hay, grass hay, legume

Question
hello, what is the difference between hay and grass hay? what is a legume in simple terms?

Answer
Hello Caine,

Thank you for your question.  Hay is forage which has been cut, dried and preserved as either hay stacks, hay cubes, or round, large square or small square bales.  Hay is composed of whatever forage has been cut...so you can have grass hay, legume hay or mixed hay.  Grass plants are generally made up of a long stalk and a single long blade (or few long blade) leaves.  Legumes are shorter stalks and are multi-foliate...meaning they have a large number of (smaller) leaves.  Common legumes used in feeding horses are alfalfa, clover and trefoil.  Because the leaf of the plant contains most of the plant's nutrients, legumes tend to make more nutrient dense feed for horses.

I hope that helps.

Thanks, Corlena