What hay is better?

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What hay is better?

Postby panzita0 » Thu Jun 16, 2005 12:56 pm

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#First cut or second cut or ..? Yea my barn manager said I should get a nice mix for hay that has a bit of grass a bit of alphla and rye and some other stuff but she didn't know which was better for a horse the first or second cut. I have two standardbreds and they are both going to be doing some competitive stuff but one horse gets fat on air and the other needs 8 cups of high fat high fiber a day to keep him at a good wegiht. O let me know!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
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Postby Patricia » Thu Jun 16, 2005 1:31 pm

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#First cut is usually best.  I like a nice timothy/alfalfa/grass mix.  First cut is NOT as rich and not as coarse.  It is best for easy keepers.  #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
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Postby Ruth » Thu Jun 16, 2005 1:56 pm

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Definitely first. Second cut hay can only be fed up to 25% of the daily hay intake. My Morgan mare can't have it at all, she gets psychotic. She was getting some at one place I boarded and I remember going out for a hack and having to back her home because I couldn't stop her. Now, she's a hot horse anyway and a very good keeper. I don't feed second cut at all, a couple of mine are about 2 mouthfuls from foundering.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
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Postby Arcadia » Fri Jun 17, 2005 11:17 am

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Agree.....second cut can be far too rich for most.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
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Postby Jakesterd » Fri Jun 17, 2005 4:21 pm

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#You don't buy hay by when it was cut, you buy hay based in its nutritional content. No 2 hayfields are alike and 2nd cut off a field near Burlington may be better than 1st cut from Chatam. First cut and 2nd will differ by species because for example the grasses in the first cut may not regrow to the same extent as the legumes. You essentially have 2 different hays from the same field. The weather at different locations will also make a major difference in the content of 1st and 2nd cut. Hay from a wet place will be totally different from hay grown where it has been dry no matter 1st or 5th cut. And yes there are lots of places that get 5th and even 6th cut in Canada.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#To blanket say that a horse cant have 2nd cut hay or can only eat a fixed percentage has no scientific basis.  Only an analysis will tell you what your getting .Hay by its very nature is actually a fairly low energy feed. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#As for Ruths psychotic horse, all forages are digested in the hind gut into volatile fatty acids. The fatty acids are used as energy in the same manner as adding vegetable oil or rice bran. Generally considered cool energy as it does not influence the horses blood sugar at all.  Blaming an incidence of behaviour malfunction on the forage is about as scientific as blaming it on the full moon.. Im not saying your horse didnt act like an idiot, im just saying that you cant blanket say that the horse cant eat 2nd cut hay.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Even more to the point, if I put 4 bales of hay in front of you, 2 first and 2 second, from different localities there is no way anyone could tell which is which. Even more to the point, many hay dealers will tell you its whatever cut you want it to be in order to make the sale. Once its in the storage barn only god and the guy who cut it know for certain. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Jake#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
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Postby taco2 » Sat Jun 18, 2005 11:01 pm

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Ahhh Jakesterd, glad you covered that one.  I was going to respond to this, but you beat me to it, and explained it much better than I could of.#ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys/Other/1.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Leave it to the well-educated ones to use all the big words!#ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys/Happy/9.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
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Postby Kobau » Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:11 am

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#hehehe first or second cut.... here we only get one cut! anyways  Ty Jakes for explaining that better.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#And personally i never feed alf hay anyways. A wiff of it makes my ol QH a nut, i'm allergic to it, and we prefer natural grass/timothy for our easy to keep darlings....#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
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Postby tbbrat » Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:45 am

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#You're allergic to alfalfa hay too?  With me, it's just the freshly cut stuff, starts up my asthma something fierce.  Once it's cured, I'm fine.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
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Postby panzita0 » Mon Jun 20, 2005 3:34 pm

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#thankyou that was very informative :)#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
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Postby Arcadia » Tue Jun 21, 2005 12:10 pm

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#5th or 6th cut?   Not from around me, I wouldn't even consider feeding it.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#My guys are happy and healthy, I think first cut must work out okay for them.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
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Postby Ruth » Sat Jun 25, 2005 12:32 pm

Jakesterd wrote:#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#As for Ruths psychotic horse, all forages are digested in the hind gut into volatile fatty acids. The fatty acids are used as energy in the same manner as adding vegetable oil or rice bran. Generally considered cool energy as it does not influence the horses blood sugar at all.  Blaming an incidence of behaviour malfunction on the forage is about as scientific as blaming it on the full moon.. Im not saying your horse didnt act like an idiot, im just saying that you cant blanket say that the horse cant eat 2nd cut hay.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Jake#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#So maybe she couldn't have that particular 2nd cut hay. I have had that horse for 19 years, and if she starts acting WAY more than her usual level of psychoticness after a couple of days of a new (2nd cut) hay being introduced and stops within a couple of days of it being removed, maybe it's not scientific, but I think I can safely blame that hay. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
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Postby Gemina » Sat Jul 23, 2005 7:00 pm

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Very interesting and informative, Jakesterd. I live in cattle country and have often wondered what the difference is between cattle and horse hay? In the many years I've lived here the hay is always tough. Have never had that soft, green light hay. It consists of grass and timothy. My old guy won't eat the tough, straw like pieces.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
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