The Importance Of Good Quality Hay

Fibre, or rather forage, is a critical component of a horse’s diet and plays an important role in maintaining a healthy gut. We have previously discussed how a horse has evolved to become a “trickle feeder”, and highlighted their evolutionary requirement for grazing. For horses with limited, or restricted, access to pasture, good-quality hay is an essential element of the diet. During these periods, hay will likely provide up to 90% of the total nutrient intake. Yet how can we ensure we’ve selected (or made) a hay that is of suitable quality?

The best means of assessing hay quality combines visual and physical inspection with forage testing. Visual and physical inspection assesses the smell, feel and appearance of hay.

What to look for in your hay?

There is a somewhat romantic feeling attributed to the aroma of hay and it evokes memories of a happy childhood in the countryside. Smell is one of our keen senses and as such should not be overlooked when selecting hay for our horses. The smell of hay plays an important role with our equine friends in comparison to other species. Good quality hay has a fresh and slightly sweet smell. The presence of an acrid or musty scent typically indicates mould or additional impurities that could have a potentially harmful effect on our horse.

The feel, or texture, of hay is also important to assess. It is optimum to select a “soft” hay as this will generally be consumed in greater quantities than a “brittle” hay. Brittle hay tends to be less nutritious and some horses will have trouble eating it, which can reduce intake.

Visual inspection of hay should focus on the general appearance. It is possible to detect visual signs of mould and excessive dust. Mould typically indicates the presence of mycotoxins or spore-forming organisms which can result in poor performance and the potential for respiratory illness. Additionally, it is important to look for anything that may be of little or no feed value to the horse or could be hazardous, e.g. sticks, rocks, wire etc.

Nutrient values in your hay

Forage testing, or rather laboratory analysis, looks at the nutrient composition and value. This analysis will provide measurements, such as:

• Dry matter (DM) – represents everything in hay except water. Hay will typically have a DM% of 85-90%
• Crude protein – protein is a key nutrient for the horse. This is an indicator of the number of amino acids present.
• Fibre – Acid detergent fibre (ADF) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) are typically assessed when measuring fibre levels. NDF best represents the total fibre content and as such can give an indication of feed intake. ADF measurements provide an indication for the digestibility of a hay sample.
• Digestible energy – this is a predicted value based on protein and ADF in the hay.

By testing hay, we can determine if quality is of a sufficient standard and create a proper feeding programme for an individual horse. It is also possible to test a hay sample for the presence of fungi, mycotoxins and potentially disease carrying spores. Therefore, if there are no visual imperfections or malodours, a lab analysis may be able to identify the presence of these organisms.

Soaking Vs Steaming hay

It can be difficult to ensure top quality hay is either made or purchased. The practice of soaking hay is quite outdated and has been surpassed by hay steaming. The act of soaking hay may result in a reduction of energy, protein, amino acids or mineral levels. Steaming hay, on the other hand, does not have any effect on the nutritional value. Hay steamers are readily available on the market nowadays and improve the hygiene of an otherwise average hay sample. Steaming is a more practical and effective means of eliminating dust particles and spore-forming organisms. This is achieved through the maintenance of temperatures close to 100^oC for a period. For more information on our range of hay steamers go to NUVEQ.

It is important to note that there are no hard and fast rules for predicting the overall quality of hay. The steps we have discussed will help to ensure that a high quality hay is always offered.

Written by Dr Ian Rountree MVB.

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