Is lucerne hay low in sugar?

Lucerne is relatively low in sugar and starch, containing about half the amount of cereal hay (oaten, barley and wheaten) so it doesn't cause large insulin spikes and blood sugar level fluctuations and is very useful as a component of feed for horses with laminitis

laminitis

Laminitis is a disease that affects the feet of ungulates and is found mostly in horses and cattle. Clinical signs include foot tenderness progressing to inability to walk, increased digital pulses, and increased temperature in the hooves.

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Laminitis

Laminitis - Wikipedia

or metabolic issues such as insulin resistance.

Is lucerne hay OK for laminitic horses?

Never starve a laminitic horse

For a laminitic prone horse/pony, low sugar roughage sources may include Teff hay, Rhodes grass hay, lucerne hay, beet pulp or soaked grass hay.

Which hay is lowest in sugar?

Low sugar hay is extremely important in a horse's diet due to its health properties and the enormous benefits it can offer. While lucerne usually has lower sugar than a lot of grass hays, it more often than not tests HIGHER in sugar, starch & protein compared to our Low Sugar Hay.

What is lucerne hay good for?

Pros of Lucerne. It is a prime quality hay that is the source of vitamins A, K, E, and helps boost your horse's protein and calcium levels. This type of horse food is also low in phosphorous. Lucerne is a valuable source of energy, and it can help keep your horse's weight in check.

What hay has the highest sugar content?

Oat hay tends to be higher in nitrates and also high in sugar (NSC), so this hay is not an option for insulin resistant horses. Here's a comparison chart so you can see the differences between alfalfa hay, timothy (grass) hay and oat hay.

How to choose the right hay for your horse

What is the healthiest hay for horses?

Legume Hay for Horses

Alfalfa, white clover, red clover and birdsfoot trefoil are common types of legumes, with alfalfa being the most popular choice. Benefits: Legumes are higher in protein and calcium than grass hay, and may also provide more energy and a higher level of total digestible nutrients, such as vitamin A.

What is the difference between hay and lucerne?

Lucerne may have anywhere from 16 to 20% protein, while grass hay may only have 4-12% protein, depending on the quality of the hay. In general, the protein in lucerne is in excess of the requirement of the horse, and grass hay or oat chaff may be just right or too low to meet the requirement.

What is the difference between alfalfa and lucerne?

Alfalfa (/ælˈfælfə/) (Medicago sativa), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as well as a green manure and cover crop.

Is lucerne hay good for cows?

Lucerne is especially beneficial to animals when it's harvested at an early growth stage, ie. when it has the highest amount of protein and the lowest amount of fiber. Harvesting Lucerne as hay is a nutritious source of feed for your cows.

What hay is best for Laminitic horses?

Generally, a mixture of grass hay and alfalfa is the best hay combination for horses prone to laminitis.

Does soaking hay remove sugar?

In addition to removing sugars, soaking also reduces some minerals. Crude protein, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium concentrations all decrease with soaking.

Can Laminitic horses have alfalfa?

Feeds with a combined sugar and starch content of less than 10% should be fed to horses with laminitis. If horses are underweight and need to gain condition, consider adding alfalfa-based forages as they contain more calories per pound, but are low in sugars and starches.

What feed causes laminitis in horses?

Laminitis can be caused by an over consumption of high starch and sugar grains, either in one meal or by feeding large grain meals.

Can you graze horses on lucerne?

Phalaris sown with white, red and sub clover and/or lucerne is quite acceptable for horses. It must be rotationally grazed to allow seedhead development in spring and good growth after autumn breaking rains. Fescue pastures are very acceptable to horses in the first year of growth.

How much lucerne should I give my horse?

Providing a biscuit or two of lucerne per day is a very good way to improve the amino acid profile and therefore the protein level of the diet, but feeding lucerne as the main or only source of roughage may cause problems due to excessive amounts of protein.

Is lucerne hay good for weight gain?

Feed lucerne hay. Lucerne (known as alfalfa in North America) is a high energy forage and makes a valuable contribution to raising a horse's calorie intake above their daily requirement to encourage weight gain.

Is lucerne hay high in calcium?

Growing Horses

Alfalfa provides growing horses with a digestible source of energy as well as a source of high quality protein and the essential amino acid lysine. Alfalfa's calcium rich characteristic is also beneficial for growing horses that typically have high calcium requirements.

What is the nutritional value of lucerne?

Nutritive value

It contains 18-22% crude protein and 25-35% crude fibre according to the maturity.

Is lucerne high in potassium?

Not so widely known is the most important fact that lucerne is high in potassium and extremely low in sodium. As with other forages there is virtually none in the above ground portion of the plant. Potassium levels average between 2.4 – 3.2% while sodium levels are only 0.01- 0.02%.

What is the best hay to feed?

There are two primary types of horse hay: legume and grass. Alfalfa is the best variety of legume hay, and Orchard grass is the grass hay I recommend; however, Timothy, bermudagrass, bahiagrass, and Kentucky bluegrass are also excellent choices.

What do you feed insulin resistant horses?

Select hay with a low level of soluble carbohydrates for the IR horse. Small grain hays such as oat and ryegrass have much greater sugar content than other grass hays like timothy and orchard grass.

What is the best hay to feed a horse with Cushing's?

Alfalfa averages 10-15% NSC, and oat hay is very high, averaging 22%. Alfalfa can be a good option for a horse with Cushings if they are a hard time holding their weight because it is more calorie-dense than grass hay.

What's the best grass hay for horses?

Is orchard hay low in sugar?

Unfortunately, there is no grass that is consistently low in sugar. Most cool-season grasses, like orchardgrass and fescue, can have high sugar content. Timothy and crested wheatgrass tend to be medium in sugar content, as are most warm season (native) grasses.