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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 599
 
| I know it’s important to feed the highest quality hay possible - so what TYPES of hay do you like, and why?
I currently feed a few flakes of crappy fescue mix (down to my last bale and a half as of this morning) plus a large flake of straight alfalfa.
Last summer my pastures were wonderful and I barely had to feed anything to them at all. It’s looking like this summer will be bad. So I’d like to focus on good quality hay but don’t know what I should take into consideration.
My local feed store carries a LOT and they have nutritional content available, but what type of hay should I be looking at? |
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 The One
Posts: 7998
  
Location: South Georgia | This depends on location. In South Georgia, we feed alicia/bermuda coastal hay in roundbales, and I supplement with either alfalfa (that is shipped in from out west and $30/bale) or perennial peanut (comparable to alfalfa and $10/bale grown locally). |
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Member
Posts: 25
| i feed a costal hay that is 12% protein that i get down in Tifton, but to my running horses i feed Peanut hay! If i put a flake of peanut and a flake of alfalfa next to each other they will ALL pick the peanut hay over it. i love it! (i do feed alfalfa cubes soaked like half a scoops for the purpose of water.) |
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The One
Posts: 7998
Location: South Georgia | chandler321 - 2018-03-01 10:05 AM i feed a costal hay that is 12% protein that i get down in Tifton, but to my running horses i feed Peanut hay! If i put a flake of peanut and a flake of alfalfa next to each other they will ALL pick the peanut hay over it. i love it! (i do feed alfalfa cubes soaked like half a scoops for the purpose of water.)
Same here. The peanut is so soft and leafy. Mine loves it. The alfala is gorgeous, but really stemmy. |
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| Mine get alfalfa twice a day but have grass hay in front of them 24/7. The grass hay is extremely nerve racking for me. My premadonnas loved TEFF and it was reasonably priced. One day they decided not to touch it. Had to give most of it away. They will eat orchard if its PERFECT orchard. I have found the ONLY hay they consistently love is Timothy. And that happens to be 30.00 a bale here in SO Cal.  I refuse to feed bermuda as its not the same kind most of you get, its the kind that is bad for horses. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 534
Location: Ohio girl moved to PA | I feed a mix of Timothy/alfalfa and sometimes orachard grass. Ive recently been looking into the Omnis cubes as well, but no one near me sells so i sadly dont think that will be an option. |
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 Hummer's Hero
Posts: 3071
Location: Smack Dab in the Middle | I agree, it will depend on your location. In central Kansas, we have access to AWESOME brome hay. I'm nervous about when we move to Oklahoma and will have to use Bermuda. I'm thinking we'll probably maintain our relationships with our hay guys up here and just come back and buy a few loads of brome to feed the horses and use the Bermuda hay for the cattle. |
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 Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12708
| I gave up bagged feeds and switched to high quality alfalfa to replace it and then very nice local timothy as their grass hay. Our hay guys know how to get really good hay from the northern Virginia soil - which is not easy. Right now the alfalfa guy has no more good alfalfa and is down to his poor cut from last year, but his poor cut is still very nice compared to most alfalfa cut in the area. |
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I Really Love Jeans
Posts: 3173
Location: North Dakota | ?Do any of you feed that bagged compressed hay that tractor supply has for $14.95 a bag. We have been in such a drought and still have two feet of snow on the ground so it is impossible to find hay anywhere her now. I am down to my last bale and I am desperate to know if the bagged hay is ok to feed? |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 889
| angelica - 2018-03-01 12:16 PM
?Do any of you feed that bagged compressed hay that tractor supply has for $14.95 a bag. We have been in such a drought and still have two feet of snow on the ground so it is impossible to find hay anywhere her now. I am down to my last bale and I am desperate to know if the bagged hay is ok to feed?
Yes, it's fine. One bag may be better than another at times, but the overall quality is pretty good. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 883
Location: Southern Indiana | Personally I don’t think the type matters as much as the quality. Grass is grass but if it’s got a lot of weeds, was cut too late, didn’t dry well etc...it’s not going to be good. That being said orchard grass, Timothy, and fescue are all good types. Even just plain ol pasture mix will work. We did just recently just got some prairie grass and I really like it. It’s good and clean and the horses eat it great. I always feed pure Alfalfa along with what ever type of grass we’re able to get. |
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