Winter Hay Supply

The green summer pastures are slowly turning brown letting us know it will soon be winter. Good quality hay is an important part of a horse’s winter diet. Knowing how to select good quality hay, how to calculate the amount of hay needed, and how to properly store hay will ensure your horses will have hay throughout the winter.

Selecting Good Quality Hay

Visual and chemical analysis are two tools that can be used when selecting hay. Visual analysis includes the color, odor, texture, leafiness, and presence of foreign material. Generally the greener the hay the better, indicating a high vitamin and protein content. Generally as hay browns there is a loss of nutrients, but don’t choose hay on color alone. Bleaching from the sun can cause the outside of the bale to brown while the inside of the bale is still green. The odor of hay can uncover the presence of mold, usually caused by improper curing or storage. Mold typically appears as a grayish-white dust and can become flaky in tightly packed sections of the bale. Hay texture and leaf to stem ratio can be indicators of the nutritional value and quality of hay which is affected by the maturity of the grass when it was cut and baled. Immature hay is more easily digested by horses because as grass matures, the nutritional content begins to decrease. As grass matures stems become tougher and thicker and the leaf to stem ratio decreases. Hay texture is an important factor in palatability because horses prefer small, flexible stems as opposed to tough, thick stems. Leaves contain more digestible carbohydrates than stems, therefore the more leaves that are present the better. Foreign material is anything in the bale that is not the forage you intend to purchase. Look for weeds, insects, mold, and trash.

A chemical analysis can also be done. This is the only true indicator of the nutritional quality of the hay. It is recommended that all hay be tested before feeding to ensure that the hay is safe and providing adequate nutrients. Many of those who sell hay will have it tested, so you can ask to see the analysis results. Your local Extension agent can help you take a hay sample and get that sample tested.

Calculating the Amount of Hay Needed

Horses will eat 1.5-2.5% of their body weight everyday in dry matter. You can figure out how much your horse will eat using the following equation. Ask your hay supplier for approximate bale weights.

Horse weight (lb) x (percent daily intake of dry matter ÷ 100) = lb eaten/day Lb eaten/day x 365 days/yr = lb/year Bales/year = lb/year ÷ lb/bale tons/year = lb/year ÷ 2,000 lb/ton Example: A horse weighs 1,100 pounds and has a daily intake of 2%. Note the difference in bale weight plays in the total number of bales needed when the average bale weight is 35 pounds vs. 50 pounds. 1,100 lb x (2% ÷ 100) = 22 lb hay/day 22 lb/day x 365 days/year = 8,030 lb/year Bales per year: 8030 lb/year ÷ 35 lb/bale = 230 bales/year                                                             8030 lb/year ÷ 50 lb/bale = 160 bales/year Tons/year: 8030 lb/yr ÷ 2000lb/ton = 4 tons/year

Hay Storage

Knowing how hay was stored prior to purchase and how it will be stored after purchase is key to making sure there is minimal loss. Hay left out in the elements is likely to lose nutritional value and become moldy. The best way to store hay is in a covered building and elevated up off the dirt. But any type of storage is better than leaving the hay directly on the dirt exposed to the weather.