Beware of beetles in Alfalfa Hay for horses! Most horse owners make a visual scan of the hay they feed their horses. Always be on the lookout for mold, wafting dust, unusual plants, and even unidentifiable debris. If feeding alfalfa (lucerne), horse owners should be aware of another potential danger: blister beetles.

Blister beetles produce a chemical called cantharidin, a toxin they use as a defense mechanism against predators.

“Horses have an intense reaction to cantharidin, often causing harsh blistering when it comes in contact with sensitive tissues such as those of the gastrointestinal tract, including the mouth,” explained Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a nutritionist with Kentucky Equine Research (KER). “Based on observations by veterinarians, the intensity of the reaction depends on the amount of cantharidin in every mouthful—the more swallowed, the more severe the reaction.”

Signs associated with cantharidin toxicity, or blister beetle poisoning, include irritation of the oral cavity, including the tongue and mucous membranes, colic, and frequent urination. Cantharidin overload can cause death.

Responsible hay producers, like J&J Hay Farms, understand the dangers of blister beetles and implement procedures to avoid problems.

Prevention:

Firstly, inspecting alfalfa fields for swarms before harvesting. Secondly, timing harvest intervals to steer clear of blooming stages of the plant. Flowers attract beetles.. Lastly, avoiding crushing of hay during harvesting. It pulverizes beetles and releases cantharidin, a stable toxin that stays active even after beetles die.

Often, alfalfa hay is transported long distances. In the case of the United States, sometimes coast to coast. Blister beetles might not be indigenous to the part of the country where horse owners live. However, the hay may nevertheless be contaminated.

“The onus of hay quality ultimately lies with the horse owner, so taking the time to examine hay prior to feeding is prudent,” Whitehouse said. Horse owners may be unable to dodge trouble during the purchase of hay, no matter how selective they are, as beetles like to swarm and often cannot be seen on the outside of bales. This makes inspection prior to feeding essential.

In conclusion, beware of beetles in Alfalfa Hay for horses!

Source: Kentucky Equine Research

Need guidance figuring out how much when buying hay for horses? Fun with math! Sharpen your pencil, and grab a notepad. What is this, retro math? Let me rephrase: grab your cellphone, hit the utilities icon, employ the calculator function.

Here’s the puzzle: if you own two horses, both about 1,100 lb (500 kg) and both eating about 1.5% of their body weight of hay each day, how much hay will you need for 200 days of winter?

Go!

Based on these figures, you’d need about 6,600 lb (3,000 kg) of hay to get from one end of winter to the other. If the average square bale from your supplier weighs 50 lb (22 kg), that works out to a minimum of 132 bales.

Tips for Hay Buyers

Provided a horse owner has access to enough hay storage space, it is sometimes more economical to purchase an entire winter supply of hay at one time. Hay producers will often sell hay less expensively when large orders are placed.

Not enough room in the loft? Some hay producers will allow you to keep the hay stored on their property. Normally so long as it is already purchased. These arrangements allow horse owners to pick up hay as needed.

If you’re shipping hay from a faraway region, considering gathering a group of horse owners and splitting one large shipment into manageable quantities. This spreads transportation costs over multiple horse owners, making it more affordable.

Scout hay sales! Scan classified ads in local newspapers and agricultural publications, and peruse bulletin boards at tack shops for hay suppliers. Baled hay purchased at feed stores is usually more expensive than hay found elsewhere.

Err on the side of surplus. Not all bales in the original lot might be usable, so it’s always advantageous to have more hay than necessary. As long as older hay is stored in optimal conditions, it can be used without detriment to your horses.

Are you feeding your horse an all-hay diet? The nutrient content of fresh and preserved forages differs somewhat, so if you are feeding an all-hay diet, your horse will require vitamin and mineral supplementation for optimal health. You may choose a balancer pellet, usually available from your feed store!

The five most common forage forms are pasture, hay, cubes, pellets, and haylage. Although, long gone are the days of wide-open pastureland for domesticated horses and ponies. Forage remains the primary constituent of most well-balanced equine diets, but nowadays it can be proffered in a multitude of forms, from traditional long-stemmed hay to symmetrical cubes.

Pasture:

Pasture is an incredibly underutilized source of forage. Volitional grazing is by far the most natural way for horses to ingest forage. Horsemen often lose sight of the fact that well-tended summer pastures with minimal stocking rates (number of horses per acre) supply adequate nutrition. This is the case for most classes of horses.

Proof of this lies in wild herds, for these multi-aged horses sustain themselves year after year on all-forage diets. Astute weed and insect control, fertilization, seeding, optimal grazing time (when plants are immature and most nutritious), and population control are essential considerations in using pastures efficiently. Conversely, poorly maintained pastures can offer little or no nutrition to horses and are often ideal environments for internal parasite propagation.

Hay:

Hay is the most common feedstuff harvested for horses. Ascertaining moisture content is critical during haymaking. Too much moisture may lead to mold formation and excessive heat production (possibly causing spontaneous combustion), and too little moisture may increase leaf disintegration, particularly in legumes. Leaves contain more nutrients than any other plant part and preservation of leaf integrity is critical. Hay is typically stored in small square bales (45 to 100 pounds) or large round bales (500 to 2000 pounds). Small bales are usually stored in covered sheds or buildings to prevent weather damage.

Large round bales are typically kept outside. Some round bales are wrapped in plastic or sprayed with tallow in an effort to shield the forage against inclement weather, allowing the hay to retain more vital nutrients. Hay subjected to adverse weather is far less nutritious than well-preserved, dry hay.

Cubes and Pellets:

Doling out hay cubes and pellets is an acceptable way of supplying forage to horses. Despite their nontraditional form, cubes and pellets provide adequate fiber to horses, allowing the gastrointestinal tract to function uninhibitedly. Hay to be made into cubes or pellets is sun-cured and ground before being mixed with a binder and forced into a cube or pellet die. Hay intended for pellets is subjected to more intensive grinding than hay intended for cubes.

In comparing cubes and pellets to baled hay, advantages. Like other processed feeds, cubes and pellets must have guaranteed levels of protein, fat, and fiber printed on the bag or feed tag. Therefore, the level of nutrition remains consistent. This is not the case with baled hay, as forage quality can differ from field to field, or even from one area to another within the same field. In addition, cubes and pellets are easier to measure, feed, and store than baled hay. Minimal dust in cubes and pellets makes them ideal for horses with respiratory problems.

On the downside, however, purity of cubes and pellets can be difficult to decipher. Weeds are readily visible in loose hay but impossible to pinpoint in cubes and pellets. Purchasing processed forages from a reputable dealer is the best way to avoid quality issues. Horses may consume cubes and pellets more rapidly than long-stemmed hay. This leaves more downtime to involve themselves in boredom-induced vices such as wood chewing. A small amount of long-stemmed forage, perhaps one-half to one pound daily, should be offered to horses on completely cubed or pelleted forage diets.

Haylage:

A high-moisture forage stored in airtight containers and allowed to ferment is called Haylage or silage. Cattlemen and other stockmen have used ensiled forage as a staple in livestock rations for decades, but this preservation technique is relatively new to the horse industry. Elevated retention of protein, carbohydrates, and key minerals are primary benefits of haylage over sun-cured hay.

Haylage also has a high moisture content, which makes the feed appropriate for horses with compromised breathing. One potential hazard in feeding haylage is the risk of botulism. When inappropriately stored, proliferation of Clostridium botulinum may occur in haylage. Horses that consume haylage teeming with these bacteria may become severely ill or die. Therefore, any horse being fed haylage should be vaccinated against botulism.

Advances in feed processing have given horsemen choices in feeding forages. Regardless of how it is fed, horsemen should remember that forage is a critical element in the diet of horses and in the health of the gastrointestinal tract.

Source: Kentucky Equine Research

Can freshly-baled hay be fed to horses immediately? Must there be a curing period following baling and before feeding? Horse owners know that hay is often least expensive when it has been baled recently. Some people get an even deeper discount if they haul the bales from the hayfield themselves.

Hay cultivation, like so many specialties within crop production, has been fine-tuned in recent decades. When done well, it is as much art as science. Specifically, producers are able to accurately gauge moisture content and choose the best time to bale hay.

“If hay is baled with a low moisture content, less than 12%, it can be fed right away, and horses shouldn’t have any problem with it,” said Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., longtime nutritionist for Kentucky Equine Research (KER).

The notion of a “curing” phase is not a new one, and Crandell pinpoints its origin easily:

“Some traditional horsemen believe that fresh-baled hay should ‘sweat’ for two to four weeks before feeding,” she says.

“This allows the hay to cure, which might be important if the hay too wet when it was baled. Wet hay typically goes through a fermentative state, of sorts, and it would not be good for the horse to eat it while this was happening,” she continued.

Caution should be used in purchasing hay that was wet when baled. Too much moisture affects the quality of baled hay.

“If the hay is put up with too much moisture, there is risk for mold and dust proliferation. Hay with severe ‘water damage’ can be discolored, usually yellow or brown, and can be nutritionally empty for horses,” Crandell explained. “From a safety standpoint, these bales may get too hot and catch on fire.”

For these reasons, in addition to nutritional quality, it is better to find hay that has been properly dried in the field and baled.

In choosing to feed current-season hay, be sure to take the time to acclimate the horses to it gradually, as with all new feedstuffs. Horses on all-forage diets do not receive all of the nutrients they need for optimal health.

J & J Hay Farms sells only first quality hay period. You can see it, smell it and touch it in every bale we sell. We care about your horse’s health!

Article source: KER.