Posted 2016-09-05 8:48 PM Subject: Best types of hay for a barrel horse
Expert
Posts: 1261
I am in a boarding situation and currently my horses get local valley grass hay and alfalfa. The problem is the hay isnt very good quality this year and my horses are often leaving alot of it, as well as we are constatly running out of alfalfa and will be out for days to weeks at a time. I am tired of this and just want to purchase my own hay. I have never purchased my own hay before and feel a little overwhelmed by all the different types! I was orginally thinking I would purchase maybe an eastern oregon hay and some alf seperate, but I also thought about an orchard/alf mix or even just a timothy grass alone. My other issue is storage. I will have to store it mostly at another location and move it by myself to the barn a few bales at a time and I cannot move the giant bales by myself. I have someone that will sell me Timothy in small bales for a good price I am just wondering if that is the best route to go. I have an easy keeper little co bred and a somewhat hard keeper still growing race bred.
Posted 2016-09-06 4:59 AM Subject: RE: Best types of hay for a barrel horse
Saint Stacey
I like timothy over orchard myself. But orchard works fine too. Most horses do very well on an 80% grass, 20% alfalfa mix. Problem with buying an actually grass/alfalfa hay is that it tends to be very inconsistent with the ratio. I feel you are better off buying both and mixing yourself.
Posted 2016-09-08 10:11 PM Subject: RE: Best types of hay for a barrel horse
Expert
Posts: 3147
TB race horse boys love Timothy. I can't afford it here in Oklahoma. Brome is another hay horses love and is good for them. I feed bermuda I grow and alfalfa cubes or hay. There is some controversy over colic and bermuda but I've never had a colic due to the hay and I've fed it for fifty plus years.
Best types of hay for a barrel horse
