Grass for Horse Grazing

Feeding your horse with high-quality grasses at regular intervals of time daily along with feeding healthy fodder constantly can eradicate many health problems. You can also ensure, in this way that your horse has all the energy it needs to execute the work you demand of him. It is necessary to completely understand which grass type is the best for your pet horse.  

Grass Hay

The standard feed for horses today is grass hay. You have to store enough hay to be fed to your horse in the months of winter. Store the quantity of grass according to the number of horses you have to feed. By feeding hay, you can preserve the limited pasture supply in the months of summer. Grass hay costs less than pellets and it depends on the place where you live.

To keep your horse healthy, you need to provide good grass hay or pasture to your horse. Varieties of hay are available in plenty to be fed to your horse. These varieties include alfalfa which is the highest in protein, rye hay, timothy hay, oat hay, bermudagrass hay, and coastal hay.

It is difficult to find good grass hay. Thus, it is necessary to identify good-quality grass hay. For this, you have to consider a few points. See that the grass hay is leafy, not overly dry, and is fine stemmed. A maximum of the nutrition is contained in the leaves. The hay inside the bale should have a bright green color.

Its bright green color signifies that the hay is rich in vitamins and proteins. Avoid feeding your horse excessively with it as it will make your horse sick. It is wise to purchase an alfalfa grass mix. Good hay should be dust free and should also be free from mold and weeds. The grass hay should not smell musty or moldy. There should be no excess moisture as it causes overheating or spoilage.

Hay is available at your local feed store or with a local hay grower. You can purchase it by the bale from any of these two. Local feed stores sell a bit of expensive hay and the quality of the hay may not be up to the mark. Avoid feeding your horses with stale hay. Feed them with the hay only of the current year. Store the hay in a dry and cool area. This area should be completely free from moisture. It will help in keeping grass hay free from mold. Feeding moldy hay to your horse can make your horse sick and colic.

Forage Grass

Forage which is also known as roughage; should form a major part of the diet of your horse. Roughage is the chief source of nutrition and calorie for your horse. For gut motility, it is very important. Gut motility is to keep your horses in healthy condition and moving. Forages comprise grass hay like Timothy and Bermuda, prairie grass-legume hay (clover and alfalfa); pasture grass, and forages that are more modern such as beet pulp.

Free-choice grass or pasture hay is the perfect way to feed your horse. By having constant access to hay, your horse gets a chance to graze or mimic grazing.  Some legume hays like alfalfa lack nutritional balance, thus, often cause problems if fed free choice. Feed your horses with fresh hay thrice or more every day. Nutritive horse diet includes grass hay, bahiagrass, tall fescue grass, ryegrass, Bermuda grass, and forage grass. Be careful about the selection and quality of grass every time you go to buy some.

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