Selecting Winter Hay

It’s now September and even though we’ll probably still have some warm (or even hot) days, winter is not that far away.  With winter, comes the need to feed horses hay since the summer pastures will be a thing of the past.  Now is certainly the time to start getting your winter hay supply secured if you have not done so already.  But, what do you need to look for when buying hay for your horses. 

Visual Analysis:  This is simply looking at the hay.  This can tell you a lot about the hay but cannot give you the true nutritive value of the hay.  

•  Color: Dark green usually indicates high vitamin and protein content while browning of  hay many indicate loss of nutrients.  However, color alone is a relatively poor measure of quality.
• Aroma: If there is a musty or moldy smell, that could indicate the hay was not cured or stored properly.  Mold typically appears as grayish-white dust – don’t confuse this with just plain dust – or as a flaky substance in tightly packed sections of the bale.
•  Foreign Material: Anything in the bale that is not the forage you’re wanting to purchase is considered foreign material.  This can change the nutritive value and some things can be      dangerous.  Look for weeds, insects and trash.
• Texture: Stem size and flexibility will indicate how palatable the hay is to the animals.  Small, flexible stems are desired.

Chemical Analysis:  This is the only true indicator of the nutritional value of the hay.  Your Extension office can help you take a hay sample to have the analysis done. 

For additional information about buying hay, please take a look at these publications:

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AnimalSciences/pubs/id146.pdf

http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/forages/publications/id-190.htm

http://onslow.ces.ncsu.edu/files/library/67/%20Selecting%20and%20Testing%20Forages%20On-Line.pdf