Hay varieties

[Green Bean]

Just wondering what hay varieties you feed your horses. I am aware of meadow grass hay, then varieties contained in haylage, but wonder what other varities there are out there. Just having an issue with palatibility so trying to find that golden variety that is yummy and doesn't blow a horse's brain

 

[Surbie]

You can get timothy hay. I feed timothy haylage alongside what we have through the yard. That is supposed to be meadow hay, but it has a large proportion of rye in it.

 

[marmalade76]

My husband makes hay in various places locally (fields belonging to relatives and friends/business associates), this varies from old meadow pasture (produces soft, sweet smelling hay full of old grasses and various plants) to pasture that in the past was improved for grazing cattle so it makes a bit more like seed hay. He has grown seed hay on and off as well.

I like to give my horses a variety of hay, when they're in in the winter I usually have at least three different types on the go. I think they like a variety and the variation in coarseness (they like a nibble of straw too). I sometimes top up with haylege as well depending on our grass situation.

They always have a favourite type, usually seed hay (it doesn't matter if this is over a year old and totally lacking in any nice smell, they'll still scoff that first). The advantage in having a mixture of hay types that they love and others they're not so fussed about is that it lasts them longer through the night, they'll scoff their favourite types quickly first then take their time on the types they're not so greedy for.

 

[Burnttoast]

Meadow hay is called that because it comes from a meadow (permanent grassland) - it doesn't denote a particular species of grass (although there are species called meadow-grasses). It will have a mix of different grass species in it and it it hasn't been sprayed with selective herbicides it will also have various herbs.

Single-variety hay (timothy hay, rye-grass hay) is usually made from a temporary ley containing one species and may be sprayed to remove 'weeds' (non-grass plants)

Modern grass varieties (those used in single-species leys) can be very high in sugars, so are usually very palatable, but the amount of energy also depends on things like the time of year and day the hay was cut (even down to whether the hay was cut on a cloudy day).

 

[cauda equina]

I've seen cocksfoot hay advertised too, though never seen or fed it
I guess it's pretty coarse and low in energy

 

[SEL]

I bought a bale of Timothy haylage when I was having loading problems & all of mine thought it was delicious. They would snuffle through their meadow hay to find bits of it