Welcome to e-Tips!
Welcome to the October e-Tips brought to you by My Horse University and eXtension/horse. With winter fast approaching and the Fall frost covering the morning pasture, hay may soon be your horse's sole source of forage. Good quality forage is important from both a nutritional and a behavioral standpoint. Horses fed diets that are based on good quality forage will have lower incidents of colic, metabolic disorders and stomach ulcers. In addition, horse's fed high forage diets have lower risk of developing abnormal behaviors like cribbing, wood chewing and pacing the stall. Now is the time, if you haven't already, to buy and store hay for the winter months. Dr. Krishona Martinson, from the University of Minnesota will present the FREE webcast “Optimizing Hay and Feeding Storage” on October 13, 2009 at 7:00 pm EST. Register now as space is limited!
Did you know...?
Selecting and Storing Horse Hay
Adapted from University of Minnesota Extension Bulletin
Krishona Martinson, PhD and Paul Peterson, PhD
University of Minnesota Extension Service Horse Program
There are several characteristics horse owners should use to evaluate and purchase hay for their horses.
 Content / Species
Determine the percent of grass and/or legumes in the hay. Common grasses include orchardgrass, bromegrass, timothy, fescue, reed canarygrass, and bluegrass. Common legume species include alfalfa, red clover, white clover, and sweet clover. In general, legumes (like alfalfa and clover) have a higher protein content than grasses, and leaves have more protein than other parts of the plant. Protein content of hay is also affected by stage of maturity at time of cutting, protein content decreases as the plant matures. In many cases, pure alfalfa hay has more protein than what the average horse needs. Although this will not affect the horse's health, it will increases water requirements and cause more urination that is high in ammonia. Some legumes are hard to dry (like red clover) when making hay, and therefore are at higher risk of molding. Read on...
Click here for additional resources on selecting and storing horse hay...
This Month's e-Tips
Follow these tips when storing hay:
- Water/animal proof the area.
- Do not stack hay directly on the ground. Stacking bales on pallets encourages air circulation beneath the bales.
- Use older hay first.
- Round bales should be stored end-to-end in a 'sausage' type formation to reduce waste. Stacking large round bales (on top of one another) usually increases losses, especially if they are stored outside.
Question of the Month
The curb bit applies leverage pressure.
True or False?
Click here for the answer!
Photo of the Month
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These are my two babies - On the left is Sundance (Sunny) and Keghan on the right. Sunny is a Missouri Fox Trotter who came to us five years ago as a companion horse to our Morgan mare, Laurie. After Laurie died at 31, we acquired Keghan, a rescue Quarter Horse from Texas, to keep Sunny company. While Sunny enjoys annoying Keghan from time-to-time, they are good companions and the joys of my life.
Photo courtesy of Beth Dow
Middlebury, Vermont
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Want your extraordinary equine featured in the next Photo of the Month?
Send your photo along with your name and a little background info to info@myhorseuniversity.com.
Write "Photo of the Month" in the subject line.
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October 2009
In This Issue
Gold Sponsor
Purina Mills is a proud sponsor of My Horse University and eXtension.
News & Updates
Optimizing Hay and Feeding Storage
FREE Live Webcast
Dr. Krishona Martin
October 13, 2009
7 pm EST
Applications for Equine Genetics
FREE Live Webcast
Dr. Stephanie Valberg
October 21, 2009
1 pm EST
Trail Riding 101
New short course and FREE Webcast on October 21!
Equine Biosecurity: Master Equine Manager Level II Workshop
Online Course
Iowa State University
October 23, 2009
Ask the Experts
eXtension invites you to Ask the Experts your horse-related questions.
Free Horse Learning Lessons
eXtension's team of horse experts have developed specialized lessons on various topics.
Online Horse Management Courses
Take an online course from My Horse University! eXtension HorseQuest participants can receive a 10% discount by entering the coupon code HQ1 when registering for a course.
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