Trying the herd with a new type of hay today...Rhodes grass. The oaten just has too much sugar in it and the other hays just vary too much in quality. The princesses of the herd looked at me as if to say, new is bad...but it didnt take long for them to start their usual feed time gorging (they are Trakehners after all!). Will see how we go, likely to have to adjust the hard feeds as this has more protein and less sugar...this is what the grower had to say; The Rhodes hay we are distributing is grown in the Pilbara under irrigation, it is cut every three to four weeks to ensure it doesnt end up too tall and stalky. From a nutritional point of view here are some key points: • low NSC (non structural carbohydrates) 10% roughly half of most high quality oaten hay. Can further reduce NSC by soaking if required • good protein content 9% - 10%. Similar to pony cubes and as much as twice the amount in most oaten hay. • excellent fibre source • easily masticated (chewed up) and digested The calcium to phosphorous ratio of this hay is Ca 2: P 0.9 so pretty close to the optimal 2:1 Ca: P ratio These nutritional characteristics make Rhodes hay ideally suited for horses and ponies suffering insulin resistance, cushings and laminitis.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 10:31:13 +0000
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