Howdy Friends! What’s in your hay? Be sure to test your hay … In many cases the sugar and non-structured carbs are higher than we think … Your County Extension Officer will happily test it for you. Best horse hay will be no higher than 10% non-structured carbs, or sugar.
It seems today we are seeing way too many IR horses. Are there truly more, or are we just becoming more aware of what to look for? That’s a good question, but whatever the answer, we need to focus on how we might prevent and/or manage our horses.
Many of the forages were researched and developed for cows with calves at their sides. Most cool season grasses found in horse pastures and hayfields may be high in sugar. Recently, even the old standby Orchard grass is found often to be high in sugar. Timothy seems to be medium in its sugar content, but is hard to find in many areas. Alfalfa is not a good answer because it because it tends to be higher in digestible energies, calories and protein than grasses. More calories can create weight gain, and too much protein is not great for horses.
What can we do? Of course testing is very important, know your hay’s sugar content. Mowing hay early in the morning can help; sugar tends to be less then. Limit pasture. Overweight horses munching all day on pasture is not a good thing. Laminitis does not usually occur “overnight” rather it’s the result of cumulative build ups. If you find you’ve purchased a good supply of hay, then test and you discover high sugar, as I did, you have the choice of soaking for 20 or so minutes before feeding.
Horses are tough and carry on even if things are not as they should be and we go merrily along not realizing we are setting them up for problems. For peace of mind, “Don’t Guess, Test.” ~ Gitty Up, Dutch.
