Hay Alternatives

Although regular baled hay is the mainstay of equine diets across North America, it’s sometimes more trouble than it’s worth. Heavy to stack, bulky to store, prone to vitamin breakdown, and — heaven forbid! — also spontaneous combustion, not t

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Although regular baled hay is the mainstay of equine diets across North America, it’s sometimes more trouble than it’s worth. Heavy to stack, bulky to store, prone to vitamin breakdown, and — heaven forbid! — also spontaneous combustion, not to mention dust and molds that can aggravate both human and equine respiratory allergies, hay is hardly a maximum-convenience feedstuff.


Fortunately, baled hay is not the only forage option available. Hay can also be pressed into cubes, chopped and processed into pellets, or fermented as silage or “haylage.” If your horse suffers from chronic respiratory problems (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also called “broken wind” or heaves), has dental troubles that make chewing hay difficult, or is very elderly, one of these alternative forms of forage might be just the ticket. Processed hay feeds also provide a useful answer if you have limited storage space, have the misfortune to live in an area where the hay crop fails due to drought or excessive rain, or just need a convenient form of fiber to feed while on the road. And if you’re worried about the quality of your hay, processed forages can provide a consistent, guaranteed level of nutrients–which can make ration balancing a good deal simpler.


Making Hay . . . Cubes


Hay cubes (sometimes called roughage chunks) and pellets simply are hay that has been chopped coarsely (or finely) and formed (with the addition of a binder) into scoopable, baggable pieces. They’re more convenient to move around than baled hay, and they have the advantage of a guaranteed nutritional content that is posted on the bag so you know exactly what you’re delivering in terms of vitamins and minerals. Hay cubes and pellets come in a variety of sizes and textures, from soft and crumbly to quite hard, and they can be all-alfalfa hay, all-grass hay, a mixture of the two, or even hay mixed with other products such as ground corn cobs

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Written by:

Karen Briggs is the author of six books, including the recently updated Understanding Equine Nutrition as well as Understanding The Pony, both published by Eclipse Press. She’s written a few thousand articles on subjects ranging from guttural pouch infections to how to compost your manure. She is also a Canadian certified riding coach, an equine nutritionist, and works in media relations for the harness racing industry. She lives with her band of off-the-track Thoroughbreds on a farm near Guelph, Ontario, and dabbles in eventing.

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