Topic:Hay
Hay is a primary forage source for horses, consisting of dried grasses or legumes harvested and stored for feeding. It serves as a significant component of the equine diet, providing essential fiber, energy, and nutrients necessary for maintaining digestive health and overall well-being. Common types of hay fed to horses include timothy, alfalfa, and orchard grass, each varying in nutritional content and suitability for different dietary needs. The quality and nutritional value of hay can be influenced by factors such as the plant species, stage of maturity at harvest, and storage conditions. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the composition, nutritional evaluation, and impact of hay on equine health and performance.
Presence of salicylic acid in standardbred horse urine and plasma after various feed and drug administrations. Plasma and urinary levels of salicylic acid were examined in Standardbred mares after administration of various feeds, containing different compositions of hay. In addition, horses were administered acetylsalicylic acid orally and methyl salicylate topically. Elevated salicylic acid levels were observed in horse urine and plasma in animals fed lucerne hay. The plasma and urinary elimination of salicylic acid exhibited a diurnal pattern which was related to the type of feed and the feeding schedule. Within 24 h after oral administration of acetylsalicylic acid, plasma and urine salicylic acid l...
[The digestibility of crude nutrients in horses. 2. Comparative studies on the digestive capacity of a thoroughbred horse, pony and wether]. The digestibility of the crude nutrients of 6 rations on the basis of oat, hay and wheat straw (in one case a straw-concentrate mixture as sole feed) was compared at a nutrition level of 1.0 and 1.3 resp. with adult geldings of the species "Noble Crossbreed", adult pony geldings and wethers The energy concentration of the rations varied between 424 and 585 EFUcattle/kg DM, the crude fibre content between 17 and 25% of the DM. In the studied field, a good agreement between horse and pony could be ascertained as to the digestibility of the organic matter and NFE. There are partly considerable di...
Social relationships in a herd of 11 geldings and two female ponies. The social behaviour of a small herd of 10 Exmoor geldings, two Exmoor mares and one Highland pony gelding was studied in order to see whether any specific associations existed between ponies and, if so, whether these applied to all or only some of the ponies' main activities of grazing, eating hay and sleeping. Such relationships were found but only in a small number of cases did they apply to all activities. The results are discussed in relation to the individual histories of these ponies and in relation to the welfare of horses.
Equine intravenous glucose tolerance test: glucose and insulin responses of healthy horses fed grain or hay and of horses with pituitary adenoma. Intravenous glucose tolerance testing (0.5 g/kg of body weight) was done on 2 groups of healthy horses maintained with hay (group 1, n = 5) and with hay plus grain supplementation (group 2, n = 5) and on a group of horses with clinically diagnosed pituitary adenoma (group 3, n = 10). Healthy horses showed an immediate increase of plasma glucose concentration after the IV glucose injection, with return of values to base line in 1 hour. Group 3 horses showed resting hyperglycemia and a delayed return of glucose values to base line (3 hours). Group 3 horses showed resting hyperinsulinemia and a f...
Influence of level of feeding and nutrient content of the concentrate on growth and development of yearling horses. Three experiments using 63 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse yearlings were conducted to evaluate the influence of level of feeding, and protein and calculated energy content of pelleted concentrates on growth and bone development. Animals were housed in drylot paddocks and individually fed concentrates twice daily. Coastal bermudagrass (Cynodon dyctylon) hay was group-fed. Yearlings offered a corn-based concentrate (3.56 Mcal digestible energy [DE]/kg) consumed levels of dry matter similar to yearlings fed a mixed-grain concentrate (3.32 Mcal DE/kg but consumed slightly more digestible energy. N...
The effects of caloric dilution on meal patterns and food intake of ponies. In order to determine if horses will increase their intake in response to caloric dilution, four pony geldings were fed ad lib a mixed grain diet either undiluted (3.4 Mcal/kg of digestible energy) or diluted (wt/wt) with 25% sawdust (2.6 Mcal/kg) or with 50% sawdust (1.7 Mcal/kg). The mean daily caloric intake was 17,457 kcal (3.4 Mcal diet), 17,546 kcal (2.6 Mcal diet) and 12,844 kcal (1.7 Mcal). The mean time spent eating was 246 (3.4 Mcal), 351 (2.6 Mcal), and 408 (1.7 Mcal) minutes/day. Meal size increased and meal frequency decreased with increasing dilution. The median long survivorship...
Haemolytic crisis associated with ragwort poisoning and rail chewing in two thoroughbred fillies. Events leading to the deaths of two fillies at pasture are described. Pasture hay containing the flowering stages of Senecio jacobea (ragwort) had been fed three to four months earlier. Paddocks were subdivided with posts and rails treated with copper chrome arsenate. Six horses on the property chewed rails spasmodically. Both fillies presented with haemoglobinurea. Values in liver of 83 mg Cu kg and kidney 35 mg Cu kg wet weight and serum 1.4 mg Cu/l together with histophathology of seneciosis support a sequence of ragwort poisoning followed by copper accumulation in liver and kidney terminat...
Gluconeogenesis from caecal propionate in the horse. The production of propionate in the caecum of the horse has been measured in two Shetland-type ponies fitted with caecal and colonic cannulas and fed on hay or on hay and wheat bran. A continuous intracaecal infusion of 14C-labelled sodium propionate was used and samples were obtained from a cannula at the origin of the right ventral colon. A simultaneous intravenous infusion of [2-3H]glucose was used to measure total glucose entry. On a hay diet which provided 177 kJ/kg body-weight per d, mean caecal propionate production was 19.6 (range 17.2-21.2) mg/h per kg body-weight and on a hay and whe...
Cynoglossum officinale (hound’s-tongue)–a cause of pyrrolizidine alkaloid poisoning in horses. The death of 10 horses was attributed to feeding dried grass hay containing hound's-tongue, Cynoglossum officinale. Affected horses developed weight loss, icterus, photosensitization, and hepatic encephalopathy. Histologic examination of the liver of 3 of the horses revealed megalocytosis, biliary hyperplasia, and fibrosis characteristic of pyrrolizidine alkaloid poisoning. Hound's-tongue was found to contain large quantities (0.6% to 2.1%, dry matter basis) of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which, when fed to a pony for 20 days, caused liver fibrosis and biliary hyperplasia.
Identification of swainsonine as a probable contributory mycotoxin in moldy forage mycotoxicoses. When infested with the fungus Rhizoctonia leguminicola, certain forages, e.g., red clover hay, can cause a "slobber syndrome" of varying severity when consumed by ruminants. The causative agent has been presumed to be slaframine [(1S,6S,8aS)-1-acetoxy-6-aminooctahydroindolizine], which is produced by R. leguminicola. In one serious outbreak of the slobber syndrome in horses, the red clover forage involved was carefully examined and found to contain R. leguminicola and slaframine. An identical hay sample is shown here by ion-exchange chromatographic and gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric an...
Esophagotomy in the pony: comparison of surgical techniques and form of feed. Esophageal healing was studied in 12 ponies after cervical esophagotomy. The esophagus was sutured, feed and water were withheld for 48 hours, and then all ponies were permitted to eat. In group I (n = 6), a longitudinal esophagotomy was made. In group II (n = 6), a rotational esophagotomy was made with the mucosal incision 180 degrees away from the incision in the esophageal muscle. Three ponies in each group were fed a soft diet ad libitum for 9 days, and then were allowed access to hay and grain. The remaining ponies were fed hay and grain. The esophagotomies of all hay-fed ponies dehisced ...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the horse. 2: Therapy. The therapy of equine chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) essentially entails minimising the horse's exposure to the aetiological antigens which are predominantly thermophilic actinomycetes and moulds occurring in hay and straw. This can be achieved, for example, by keeping affected horses permanently out of doors, or when stabled, using shredded paper, wood shavings or peat moss as bedding and feeding a complete cubed diet. There should be no supplementary hay feeding apart from dust-free vacuum-packed hay. Applying such measures generally allows horses to become asymptomatic in seve...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the horse. 1: Nature of the disease. The aetiology, pathophysiological changes, pathology and clinical signs of the disease as presently understood are discussed. The condition appears to be a hypersensitivity of the respiratory system in some horses to poor quality hay and straw. Micropolyspora faeni is the chief agent identified in the northern part of the United Kingdom. In other locations, the chief agent is probably different. The principal changes are spasm of the airways and bronchiolitis of the small airways. Onset may be acute or insidious. The chief clinical signs are well known but the disease process is reversible if ...
Experimental lead toxicosis in ponies: comparison of the effects of smelter effluent-contaminated hay and lead acetate. Grass hay produced in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin of northern Idaho was fed to a group of 4 ponies. The hay contained Pb in concentration of 423 +/- 82 mg/kg and Cd in concentration of 10.8 +/- 1.4 mg/kg, resulting in daily exposures of the ponies to approximately 7.4 mg of Pb/kg and 0.19 mg of Cd/kg/day. The results in this group of ponies were compared with those from a group fed noncontaminated grass hay and given a daily dose of 10 mg of Pb/kg of body weight, in the form of lead acetate. Clinical toxicologic signs, hematologic changes, and blood and tissue Pb concentrations were similar ...
Dermatitis in horses and man caused by the straw itch mite. An episode of dermatitis in 12 horses and many animal handlers in the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of the University of Florida was attributed to the straw itch mite, Pyemotes tritici. The mite was found in abundance alfalfa hay that recently had been delivered to the hospital. Papules were the most common cutaneous lesions, and these developed on areas of the body to which the mites had easiest access. The clinical course was self-limiting, remitting when the hay supply was depleted.
The measurement of liquid and solid digesta retention in ruminants, equines and rabbits given timothy (Phleum pratense) hay. 1. Digesta passage and retention were measured in heifers, sheep, goats, equines and rabbits of varying body-weights when given timothy (Phleum pratense) hay. 2. Two passage markers were compared, cobalt (III) ethylene diamine tetraacetate (CoEDTA) and chromiummordanted timothy fibre for liquid and solid phase respectively. Both markers were injected into the rumen of the ruminants and into the caecum of the equines and rabbits. 3. In ruminants, two different sets of rate constants (k1 and k2) were derived from a two-pool model for marker passage, using a graphical approach and a computer-base...
Comparative digestion of timothy (Phleum pratense) fibre by ruminants, equines and rabbits. 1. The abilities of cattle, sheep, goats, equines and rabbits to digest mature timothy (Phleum pratense) hay were compared. Apparent digestibilities were partitioned into true digestibility, metabolic faecal output (MFO) and fibre digestibility. The aid of the study was to determine the relative effects of fermentation site (among groups) and of body-weight (within groups) on the efficiency of digestion. 2. The ruminants were superior to equines, which were in turn superior to rabbits, in digesting fibre-components of the hay. A large individual variation in digestibility was noted only for th...
The use of inert markers in the measurement of the digestibility of cubed concentrates and of hay given in several proportions to the pony, horse and white rhinoceros (Diceros simus). 1. The rate of passage of chromic oxide (Cr) was similar in the pony and rhinoceros. 2. Higher apparent amounts digested were found using 4N-HCl-insoluble ash (AIA) than those determined by Cr, but overall digestibilities were similar for the two species. 3. An abrupt increase in the starch content of the horse diets increased the number of faecal ciliate protozoa. Only when the overall feed intake was increased in horses receiving a high dietary proportion of starch were the numbers depressed. 4. When the rhinoceros received 109 kJ apparent DE per kg bodyweight daily (716 kJ/W0.75 daily) it m...
Salivary syndrome in horses: identification of slaframine in red clover hay. An outbreak of salivary syndrome in horses in North Carolina was investigated. Rhizoctonia leguminicola was the predominant fungus isolated from toxic red clover hay. The fungus was less prevalent in the hay after 10 months of storage, and the hay had also decreased in biological activity after 10 months. Toxic hay caused extreme salivation, piloerection, respiratory distress, and increased frequency of defecation when fed to guinea pigs, and purified extracts of toxic hay and pure slaframine elicited these same responses when injected intraperitoneally into guinea pigs. The freshly acquired h...