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  Independent Cuss
Posts: 3978
    
Location: Dearing, GA | It seems like the entire west Tennessee/north Mississippi area is out of mixed grass hay, and the only thing I can find available at this time of year is pure Bermuda. I've heard that switching a horse to pure Bermuda can cause colic. Any thoughts on this? |
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Official Butt Slapper
Posts: 11055
Location: guthrie | I have fed bermuda for years with no problems. Think what we feed is midland 00 (?) if that makes any difference..LOVE how my horses do on bermuda |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Bermuda hay is all I feed too, no problems.  |
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Expert
Posts: 3147
| I've never understoood why bermuda gets such a bad rap. Other than a little alfalfa, bermuda is all I've fed for years and years and is all my friends feed. I guess it's due to the part of the country I live in. There are other good hays for horses, but bermuda is king in my part of the country. |
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Independent Cuss
Posts: 3978
Location: Dearing, GA | Thanks, this makes me feel better. Never know which old wives tales you can trust and which you can't! |
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 Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | Just Let Me Run - 2015-11-29 7:54 PM Thanks, this makes me feel better. Never know which old wives tales you can trust and which you can't!
It isnt a wives tale.. its just how you introduce the hay and if during winter where horse isnt drinking as much and or the quality of hay .. The Hay itself is fine if good quality and shouldnt cause issues but its the factors that contribute to the impactions..
If I were you Id start slow if horse isnt used to eating it.. Id not throw ON a roundbale all at once.
I also make sure horse is drinking and Id add some water to grain to get extra in the gut..
I always try to get fluids in them especially during winter..
so its not the hay.. |
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Expert
Posts: 3514
| Bermuda is fine stem hay. It has more of a chance of causing a horse to gave a impaction. If you are going to feed it at least add some alfalfa .
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Independent Cuss
Posts: 3978
Location: Dearing, GA | Bibliafarm - 2015-11-29 7:00 PM Just Let Me Run - 2015-11-29 7:54 PM Thanks, this makes me feel better. Never know which old wives tales you can trust and which you can't! It isnt a wives tale.. its just how you introduce the hay and if during winter where horse isnt drinking as much and or the quality of hay .. The Hay itself is fine if good quality and shouldnt cause issues but its the factors that contribute to the impactions..
If I were you Id start slow if horse isnt used to eating it.. Id not throw ON a roundbale all at once.
I also make sure horse is drinking and Id add some water to grain to get extra in the gut..
I always try to get fluids in them especially during winter..
so its not the hay..
Thankfully my horse is a good drinker year round. I'll mix it in with the remainder of the mixed grass. Thanks for the tips. |
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| It is a fine hay, i have friend in south carolina fes only this for years. It is fine it can inpact in the intestine but they live in a sandy area and sand can be a problem also. Should not gorge themselves and need to,drink also. I used to,rqise mini donkies feed round bales had one not drink enough and eat too much hay. in thw winter i have a bucket i take beet pulp and hay strecher and wetlet it soak feed it twice a day they gat the water from being soaked and they drink a bucket onver nifht much more than feeding dry stuff. |
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 Ima Cool Kid
Posts: 3496
Location: TN | Bremuda hay is all mine have ever had. We raise our own and they graze on it too |
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| Depends on where your from to. Out here in CA our Bermuda is very fine stem and short stem. All the vet clinics around here warn against it. It can ball up and cause impaction between the small and large intestine. Can't remember the name. Cecum i think. But that's a west coast thing I think. |
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Independent Cuss
Posts: 3978
Location: Dearing, GA | FLITASTIC - 2015-11-29 8:05 PM
Depends on where your from to. Out here in CA our Bermuda is very fine stem and short stem. All the vet clinics around here warn against it. It can ball up and cause impaction between the small and large intestine. Can't remember the name. Cecum i think. But that's a west coast thing I think.
This is what I've heard, and I'm in Memphis, TN. I will just have to monitor my horse pretty closely. |
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Expert
Posts: 5293
| In the winter especially i feed a daily electrolyte. My horses absolutely love the adeptus one. It's base is grain distillars something. They will lick it out of my hands. Lol. But right after getting it they go drink. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | I have never heard of Bermuda being different in different parts of the country? Maybe is just have not heard that. There are different types and how well it is fertilized and watered, along with when it is cut, can be factors on what looking a little different. Ideally, you want it really fertilized well (a lot of farmers don't put enough on) and cut before maturity. Bermuda can be a fairly potent grass hay, but must have heavy fertilization and not let get mature, as it looses digestibily and protein fast the more mature it gets. Generally, it is a safe hay, but does have an increased risk of impaction. I believe that the coarser, mature, less nutritive hay to be the biggest risk. Bermuda can be very pretty and not worth feeding. It can look like top quality hay and be mere junk. I think it important to get from a farmer that you either trust to make it right or have it tested. I really prefer it to be over 12% protein. The higher the protein, the more expensive, but overall the better value. In my understanding, Tifton is the best hybrid, in terms of digestible nutriition.
Edited by Tdove 2015-11-29 8:28 PM
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Expert
Posts: 3300
| Just Let Me Run - 2015-11-30 4:54 PM Thanks, this makes me feel better. Never know which old wives tales you can trust and which you can't!
its not an old wives tale.... i have had at least 10k in hospital bills from burmuda |
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Location: Texas | I know one thing my horses don't care for it. They would much rather eat their coastal from here in Texas than the bermunda from California. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| I have been feeding Bermuda hay all my life and I am OLD. I have never had a horse colic from the hay. I do put a fistful of salt in their feed to make sure they drink enough. (Once a day). That is all my horses got to eat when I was growing up as in no feed. My dad baled 1000's of bales of hay and that is what we had so that is what the horse's got. So for 60 years mine have been fed Bermuda. Anything will make them colic if they do not get enough water. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | PuffyVelvet - 2015-11-29 8:37 PM I know one thing my horses don't care for it. They would much rather eat their coastal from here in Texas than the bermunda from California.
Coastal is Bermuda. There are lots of varieties, coastal, hybrids, common... |
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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | My horses were switched from grass hay to a straight Bermuda round bale about a year ago. My dad thought he was doing me a favor by bringing me a nicer bale (which he was), but I was paranoid the entire weekend until I could get to the store and get some alfalfa square bales to supplement it with. I added water and salt to their food and made sure they were drinking a lot of water. I checked on them constantly, but they took the change well. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't paranoid about them! They're still on Bermuda round bales, but they also get alfalfa cubes to help keep them moving. |
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Location: Texas | Three 4 Luck - 2015-11-29 9:07 PM
PuffyVelvet - 2015-11-29 8:37 PM I know one thing my horses don't care for it. They would much rather eat their coastal from here in Texas than the bermunda from California.
Coastal is Bermuda. There are lots of varieties, coastal, hybrids, common...
Every time I go to Hay Usa the women corrects me when I call her hay coastal. I wonder why? |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | This topic deserves a magazine article more than a forum post to be covered properly. But, in a nut shell there is nothing wrong with Bermuda hay in a healthy horse. I do a lot of feeding programs where Bermuda is the primary roughage available. There are two issues that need to be addressed. One is that it is very fast through the hind gut giving less time for digestion than other roughage sources. The second is that it is harder to break down while it is there. To fix these issues, you need to slow it down while it is in the hind gut, and you also need to do what you can to improve digestibilty. Adding a alfalfa source will show the hind gut, giving more time for the Bermuda part of the ration to be digested. It does not take a lot, two or three pounds per feeding does the trick. To make it more digestible, it is important that it is completely broken up to expose more surface area. This is the most often missed part of feeding Bermuda. It is vital tha your horses teeth are properly cared for so that it can chew comfortably without any rough edges causing discomfort. Completely chewing the hay also eliminates the vast majority of impaction issues by eliminating long unchewed strands of tough hay from being swallowed to the wrap together and start a blockage. Do this and Bermuda can be a good part of a quality diet. |
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Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| PuffyVelvet - 2015-11-29 10:21 PM
Three 4 Luck - 2015-11-29 9:07 PM
PuffyVelvet - 2015-11-29 8:37 PM I know one thing my horses don't care for it. They would much rather eat their coastal from here in Texas than the bermunda from California.
Coastal is Bermuda. There are lots of varieties, coastal, hybrids, common...
Every time I go to Hay Usa the women corrects me when I call her hay coastal. I wonder why?
It may not be c9astal. What I grew up with was common Bermuda. What I feed now is coastal. I have never fed round bales. Have always fed square bales and put it out morning and night. |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | PuffyVelvet - 2015-11-29 10:21 PM Three 4 Luck - 2015-11-29 9:07 PM PuffyVelvet - 2015-11-29 8:37 PM I know one thing my horses don't care for it. They would much rather eat their coastal from here in Texas than the bermunda from California. Coastal is Bermuda. There are lots of varieties, coastal, hybrids, common... Every time I go to Hay Usa the women corrects me when I call her hay coastal. I wonder why?
Coastal is one type. Coastal is Bermuda, but Bermuda isn't necessarily coastal. Next time, ask what variety it is. |
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 Famous for Not Complaining
Posts: 8848
Location: Broxton, Ga | We see a lot of the Alicia variety here in Ga.......I am not fond of it........fine stemmed seem to led to more problems with impaction colic during the winter months....per the University Florida.......I prefer the Tift 85 which has better digestibility. Plus the bigger stem is more like the orchard / timothy which the UF recommends. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 477
Location: Lost in the swamps | There are a few different types of Bermuda
I feed, and have always fed alicia Bermuda.
It's favorable for horses because it's a finer
stem and it's leafier. I have never had a problem.
I mainly feed square flakes so I can monitor their intake.
Occasionally I do feed round bales if it's all I can get.
Edited by imturnin3 2015-11-30 10:02 AM
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | coastal bermuda can cause impactions, most commonly in the pelvic flexure and i believe in the ileum. Also can cause choke in horses who don't chew their hay well enough.
That being said, we feed coastal because its what we have in TX. our horses have not had any problems with it, but there's always a chance it can happen. I would think you would have more problems with a horse who was never fed coastal, then you gave it free choice.
When you switch ANY feed.. be it hay, or concentrate.. do it slowly, and you should be okay. |
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Bermuda Hay