What hay is best for overweight horses?

Legume hay, such as alfalfa and clover, contain more calories per pound than grass hays. Instead of alfalfa, feed a high-fiber, good quality grass hay (Timothy or Orchard Grass) free of dust, mold and weeds.

How much hay should an overweight horse eat?

Handling Hay for Overweight Horses

Overweight horses should be offered moderate quality grass hay at 1.5% of current body weight, split into several meals per day. Using small hole hay nets will help to extend meal times.

How much hay should I feed my horse to lose weight?

The ECIR group suggests feeding 1.5% of the horse's actual weight, or 2% of the horse's target weight. So a 500 kg horse needing to lose weight, if fed at 1.5% bw would need 7.5 kg DM feed (mostly hay) per day, this would be ~8.3 kg as fed (hay is usually around 10% water).

Will alfalfa hay put weight on a horse?

Alfalfa is higher in calories and protein than grass hays, which makes it an excellent choice to help to add weight to a thin horse. If your horse tends to be wasteful with his hay, he may eat more when offered alfalfa hay cubes or pellets.

Is timothy hay or alfalfa better for horses?

Alfalfa hay is typically higher in protein and essential nutrients than timothy hay, making Alfalfa a better option for more active animals that need a high protein diet. Alfalfa also has more calories per pound than timothy, so it's generally the preferred choice of sport horse owners.

How to choose the right hay for your horse

Is timothy or orchard grass better for horses?

Orchardgrass and timothy hay are both excellent, but orchard grass gets the nod as the best of the two. It has a higher protein and calorie content and balanced levels of calcium and phosphorus.

What hay is not good for horses?

Bahiagrass: This grass hails from the southern coastal plains. It's typically found in pastures, so the stuff they make into hay is not that great for horses. Overly mature Bahiagrass hay can cause ergot poisoning, so buyer beware.

What should I feed my old horse to lose weight?

Chopped hay should be premium quality, with alfalfa or a mixture of high-quality grass hay and alfalfa probably the best choices. If chopped hay is fed, a vitamin-mineral supplement should be offered. These supplements often come in the form of a pellet and can be moistened to increase palatability.

What puts weight on a horse?

What is the fastest way to put weight on a horse? High fat, high protein grain combined with a rich alfalfa hay can quickly put weight on a horse, if there is not an underlying medical condition.

How do I make my horse lose weight?

Does soaking hay help horses lose weight?

Horses did lose weight, but researchers found that soaking the hay actually took away a bigger portion of the available digestible energy than intended. Although a . 5 to one percent loss in body mass per week is considered acceptable, horses in the study lost roughly . 1 percent to two percent of their body mass.

How much hay should a 1200 pound horse eat?

The first thing to know is that an average fully-grown horse weighing from 1,000 to 1,100 pounds (453.5 – 499 kg) should eat approximately 15 to 30 pounds (8 – 3.5 kg) of hay daily. That amount is about 1.5 to 3% of the horse's body weight.

How do you manage an obese horse?

Can hay make a horse fat?

Horses can overeat grass, especially if the pasture is lush, but it is also easy to let a horse get too fat from eating hay. And, sometimes too little hay can mean a horse will lose weight.

Will horses stop eating when they are full?

Horses do not have the ability to control their eating so that they will stop eating when they have met their nutrient requirements. They will continue to eat, which can lead to digestive and lameness problems.

What happens if a horse eats too much alfalfa?

Alfalfa hay can cause diarrhea in a horse that overeats it because the hay is rich and full of nutrients. Overeating alfalfa can also cause a horse to have excess gas, develop laminitis, and founder.

Does hay stretcher put weight on horses?

Feeding Directions

One pound of IMPACT® HAY STRETCHER can replace 1 to 2 lbs of hay consumed by your horse. If using as a complete feed to replace all forage and feed in your horse's diet, recommended amounts of IMPACT® HAY STRETCHER are shown below in pounds.

Is sweet feed good for weight gain in horses?

Adding highly digestible fibre sources such as sugar beet is beneficial for promoting weight gain in horses. Dengie Alfa-Beet is an ideal feed for underweight horses as it combines alfalfa with unmolassed sugar beet.

Will beet pulp put weight on a horse?

Beet pulp can be used to help underweight horses gain weight, as it provides approximately 1,000 kcals per pound (one quart of dry beet pulp shreds weighs approximately 0.5-0.6 pounds).

What hay is best for older horses?

A reduction in fiber fermentation means that older horses receive less nutrients from forage resulting in higher quality forages being required. Alfalfa hay and good quality grass hays are preferable to stemmy and mature hays that have tougher fiber to ferment.

What hay is best for horses with Cushings?

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.

Is beet pulp good for senior horses?

In summary, beet pulp is a good dietary supplement for "hard keepers", as a forage or fiber replacement for poor quality hay, and for older horses with problems chewing or digesting hay. The digestible energy content of beet pulp is greater than hay and less than grain.

Is alfalfa hard on horses kidneys?

Alfalfa (lucerne) products, whether hay, cubes, or pellets, are not known to cause kidney problems in horses.

What cut of hay is best for horses?

Second Cutting

This is the most common cutting of hay that horse owners give to their horses, and for a good reason. It is greener and more substantial, with more leaves and a sweet smell. This hay contains a lot of protein and fat, so it is excellent for horses that exercise.

Is clover in hay good for horses?

Clover can be a good feed source for most horses because it provides useful energy and adequate protein and fiber. You can use clover in hay or pastures. Clovers can sometimes mold, which causes slobbers, photosensitivity (reactive to light) and bleeding.