hay based diet

Question
I have a boarding stable of about 20 horses ages 3 to 28.  they are all pleasure type or not riding.  I would like to know what we would have to add if we pt them on a free choice grass timothy hay diet and if it would be benifical to add some thing as beet pulp or alfafa pellets also.

Answer
Hi Tammy,

Thank you for your question and I'm so happy that you're intent is a hay based diet.  Horses are really designed to be forage digesters and really do best on forage based rations.  Timothy makes nice safe hay for horses, although it can sometimes fall short of the nutrients horses require.  The only way to really know what is missing from the diet is to sample the hay.  By pairing a hay analysis with your horse's requirements, you can easily determine what grain (if any) you need to feed. When you find out what nutrients (if any) your hay is short of, then you select supplements accordingly.  Extra energy can be provided from beet pulp, digestible fiber supplements or fats, protein from a variety of sources and mineral and vitamins from mineral/vitamins mixes.

Not many horse owners sample hay but in my opinion is should be the basis of any feeding program.  A hay analysis doesn't cost much more than a bag of grain and let me assure you, it pays for itself in no time at all.  Your local feed dealer can help you arrange a hay test as can your local agricultural extension office.  No hay, regardless of the type, tests the same every year.  The nutrients your hay contains depends almost entirely on what this year's growing season was like and when you harvested your hay.  A field that gave you nutrient rich hay last year may not do the same this year.  On the up side, a growing season will produce consistent forage quality in an area so if you buy hay its safe to say that hay bought from different local sources will have similar tests in the same year provided they were cut around the same time.  Once you have your hay tested, I would be happy to run a quick ration for you to see if you need to supplement with any other feeds.  As a rule of thumb, an inactive adult horse (not breeding, in foal or nursing) will meet most of its nutrient requirements from hay that tests around 10-12% CP, 30-35% ADF, 0.65% calcium and 0.35% phosphorous.  Of course a horse needs more than just those nutrients but generally speaking a forage has the other necessary nutrients if it has reached the nutrient levels listed. But again, testing your forage and calculating a ration is the best way to be sure.  Let me know if you need help with that.

Thanks, Corlena