Question
We have two gaited horses and a pony, all of which are a bit chubby. We only have about two acres of pasture, which turned out not to be enough, so we have been supplementing with hay this summer. We bought 90 bales of hay originally and then another 50 recently. After purchasing the second batch, we realized the first batch was yellowish, while the second batch was greener. Should we throw away the yellow hay, or can we blend it with the green? Is this even an issue? In addition to the hay, they get a cup of grain each evening. I know this isn’t adding many calories to the diet, but it serves as a treat, so they come to the barn readily. We are new to owning horses, with some experienced horsemen as friends, but we would like to do the right thing for them.
Answer
The differences you’ve noticed in the two loads of hay are likely due to factors related to its harvesting and possibly differences in the type of hay you purchased.
Foremost, it is important to offer hay that is free of weeds, mold, and dust. If your horses are readily consuming the yellow hay, then I would continue to feed it until it is gone, as between it and the pasture the horses are receiving sufficient calories to maintain their weight. You can mix the two hays, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they show a preference for the green hay and potentially leave the yellow hay uneaten.
Check out this article for more information on assessing hay for horses.
For horses and ponies that have relatively low energy needs, it is best to select a lower calorie hay that was harvested at a later stage of maturity to prevent unwanted weight gain. Horses and ponies on average will readily consume between 1.5-2% of their body weight in forage per day. For easy keepers, as your horses seem to be, it is important to avoid offering energy-dense forages and concentrates that would result in the need to reduce or restrict intake.
A vitamin and mineral supplement is needed to balance a forage-based diet without unwanted calories. Instead of the cup of grain you’re currently feeding, you might consider a well-formulated vitamin and mineral product, such as Micro-Max from Kentucky Equine Research (Gold Pellet in Australia), which was created to nutritionally dovetail with forage-only diets, like your horses consume.
