Introduction to Forages

foraging

• Horses will spend up to 16 hrs per day foraging

• This helps create saliva and decrease chances of gastrointestinal ulceration and unhealthy microbiome

• Choosing the proper forage for our horses will depend on their age, exercise level, BCS, and health

• When choosing the forage, we should check for muscle loss (topline), signs of digestive health issues, coat/skin/hoof problems, and overall attitude

Grasses Nutritional Value

• Horses should be grazing constantly throughout the day, which is better achieved using a grass forage. Legumes are highly palatable, which can cause horses to rapidly consume it, and then go long periods not foraging

• Grasses are lower in calories and protein than legumes, BUT have a higher fibre content

• Fresh grasses will always have higher vitamin content compared to dried hay

• This higher fibre content aids in gut fill, contributing to a safe and warm environment for "healthy" bacteria to live and produce essential vitamins

This all makes it a good source of forage for:

1. Easy keepers

2. Horses in stalls (better enrichment and prolonged consumption)

3. Overall gut health

Grasses – General Characteristics

• Grasses all have narrow leaves with parallel veins and small, inconspicuous flowers

• Their stems are usually round with visible bulges where the leaves attach (called nodes)

• They are hollow except for at the nodes

• Each grass will vary in the width of their blades, and whether their blades are sharp-tipped, rounded, or boat-shaped

• Simple sugars are highest in the bottom of the plant

Types of Grasses (List)

• Smooth Bromegrass

• Timothy

• Meadow Bromegrass

• Crested Wheatgrass

• Tall Fescue

• Orchard Grass

• Meadow Foxtail

• Creeping Red Fescue

• Kentucky Bluegrass

• Quack Grass

Types of Grasses – Timothy

Very common!

• The only grass with a bulb on the root (called a corn), where it stores food reserves

• Better suited in hay than as pasture

• A cool season perennial grass with rapid growth

• This means it doesn't do well in areas of excessive heat or drought-like conditions

Types of Grasses – Orchard Grass

Very common in hay or pasture mixes for all animals!

• Good pasture grass

• Soft leaves so is palatable

• Has multiple height growing points, allowing it to regrow faster after cutting or grazing

• Also a cool season bunch grass

Types of Grasses – Bromegrass

• Has large seeds, and is expensive to seed because it's not a good seed producer

• This makes it less common to find in horse pastures

• Its pubescent leaves have a fuzzy appearance

Types of Grasses – Meadow Foxtail

• May get confused with timothy depending on what stage of growth it is in

• The foxtail seed head may droop over, which can immediately confirm it's NOT timothy

• Tolerant of many soil types but prefers clay-based soils

• Known to invade pasture lands

• NOT toxic but can be troublesome; the seed heads contain barbs that can lead to mouth or eye ulcers; risk working their way through tissues and cause infections

Types of Legumes (List)

• Alfalfa

• White Clover (Wild, White Dutch, Ladino)

• Alsike Clover

• Red Clover

• Cicer Milkvetch

• Birdsfoot Trefoil

• Sainfoin

• Sweet Clover

Types of Legumes – Alfalfa

• Alfalfa types all have high protein and high yields

• Alfalfa is a drought-tolerant invader, because it has a deep root system

• Highest in protein just prior to the bloom, however when it matures, the leaves are still high in quality

• Alfalfa, as a whole plant, is less palatable than grass

Types of Legumes – Clover

Many different types!

• Alsike clover is NOT to be consumed by horses as it can cause photosensitization, liver problems, and vesicles to appear in the mouth

• Red clover is very succulent, therefore doesn't dry well = a poor hay choice

• White clover is palatable and high in protein. It can withstand close grazing, so is commonly found in overgrazed pastures

Alsike Clover – Identification

• Alsike Clover: No white "V" on the leaf

• Good clover (with white "V") vs. Bad clover (Alsike, no white "V")

Making Hay

• Hay is created by cutting grasses/legumes, crimping, raking/drying them, and then baling

• Each stage is very important to ensure the moisture content is low enough to be baled safely

• Standing, the moisture content is around 75% (Wright, 2004)

• Small square bales need to be dried to at least 15% or lower; if going into a round bale, it needs to be lower than 13%

• This is usually done by air drying, which takes roughly 3-5 days

• If not dried, the risk of accumulating dust is very high. Dust has three different sources:

  1. Leaf Shatter Dust - very leafy and dry hay

  2. Soil - dirt splashed onto the cut hay during a rainfall

  3. Molds - molds and fungi growing on hay while it's cut (i.e., high humidity) or after it's baled (heated in densely packed bales)

What If It Never Dries?! (Part 1)

• During a wet season, it's not uncommon for hay producers to look for an alternative option

• Haylage or preservative-treated hay can be given to horses, and used by producers during these unpredictable weather conditions

• Haylage involves cutting young, lush plants and only removing moisture to about 45%. They then eliminate O2 contact by placing it in a silo or plastic bag; this causes fermentation and pH to drop below 5

• This low pH prevents bacteria/fungi from growing until air enters the bag/container

• Baling it too dry (say 25%) causes incomplete fermentation and high pH levels, which increases the risk of bacteria and possibly deadly toxins (botulism)

• Treated hay involves using a commercially available product to inhibit mold. These can cause corrosion to equipment, and when offering either to horses, horses do prefer the dry hay over processed hay

Disadvantages of wheat not drying

There are still many unanswered questions about feeding these alternatives to horses, including:

• Long-term effects of acidic preservative on hay

• Increased risk of colic, especially if frozen haylage is used

• Increased risk of handling problems

  • Heavier

  • Require different bale spears

  • Less visibly "bad" appearance

• Highly suggest all horses are given a Botulism vaccine