Comments on: All About Hay

By: Cristy Vandenhende

Cristy Vandenhende — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 22:44:15 +0000

I have been feeding my QH, Friesian and Arabian grass/alfalfa hay (twice a day) for 10 years. I also have been giving them Safe Choice Original about 3 times a week for 10 years too. I don’t measure it, but it is approximately 2-4 pounds a few times a week.I give them the Safe Choice in between their hay feedings, in order to break up the meals into 3 instead of 2. They also get mineral and salt blocks with an occasional hot wheat-bran-mash. Also carrots and apples …one or two a couple times a week. They have never been sick, and their coat and hoofs are very healthy. I have had people tell me their coats and hooves are exceptionally nice. So I must be doing something right! The Friesian was a baby when I got her and I fed her the same as the other 2, with the exception of giving her Grow Colt vitamins for the first 2 years. She grew fast, but not too fast.

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Thu, 27 Aug 2015 14:00:34 +0000

I try to give the horses I have a good mix of hay, and not only just one type. I know how important quality protein is for horses. I love my horses and want them to be as healthy as possible. Feeding them the best food is only one small thing I can do.
http://midwayforage.com/

By: PKL

PKL — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 05:09:52 +0000

Lots of information in this article to keep in mind. But, testing cost for the average horse own, will bring the cost of hay up, so they do not do it.

By: t

Tue, 11 Aug 2015 12:02:59 +0000

By: Kristi

Kristi — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 18:56:26 +0000

Is the ratio of calcium and phosphorus usually inverted in Orchard Grass hay?

By: Teri

Teri — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 05:59:47 +0000

Frankly, I was a little disappointed with this article which covered nutritional basics that can be easily found on the Internet. I had hoped to learn something more in depth regarding the strategic feeding of different hays, and how to use them appropriately during seasonal changes as well as utilizing hay to avoid health issues like ulcers, founder, laminitis, insulin resistance, etc. This is how hay has been used in the past and as we have moved horse care to a more western medicine based health model, we have lost this vital knowledge. This article sounded like it might touch on this subject but was more of the same “feed supplements” marketing we have been getting for the past 30 years.
What horse owners need is knowledge and information to support our horse’s total health based on a more natural feed/forage profile. Like horses should not be fed soy or wheat because they have difficulty digesting them. (Note that soy has found it’s way into almost every feed.) Fat also plays a role in equine health and should be mentioned in any basic nutritional article. Quality supplements can turn a horse around health wise but without the knowledge of what the different hay and feeds are doing based on season, age of the horse, activity level, & emotional health, all horse owners are basically doing is taking shots in the dark & hoping for the best.

By: Gen

Gen — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 05:15:37 +0000

Including perennial peanut hay (not peanut hay from peanut vines) would have been very beneficial! Here’s some education on it for future articles. It’s a GREAT legume hay, roughly equal to alfalfa in nutrients.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/m/#publication?id=AN234

By: Colleen

Colleen — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 08:35:19 +0000

Good Article & Info.
I’ve purchased hay from SpeedyHay.com they do testing on the hay brought out. I’ve never seen anyone else do that before, so I thought that was very awesome.

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 05:48:49 +0000

I liked the article. Good to know information. I also use SpeedyHay http://www.speedyhay.com/HayDeliveriesStep1.aspx

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 05:46:33 +0000

Good information.
I use http://www.SpeedHay.com