what to feed a horse that can t eat hay

Hay Substitutes for Horses

• Beet Pulp. Beet pulp is a by-product of the sugar beet and is often fed to horses. ...
• Straw. If you read books about horse care in bygone times, you might be aware that straw was commonly fed to horses.
• Hay Cubes. Hay cubes may be an alternative to bales. ...
• Silage, Ensilage or Haylage. ...
• Concentrates. ...
• Alfalfa. ...
• Old Hay

Full Answer

What can I use instead of hay for a horse?

1. Bagged chopped forage. It can replace all of your horse's hay, if necessary. 2. Hay cubes. Chopped cubed hay (usually alfalfa or timothy or a combination) is another 100-percent replacement. Soak cubes to reduce risk of choke. 3. Hay pellets. Forage that has been dehydrated, ground and cooked to make pellets can technically replace hay.

How to feed forage to a horse?

Hay cubes or chopped forage can be soaked and mixed into the feed or fed separately. If the horse is able to eat high quality regular hay, separate the flakes and scatter them in small piles so that the horse walks from one pile to another. This will help the digestive tract and will provide a grazing effect for the horse.

Is it normal for a horse to not be eating hay?

Giving some alfalfa might help his stomach out if that is part of the issue both because most horses love it and it tempts them to eat, and full tummies buffer the acid better, and also because the higher calcium content helps neutralize some acid directly. Not eating hay is really concerning and not normal.

How much hay to feed a horse?

Ideally, a horse should eat 2-2.5% of its weight in good quality fodder--hay or grass.​. Horses need the bulk fiber of hay to stay healthy. Although they can eat grain, they still need a forage substitute that provides the +20% fiber content that good pasture or hay provides.

Can a horse survive without hay?

Horses can adapt to balanced rations that do not contain hay or pasture, but the absolute minimum of fiber necessary has not been established. However, low fiber/high concentrate rations have been documented to increase the risk of colic, gastric ulcers, and wood chewing behavior of horses.

Can I feed my horse alfalfa pellets instead of hay?

Remember, pellets are not a substitute for all your horse's forage needs, they can replace alfalfa hay if your animal has other hay or grass, but a horse must consume long-stem forage for proper digestion. Also, note that one pound of alfalfa pellets has the same nutritional value as one pound of hay.

Why will a horse not eat hay?

Old horses are often finicky eaters and if hay or grain is bad they will refuse to eat it even when younger horses will. Old horses may also not eat if their feed tastes too salty or has even the slightest amount of mold. An old horse could also be sick and refuse to eat.

Can you replace hay with beet pulp?

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.

Can I feed alfalfa cubes instead of hay?

The nutrient levels found in cubes tend to be more consistent than hay. Alfalfa cubes are sold with a guaranteed minimum nutrient content. Reduced dust. Cubes have little dust and are therefore a good alternative to hay for horses with certain respiratory problems.

Can timothy pellets replace hay?

This all-natural hay pellet is made from 100% pure sun-cured timothy. This highly digestible pellet can be used to completely replace loose hay or supplement pasture for horses, cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits, etc.

How can I stimulate my horse's appetite?

Ways to Improve a Horse's AppetiteBreak up the feed to smaller meals over several hours.Gradually change to new feed.Add B-Vitamins to their diet.Provide a cool bath in hot weather.Ease up on intense workouts for performance horses.Provide a buddy to ease anxiety offering turnout.

How do you get a picky horse to eat?

If warm water doesn't do the trick, your horse may need something tasty mixed into his meals. A couple of options to try adding include apple sauce or Equi Sweet, a sugar-free liquid sweetener formulated to encourage picky eaters to eat their meals.

Are hay pellets good for horses?

Horses often eat hay pellets faster than traditional hay because the smaller, ground particles are easy to chew and swallow. Hay pellets also do not provide any long-stem forage. However, for horses with poor teeth, soaking these pellets can still provide important fiber and nutrients.

Are oats good for horses?

Oats are a good ingredient in horse feeds, but nutrient levels are variable, and oats are lacking in many important nutrients needed to sustain peak performance. When you cut a formulated feed with oats, you lose so much.

What is the best feed for old horses?

Good quality grass hay and corn or a complete pelleted ration for mature (not aged) horses are the feeds of choice. Avoid legumes (alfalfa and clover), wheat bran and beet pulp due to high calcium (legumes, beet pulp) or phosphorus (wheat bran) content.

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).

Will alfalfa pellets 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.

Are hay pellets the same as hay?

Horse owners often ask if there are any differences in feeding a hay pellet or hay from the bale? The short answer is “yes”. Hay pellets are hay that have been ground and processed with heat and steam. It basically just changes the form of the hay.

How do you feed a horse alfalfa pellets?

Usually 15-20 lbs per day of alfalfa or timothy pellets for a 1000# horse. pellets daily over 2-3 weeks. Put the pellets in a bucket, cover with warm water, and then dump them into a large muck bucket and feed immediately.

Is it cheaper to feed hay or pellets?

More Expensive ​Pelleted, cubed and chopped forage costs more per pound than baled grass hay.

Choosing Horse Feed Hay Replacements

If you are going to use a fiber supplement, then I recommend using those that have shorter chopped fibers. This way, the food will feel more substantial in your horses mouth.

How Long can Horses go without Hay?

Horses are herbivores, which means they eat primarily grasses and other plant material. In the wild, horses graze on pasture for up to 18 hours a day.

Will a Horse Stop Eating when Full?

The question of whether or not a horse will stop eating when they are full is one that many horse owners struggle with. Some horses refuse to stop grazing, eat their hay and other food at the same time, and then go back for seconds. Other horses will only eat until they are about 3/4 full before walking away from their food source.

What to do if your horse is not working?

If something’s not working or if you’re unsure what the best plan for your older horse is, especially going into winter, ask your veterinarian or an equine nutritionist for help in developing a feeding plan. If it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it. Not all senior horses have dental issues, and not all of them are picky eaters.

Can senior horses eat flaked forage?

If it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it. Not all senior horses have dental issues, and not all of them are picky eaters. Some horses will eat flaked/baled/harvested forage until the day they die with no problem whatsoever. So just because the senior horse down the aisle is on a diet rich in fiber alternatives doesn’t mean you need ...

Is hay better for horses?

Janicki also says that hay cubes and pellets typically contain less dust than hay, meaning horses are less subject to inhaling particles that could contribute to respiratory disease, and this is a good thing for older horses potentially suffering from heaves.

How does hay affect horses?

When hay becomes scarce it often leaves horse owners scrambling to keep their horses healthy and well fed. Any number of natural disasters can affect the growth of hay fields. In most areas of North America, farmers are able to harvest two hay crops per season. Some areas may even be able to get a third 'cut'.

What does it mean when a horse has less hay?

Less hay means not only is it harder to find, but it will cost more per bale. Horse owners may have to ship hay in from other areas, and that too can add to the cost and take more time to source and transport.

What is straw for horses?

Straw is the stalks of harvested grains. Since the plant has come to the end of its life cycle, it has no nutrition. Used in combination with a concentrate that provides ample nutrition that includes mineral, vitamins, and proteins, oat straw can give horses something to graze on.

Can you use hay cubes instead of bales?

Hay cubes may be an alternative to bales. Grass and legume hay are dried and chopped and pressed into cubes. The downside of hay cubes is that there is an increased chance of choke if they are fed dry and they don't fulfill the horse's need to chew. Since hay cubes tend to be expensive, they could be used in combination with poorer quality hay.

Can horses eat concentrates?

There are a lot of different forms and vitamin/mineral/protein/fiber combinations, so you'll need to examine the labels and match the concentrate to your horse's needs. Feeding concentrates by themselves is not recommended. Your horse will still need a source of fiber.

Can you use hay from previous years?

Yes, you can use hay from previous years as long as it has been kept clean and dry. The nutritional content will decline over time, but that can easily be made up with concentrates. Testing is the best way to figure out how to make up for any shortfalls.

Who wrote Hay Substitutes for Horses?

Hay Substitutes for Horses. Written by. Katherine Blocksdorf. Katherine is an avid horseback rider and trainer who contributed to The Spruce Pets for over 12 years, publishing 400+ articles. Learn about The Spruce Pets' Editorial Process.

What can replace all of your horse's hay?

Bagged chopped forage. It can replace all of your horse's hay, if necessary. 2. Hay cubes. Chopped cubed hay (usually alfalfa or timothy or a combination) is another 100-percent replacement. Soak cubes to reduce risk of choke. 3. Hay pellets.

Can horses eat soybeans?

The hulls-- not the soy beans--are high in fiber, relatively digestible, provide about 12 to 14 percent protein and are accepted well by most horses. They can replace all hay but, again, a lack of long-stemmed fiber may lead to wood chewing and similar behavior.

What to feed a horse without teeth?

Veterinarians recommend adding some long stemmed soft leafy alfalfa hay to the horse's diet. Horses without teeth still want to chew on fiber. Supply fiber in the diet of all older horses, as soft hay or even beet pulp, an excellent fiber and energy source.

Why is my horse's hay leafy?

Always, avoid feeding moldy or dusty hay. Inhaling dust over time, results in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or heaves in horses. Special easy-to-chew feed for toothless horse.

Why does my horse's tooth wear out?

When a horse has missing teeth, not only is the horse's chewing ability compromised, the missing tooth causes an uneven wear pattern because the tooth opposite the gap grows too long and may interfere with jaw movement or bit action.

Why do horses wear their teeth down?

Impaired chewing ability due to loss of teeth or poor tooth condition greatly affects horse health and all horses will eventually wear their teeth down to the root if they live long enough. © 2016 by April Raine.

What is the condition of a horse's teeth called?

The condition involves proliferation (out-of-control growth) of the outer covering of equine teeth, called cementum. In addition, many horses also have destruction of the internal structure of the teeth through resorption.

What happens when a horse's teeth are broken?

When a horse has crooked or broken teeth, his food tends to collect around broken or misaligned teeth, and gum or tooth infections can result leading to not only loss of nutritional value of feed, but also lose of additional teeth.

What to feed a horse with a compromised immune system?

Feed a high quality protein, 14%. Add vitamin C to the diet, if the horse shows signs of a compromised immune system (supplementation of vitamin C at 5 to 10 grams a day). B vitamins can be fed for pituitary tumors (Cushing's disease) and liver disease.

Why not use senior feed?

One reason not to rely on senior feed other than cost though is that if you have a cold winter, the short, processed fibers in the feed won't keep him nearly as warm as the digestion of the long-stem fibers in true roughage, which means he will have to burn more calories and eat even more to maintain weight.

Why is forage important for dogs?

Forage is important for digestion and keeping things moving, have you had his teeth checked maybe it is uncomfortable for him to chew to the hay. I would start giving him soaked beet pulp and hay cubes so at least he is getting his forage, and is easier to chew.

Does alfalfa help horses stomach?

Giving some alfalfa might help his stomach out if that is part of the issue both because most horses love it and it tempts them to eat, and full tummies buffer the acid better, and also because the higher calcium content helps neutralize some acid directly. Not eating hay is really concerning and not normal.