Hay For Horses: Triple Crown Forage Feeds Can Supplement Hay For Horses

Hay For Horses. Looking For A Forage Alternative?

In an earlier Triple Crown eNews, we discussed the importance of fiber in the horse’s diet. Horse people in many parts of the country rely on forage supplements, like chopped forages and hay cubes, to make up for the loss of pasture during the winter months, but these products can be equally helpful in the summer, when drought conditions or excess rain can turn pastures into dry lots or mud bogs. Products like Triple Crown Chopped Grass Forage and Triple Crown Chopped Alfalfa Forage can be used to replace all or part of the fiber portion of the diet. In many cases these products are used to supplement an inconsistent or poor quality hay source.

For those trying to maintain horses with metabolic issues, like Cushing’s or Insulin Resistance, the non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) percentage of their hay is a primary concern. Unless the hay is analyzed there is really no way of knowing the NSC% and since many horse owners do not have access to this information, they soak their hay to remove sugars and hope for the best. One way to have more control over the hay portion of the diet is to use a product like Triple Crown Safe Starch Forage. Safe Starch Forage has an added vitamin and mineral package and the NSC is 10% or less. It can be fed as the sole ration to horses that require closely managed NSC levels, or it can be used as a supplement to lower the overall NSC % in the total diet.

The hays used in Triple Crown chopped forages are grown in the western United States. Growing conditions in this part of the country allow hay to be harvested at desired maturity and dried with a reduced threat of rain or high humidity.