seed hay

[bevbob]

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about seed hay?

We have just gone onto it in huge bales and it looks like straw, just a bit finer but same colour and texture.
Horses were not too keen at first, including Bobs but since they have no alternative they are all eating it.
Y.O is saying it is stuff you feed to racehorses? and is very good.
I think its much less in calories than she is saying just purely from the look of it?
Bobs poos have gone lighter and more broken up if you know what I mean.
I know the only way to find out is to have it analysed but I just wondered if anyone had any ideas on it?

[Debbie]

I've never heard of it before All I usually go by, is the greedier the horses seem to eat it, the higher in calories. If they aren't so keen to eat it (but the hay itself looks nice), then I assume it must be lower in calories/not as sweet.

[bevbob]

Iv just read on the internet that seed hay is usually higher in protein than meadow hay........ just what Im trying to avoid!
I would have thought hay that looks green and smells sweet would be much higher feed value than something that looks like straw!

[dollylanedales]

I remember having to use seed hay one year, and my old ponies did not like it. Course they are spoilt being used to our meadow hay. Shame you cannot buy your own hay Bev, we have quite a bit of what I would call "second quality hay" left - nothing wrong with it, and ideal for fatties!! Could you not sneak a couple of bales in.....LOL!!!!

[bevbob]

LOL I have thought about it Mair. There are a couple of old ponies who cant eat this seed stuff.
We have to pay each week now for as much as we need and I cant afford to get extra in or I would have sneaked a few bales here and there.
Bobs seems fine on it although he wasnt too keen at first.

[echolady]

we feed seed haylage, seems to be like straw but my two love it........ Plenty of fibre for thos colicy vetrans!

[broxdown]

As we have such small acreage we feed ours seed hay through the day and meadow hay at night.

[harveydales]

Seed hay is made from a field especially seeded for the crop and is usually only down to grass for a couple of years. It tends to contain a lot of Ryegrasses and so is high in sugars and fructans which is what we want to avoid if our horses are lami prone. It can be high in protein too but that is not a bad thing, it's the sugars we need to keep down. I suppose a late cut seed hay would be OK though.

Meadow hay is just that, a hay crop taken from an old meadow and can contain all sorts of different grass species. It used to be said that this is safer for lami prone horses but I don't think this is always the case. Our own old meadow hay was tested to be very high in sugars, even from a late August cut.

[bevbob]

Thanks for input everyone, Im not too sure about some meadow hay either Pam, some of the stuff we have had looks soooo nuitritious. I know looks can be deceiving and the only real way to know is to have it tested but we seem to go through lots of different stuff, never having one for any real length of time which is a bit annoying.