

Jackie Cochran · Advanced

Gee, I was hoping someone else would comment!

I can't remember why 2nd cutting hay was considered better, but in the books I read 30-40 yrs ago all the experts seemed to think 2nd cut hay was better. They also thought that "aged" hay was better, anywhere from 3 months to a year after cutting. Since I did not have much hay storage my horses survived fine on whatever horse quality hay I could find, any cutting and usually not aged at all.

The Timothy seed head looks different from say fescue, fuzzier, more like a bottle brush. I am not very familiar with anything else but fescue and probably could not tell other grass hays apart to save my life. Alfalfa should have leaves, like clover hay, green in color and fragrant.

My horses' three favorite hays were:

A mostly clover/fescue mix. This was their favorite of all time. One particularly fragrant batch they would leave their grain buckets immediately and rush to the hay.

Lespedeza (sp?) hay. A legume, stemmier than alfalfa or clover, but they cleaned this hay up with gusto. Unfortunately few people grow it anymore.

Alfalfa. I did not feed much, but each spring I tried to get a new bale and I would feed it out a pound or two at a time for each horse, no more. They were always looking for more.

We had to keep an eagle eye out for mold with all these legume hays.

They mostly got fescue because that is what grows the best down here.

Marlene · Advanced

I can't claim to know a lot about hay, but I know a little. I think the reason horse people prefer 2nd cut has to do with more sugars and more weeds in the first cut which some horses perhaps are sensitive to (or at least their owners are). The difference between grass hay and alfalfa is grass hay is usually not so rich, alfalfa can be very high in protein. This is really just a matter of degree, as grassy hay with lots of long green leafy blades can be a decent source of protein, and alfalfa cut after the bloom would not be as rich as before. A few horses get pretty fizzy or fat on alfalfa, like my arab. But for an older horse, maybe a harder keeper some extra alfalfa can help keep up their condition, but you still need some grass I think to provide enough fibre.

As to the appearance, I've seen so called grassy hay which looks more like straw with not much green leafy blades. Alfalfa will have tiny leaves which will often fall away from the stem as you open the bale. So I feed it into a container and dampen it down a bit to reduce dust. You have to be careful as Jackie mentioned you don't want it sitting around long damp as it will mold easily. But most horses eat it up like candy so that's not usually a problem. I feed it to an elderly mare I look after who needs higher quality feed to pork up for winter. In winter actually grassy hay is a better heater than just alfalfa for many horses, without making them "hot" , if that makes sense. Also horses will need to drink more and will pee more if getting a high percentage of alfalfa. This can be a bit of a problem in a barn kept horse.

I don't know if this answers your questions.

One thing about older vs newer made hay, most nutrients are maintained over time but the Vitamin A content of most any hay drops pretty quickly after a few months so if you were using year old hay, you would need to supplement vit A or combine with fresh pasture etc. i think the vitamin c would drop over time as well. Once a hay has been properly dried and put up, it doesn't really improve with age beyond that, but if it has been at all damp it can certainly seriously deteriorate. But I suppose if a farmer was trying to move last year's hay so he could put up this year's hay, he might be tempted to claim the "more mature" hay was better. The only way it could be better was if he had cut it at a point where it was leafier and better quality to start with, or it got less rained on. At any rate, as long as it was well dried and kept, horses don't necessarily need super high nutrient hay unless it's a mare foaling or nursing a foal.

-- Edited by Marlene on Thursday 23rd of June 2011 08:02:55 AM

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

Clean hay is the best hay biggrin

The main difference between grass hay and a legume is the digestability -- legumes tend to be higher in digestable energy and nutrients, and because they tend to grow more like a plant they tend to be a bit higher in crude protein and calcium. This is a great option for pregnant and lactating mares, but sometimes can be too much on the system of a mature horse who is doing limited work do to their lower protein needs.

How the texture of either hay is will depend on when it was cut. If it is cut before it goes to seed (grass) and bloom (legume) it tends to be finer/softer and also higher in overall patalbility and nutrients.

1st cut tends to be a "dirty" or "garbage" cut, because it takes along any derbis in the field from the winter and also the weeds in the field.

2nd cut tends to be derbis free, with minimal weeds and the nutrient level is still quite high. The 2nd and 3rd cut also tend to have a higher moisture content, take more raking to dry and are the most likely to catch fire while curing.

3rd cut tends to naturally be a coarser cut as the stems are thicker due to trying to retain the moisture from the ground (often times this is a late season cut and the fields can be pretty dry).

I in no way grow hay, this is just stuff I've picked up along the way. My best advice is to core test any hay that you plan to buy in bulk so you have a good idea of what your horse will be getting as a baseline to his diet.

Queenrider · Advanced

Hay contains different mixtures of legumes (alfalfa, clover) and grasses (brome, timothy). good website below with more details:
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/horses/facts/info_hay.htm

Geoffrey Pannell · Well Schooled

Niki has pretty well nailed the 1st cut 2cut difference. Meadow hay(grasshay) is cut from the pasture so it has a variaty of different plants in it. Clover , Rye, Phalaris, Cox's foot, to name a few. It gives the horse a good range of feed to pick through, and is a good filling hay that ( depending on the amount of Clover) wont heat up a horse.