Six Signs of Good-Quality Horse Hay

Use these six helpful tips when evaluating and choosing hay for your horse.
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Forage should make up 50 to 90% or more of a horse’s diet, and much of the forage part of the diet comes in the form of hay. Because it’s such a big part of the ration, good-quality hay can help keep a horse healthy, while poor-quality hay can be detrimental.

“As nutritionists and horse owners, we put a big emphasis on the quality of hay we feed,” says Gina M. Fresquez, technical specialist for Equine Technical Services at Purina Animal Nutrition.

“The most important factor determining hay quality is the stage of plant maturity at time of harvest,” she says. “Young, immature plants contain more nutrients than older, stemmier plants. Though after hay is harvested, the level of hay quality goes beyond the age of the plant at harvest as there are more factors to consider.”

When selecting your horse’s forage, Fresquez recommends keeping these six signs of good quality hay in mind:

  1. High leaf-to-stem ratio—Think about the leafy greens you eat. You likely prefer greens with leaves rather than just stems. The same is true for your horse.“Look for more flat leaves in the hay and fewer round stems; this indicates the plant was less mature when cut,” says Fresquez. “More leaves typically mean higher digestibility and nutrient content for your horse.”
  2. Small diameter stems—Stems smaller in diameter or finer are also indicators of higher quality. Small stems mean the plant was less mature when cut. To test stem size, Fresquez recommends grabbing a handful of hay and giving it a squeeze.“Good quality hay is soft and pliable, and feels good in your hand,” she says. “If it feels like you’re squeezing a handful of sticks, it is not a good choice of hay to feed your horse.”
  3. Few seed heads or blooms—No matter the species of plant, hay with little to no seed heads or blooms indicates a younger, early maturity plant, and thus a higher quality hay. For example, timothy should be cut in the pre-bloom or early-bloom stage when you see little to no seed heads, while alfalfa for horses should be cut at early to mid-bloom stage.
  4. Fresh smell and appearance—Avoid musty, moldy, or off-setting smelling hay, because it can reduce palatability and indicate poor quality.“On our farm, there’s nothing like haying season,” Fresquez she said. “We love the smell of fresh hay. The same is true for your horse. Good quality hay should have a fresh cut smell and appearance.”
  5. Cleanliness—Fresquez recommends looking for a clean forage with little to no dust. Even if most of the hay is high quality, hays containing dirt, mold, weeds, trash, or other foreign materials indicate poorer quality hay and could be unfit to feed to horses.
  6. Color—Good quality hay should be bright green in color with little fading. A bleached, yellow, brown, or black color can indicate aged hay, the presence of mold, or poor storage conditions.“Storage conditions and age have a significant effect on vitamin content of hays,” says Fresquez. “Many vitamins, such as vitamins A and E, are not stable over time and lose biological activity. After approximately six months, almost all vitamin A and E activity levels are lost.” Exposure to heat, sunlight, and rain will speed up this process.

When good quality hay for your horse is scarce or too costly, you might need to compensate for poorer quality hay. In some cases, increasing the amount of feed to provide calories and nutrients not provided by lesser quality hay could be adequate to meet your horse’s needs. However, in some situations it is most beneficial to replace most or all hay in the horse’s diet with a feed designed for that purpose. Complete feeds offer built-in forage for situations requiring a replacement for some or all hay in a horse’s diet.

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