Anybody on here feed Teff hay to their horses? I want to know the good, the bad and the ugly......does it increase the chance of colic like I have heard Bermuda grass does? I have heard it is low sugar and would be good for horses with Thyroid issues...
Are you talking about Tifton hay? Tifton is a hybrid Bermuda grass. There are several Tifton grasses. Tifton 44 is a finer stemmed hay than Tifton 85. For horses, I prefer Tifton 44. I have fed various types of Bermuda hay most of my life and have never had a colic problem.
I used to feed teff hay to my horses with great success. They looked great, didn't make them hot, and they cleaned it up every meal. Unfortunately, I moved out of state and can no longer get it. If you google teff grass/hay, you should be able to find some good info on it. If I remember correctly, the protein level and sugar was comparable to timothy.
I googled this and it said that it was baled and used as silage. I think this hay has to be crushed before baling --- there was a picture of a crusher. If the hay is not properly cured, it can cause serious problems to horses. Cows can eat anything. If you are buying from a reputable grower there should not be a problem. Appears to have a high sugar content. I would also ask for the hay analysis before buying. This will give you the protein content and some other things. TDN has little relevance to horses.
We started getting some Teff as a hay for the horses to pick on between feedings. We don't bale it any different than we do the alfalfa. I think it's supposed to have a protein similar to alfalfa, maybe not quite as high.
Teff Hay
