what to feed a horse that can't eat hay

What can I Feed my horse instead of hay?

Another alternative to traditional hay is hay pellets, which can be soaked into a gruel or soup for horses with dental issues. Although my one experience feeding hay pellets–both soaked and unsoaked–was an epic failure (the mare would not touch either preparation to save her life!)

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.

What is the best feed for an older horse?

Supply fiber in the diet of all older horses, as soft hay or even beet pulp, an excellent fiber and energy source. Beet pulp soaked, is easily chewed, digestible, and a good source of calcium.

What do you feed a horse with no front teeth?

However, if front incisors are missing, as in cribbers, or badly aligned, do not rely on pasture grazing for all nutrition. These horses must be fed complete feeds or loose hay and/or hay cubes since they can not graze effectively. The most difficult is feeding a geriatric horse with no teeth or with very severe tooth damage.

What is a substitute for hay for horses?

The mixed-grass or corn-plant/alfalfa cubes are recommended if fed as the sole source of forage to adult maintenance horses. Straight alfalfa cubes will contain more protein and calcium than the normal adult horse requires but will not harm the horse as long as its kidneys are functioning properly.

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 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 fodder replace hay for horses?

In summary, fodder is an excellent addition to a horse's diet if there is no access to fresh pasture, but it is not an ideal replacement for all concentrates or forage in the diet, particularly for a hard-working horse.

Are pellets better than hay 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.

Is alfalfa good for senior horses?

The horse needs to be able to chew and break down the hay, so select good-quality, soft hay that isn't overly mature; it shouldn't have thick, fibrous stalks. Coleman has found that mixed grass-legume hay, such as orchard-alfalfa or timothy-alfalfa, is often a good choice.

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.

Do horses need hay every day?

A horse should eat one to two percent of their body weight in roughage every day. Horses who spend much of their time in stalls aren't doing much grazing, but their natural feeding patterns can be replicated by keeping hay in front of them for most of the day.

Should horses always have hay?

Some say horses should have access to hay all day, every day to keep their digestive tract working consistently and properly. Others recommend feeding a few flakes of hay at meal time is sufficient for most horses.

How long can horses go without forage?

In addition it is recommended that horses spend no longer than four hours without access to forage to try and limit the impact on the stomach of excess acid. Horse owners can increase forage feeding time using a variety of methods, including haynets and forage slow down feeders.

Do horses need hay?

We know horses need to eat either grass or hay. When horses eat grass, you will need to keep an eye on their condition and make sure that they are neither eating too much nor too little. 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.

What is senior horse?

Senior is designed for the horse that can't eat hay and it can be fed as the only feed. With pellets I like to feed them on as large a surface as possible, something like a 4x8 sheet of plywood with edges all around and on stout legs. This slows the consumption down and the horse nibbles rather than filling it's cheeks like a gopher.

Is Purina hay soaked?

Purina has a product called hydration hay, that is intended to be soaked. Have you looked into that?#N#Purina senior is comepete and can be fed alone, and soaked as well, but to get enough it takes a good bit and can get expensive. But it's an idea.

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.