What kind of hay do you feed?

[mini horse mania]

We have been using round bales of coastal bermuda for our 13 minis..this year so far,it has been mostly weeds.we rode by our "hay guy" & all I see are flowers and weeds in the field...being sprayed by hog waste.i would like to change hay.i feel the nitrates may be to high with the small amt of rain we have had & potentially harm my babies.the minis are zipping through a 600 pound bale in no time,and its not doing anything for them.they just eat...and eat...and poop 24/7. We are also feeding omolene 300,they still run for the feed...so it seems they are still hungry. I have added alfalfa cubes recently,and was wondering if anyone fed alfalfa...or alfalfa mix hay to their minis and how it works for you.most of ours are bred mares. We have very little pasture space,and I dont want to overdo alfalfa,but I heard it will fill them up and give more nutritional value than grass hay...suggestions?

 

[JAX]

I also feed coastal hay but I VERY rarely find even one piece of a weed in a bale. My pregnant mares, nursing mares, growing foals up to about two, and also anyone needing a little extra weight also get alfalfa hay. I give them a mix of about 50/50 coastal/alfalfa. I have not had any problems feeding it. Did not make the horses "hot" and helped get rid of hay bellys in the younger ones. If it wasnt so danged expensive i would feed it alone!!

 

[Marty]

The hay you are describing does not sound suitable for equine at all. The farmer neglected to kill the weeds in his field and of course the end result is nasty weed infested hay.I would not be feeding it. Most round bales around these parts are not made for horses either. It is very rare for me to find round bales that are adequate. Sometimes I get lucky and do hit on some clean stuff, but that takes a lot of shopping.

I've been feeding orchard grass square bales for many years which is my hay of choice. Alfalfa is also good food and I do keep some back for when the need arises. I have often mixed it in with my orchard grass for pregnant mares. Good luck to you!

 

[chandab]

I live no where near you, so the hays I can get, aren't likely to be available in your area.

I mostly feed Crested Wheatgrass and/or Brome grass hay, with limited alfalfa (some bales have it, some don't). I've also fed Bluejoint grass hay, horses weren't thrilled with it. There is also a couple other grasses in our homegrown hay, a little of Slender Wheatgrass, Pubescent wheatgrass, and a couple others I can't think of. When I lived in CO, I fed mountain meadow timothy and the horses loved it.

 

[mini horse mania]

Thanks all.! I am thinking alfalfa and bermuda for ours. The square bales of bermuda seem to be so much better quality than round.we actually purchased timothy/ alfalfa bagged chopped hay today at tractor supply to try it..they ate it well,but at $15 per 40 pound us costs major $$$. We have access to alfalfa,orchardgrass,timothy,bermuda,and fescue around here,ranging $4/$12 per bale.i just want to feed something that has a nutritional value and not just a filler. Lately the round hay has been all weeds,i havent heard of anyone sowing actual seed,and they grow it past maturity to get more .bales,our goats are even leaving most of it as it looks like straw.

 

[Miniv]

We prefer to feed locally grown orchard grass, but this year it's been hard to find because the growers ship it out of area for more profit. This winter we had to settle for a pasture/rye grass mix that we were not happy with, so we began adding alfalfa pellets to their diets. The pellets are 1/4 inch size and the horses have no problems with it.

 

[Jean A]

I think I posted my opinion of NC round bales before..most of it is really for cattle, weeds and straw..fine for the cows but not what anyone would prefer for equine of any sort. The older hay suppliers knew what they were doing, but now they are in a rush and don't spray the fields, just roll 'em up and sell. Ever since the droughts and floods, the higs prices sent folks selling bales out of state and things went downhill. I used to be able to have my fields square baled for 75 cents, each, I'd keep what I needed and let the baler have the rest. Good for everyone.No one does that any longer.

My minis were fed only from large round bales when we got them, and are happy with whatever they are given (they were a little too happy, but have calmed down). We were really concerned about their milk as the rounds were certainly some sort of fescue/weed mix.

I have found some nice fescue/orchard blend bales for winter and nibbling, and honestly for the certainty of quality, the bagged timothy or timothy/alfalfa cubes at TSC are pretty handy. Nice not having to store and transport, though I find the soaking a bit of a pain some days (I worry that someone filling in for me won't wait long enough and will feed them too soon and they'll choke). Moms and babies get Purina 300 too. Local TSC has coastal hay they sell in place of straw...it's soft, but my guys won't eat it and I have no idea why. I can't imagine $7.50 for "straw"..or why, makes no sense, or why they won't touch it..unless they heard the TSC lady say straw??? lol

 

[Jill]

We feed leafy, soft hay. I think coarse hays can cause colic and other issues for miniatures. The type we feed is either orchard grass, or orchard with some timothy.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

Alfalfa provides extra energy and fat. If I have a horse that needed the extra calories I would for sure give the alfalfa or at least an alfalfa mix. I've also given an alfalfa mix to broodmares before and probably would continue to do so. Otherwise my horses get really good orchard grass. Sounds like your hay has little no nutrient value in it so wouldn't even pay for it. Also I recommend if not already to keep free choice minerals for them, it may also occupy them, my horses love the moorman's pro-vita-mineral tub.

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

Time to get a new hay man. We feed fertilized coastal, mostly from our own fields if possible, and buy off a lady who hays her yard! It's GORGEOUS for coastal. We just got 122 bales from our field on Thurs and it looks super. We do tend to find square bales are a much better quality than rounders.

I do feed alfalfa to the young/ill.

 

[mini horse mania]

Is it bad to feed straight alfalfa? I have heard pros and cons...

 

[Shari]

Orchard grass hay... as everyone are easy keepers. The source I buy from, has nice soft, leafy hay.

With an only Alfalfa diet, your horse can end up with what is called, Horse pearls. Saw that a lot when DH was stationed in San Diego for 3 years. Where I was, people really could only get alfalfa hay.

Too course grass hay with the mini's, tends to cause problems too.

 

[jandjmc]

For years, most farmers in New Mexico only grew alfalfa, because of the demand and being able to get 4 cuttings. In the last 10 years, grass hays are becoming more popular. I have always fed some alfalfa to my minis. It reduces ulcers due to a buffering effect, provides protein and has a very mild laxative effect, so IMO may help with sand colic. Plus the horses absolutely love it. I prefer 2nd cutting as the first cut can be very high in protein. I don't feed just alfalfa-I use 1/3 alfalfa to 2/3's grass. I've been using nice soft bermuda, dovey fescue and orchard/brome. I adjust the alfalfa if a horse needs to gain/lose weight. The downside of alfalfa are that it is high in calories, so for a mini to get as much "mouth" stimulation as they need, they would gain weight. I would never feed it free choice!

 

[mini horse mania]

I am feeding the alfalfa cubes from tractor supply right now,and in search of good grass square bales.most of my minis are in the chubby side,so ill probably keep with the cubes with the grass hay. Im going to leave the round hay alone as its just weeds. Has anyone used the chopped hay in bags?

 

[Genie]

The hay crops here are a timothy,alfalfa mix.

We use first cut, which catches the timothy with the seed tops still there. If we go second cut the timothy is not as good.

It's worked well for us in the 21 years we have had little horses.

 

[little lady]

Alfalfa, have always fed it and both the big horses and miniatures have done well with it. It is what is primarily grown around here. Occasionally sometimes farmers will grow timothy or clover and some will bale fescue and advertise it as great horse hay and I just cringe.

 

[Shari]

I am feeding the alfalfa cubes from tractor supply right now,and in search of good grass square bales.most of my minis are in the chubby side,so ill probably keep with the cubes with the grass hay. Im going to leave the round hay alone as its just weeds. Has anyone used the chopped hay in bags?

Yes, I am also using, Triple Crown Safe forage. (bagged timothy hay)

Originally started using it to tide the horse's over until I could find a good source of grass hay. Is really nice quality stuff.

 

[Bess Kelly]

I read in your post that you have mostly bred mares. PLEASE be careful if you use fescue. Many, many issues with that and they are more intense for minis. Been there, done that! If you DO use fescue please be sure that you know about and be prepared with domperidone..........for bringing in milk. Of course, many will not deliver live, often loosing them at 60 dys before due.

In '95 I lost 13 foals, 2 had to be removed in pieces, 2 more mares had to have C-sections in 1 week AND rebreeding is a problem as they do not hold the pregnancies -- bred, ultrasounded at 30 days and at 60 days gone. Studies have shown the little ones have more problems than full sized.

 

[Riverrose28]

That fescue tip is a good! We feed orchard grass, some timothy and clover, and when we can get it alfalfa. When I can't get baled alfalfa I'll buy it at TSC. It is good for my old 30 yr old guy that had bad teeth, my dwarf that also has bad teeth, and the ones that are a little off that happens every once in a while. I try to keep some on hand as you never know when one of them will have a sour tummy. I also use it as a reward when they come into the stalls. WE also take it the shows to use as bait.

 

[mini horse mania]

I have totally avoided fescue although it is readily available due to that reasin..i have found some good bermuda an hour away.i am planning on stocking up about 20 bales , not to mention Doctors orders for me to be on bedrest, I have to cut back on my minis also,so I guess I will have to use round hay to cut back on work for my husband.i love square,but with all the critters..it is impossible for him to have time to portion everyone.i am going to supplement with the alfalfa cubes or pellets in their feed also..