Forage is a major part of any ruminant or hind-gut fermenter’s diet. Just because the hay you just bought looks green and smells great does not mean that it is truly meeting your horse’s nutritional needs. But how do we know if the hay that we’re feeding is packed with nutrition that is benefiting our horses? We sample it of course!
If you are not sure how to go about taking a forage or hay sample, you can reach out to your county livestock agent. They will be happy to help assist in taking a sample and also in helping read the forage analysis after the sample has been tested.
For square bale sampling, you will need to cut open the bale and grab handfuls of hay from random places throughout the whole bale. The samples you pull will go into a gallon sized Ziplock bag, and you will need to fill and pack it tight. Once the bag is full, place a piece of paper in the bag with name/farm name, phone number, email, and address. This is just in case the hay sample and sample form get separated.
To sample a round bale, we need to again fill a gallon size Ziplock bag. This time we will be using a hay probe to get samples deep within the round bale. These samples will still be random and taken from all around and inside the bale. Once the bag is full, your contact information needs to be placed inside the bag.
Now that we have our sample, what are we sampling for? Some nutrients that we look at when the hay analysis comes back are Crude Protein, Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), and DE (Digestive Energy), if the lab runs that test.Crude protein is based on the nitrogen (N) content in the forage. CP ranges form 4%-20%. The reasons for the wide range are forage types, maturity at cutting, and fertilizer applications. An adult horse at maintenance needs roughly 10% CP.Next, we look at acid detergent fiber (ADF). ADF is the estimation of the component of the feedstuff that is not digestible. Grains have a lower ADF compared to forages, which have a higher ADF of around 40%. The higher the ADF, the more indigestible the feedstuff.Another component we look at on the forage analysis is neutral detergent fiber (NDF). NDF consists of the digestible fibers like cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. As NDF percentage increases, intake decreases. In other words, a forage with a high NDF can be fed in smaller amounts. NDF percentages in most forages range from 50%-80%.Finally, we look at digestible energy (DE). DE is the caloric value assigned to the forage. The DE content of the hay helps us calculate how much hay the horse needs per day and if supplemental energies (grain or mix concentrates) are required in order to meet daily DE requirements. An average quality hay DE is around 0.9 Mcal/lbs. The higher the DE the less potential need for other sources of energy. When considering DE also think about the horse’s activity level. A lower DE forage is useful for feeding a mature idle horse.
Below are a few labs that you can send forage samples off to for analysis.Equi-Analytical: https://equi-analytical.com/
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