Hay Before Grain: The Great Debate

Novice horse owners often make the mistake of disregarding the order in which they provide food for their horses. After all, the stuff is all going to the same place, right? In actuality, these people are making a huge mistake. A horse’s digestive system is a very volatile thing. Horse owners must manage the way that they feed their horses if they expect peak performance when it comes time to ride the horse. With that in mind, does it really matter if the horse eats grain first or hay first? The answer is a certain yes.

The explanation can be either quite complicated or very simplistic. Hopefully, this one falls somewhere in between. The horse’s digestive tract is an ever changing beast of its own. Within the intestines are quite a few things, including some bugs and parasites that the horse needs in order to survive. Some of these bugs live in the large intestine of the horse and they serve a very important purpose. They are microbial and they provide fermentation of the all important fiber in a horse’s diet. Without these important parasites, the horse would be in a world of trouble.

When you feed hay to a horse prior to feeding him grain, you can achieve a measure of stabilization of these bugs. Since changes within the horse’s diet can be felt so largely by the intestine, it’s extremely important to keep the stability of these bugs. Though there are a few studies which have suggested that this stabilization of the microbial bugs can affect the horse’s ability to digest the following grain, most respected research suggests that feeding a horse hay prior to the grain is the best way to achieve top performance in the horse.

Another issue comes down to timing. When, exactly should you provide the hay and the grain to the horse? Because of the suggestion that intestinal stability negatively affects the horse’s ability to take in the more important grain, it is suggested that horse owners leave a little bit of time between the instance of hay feeding and the primary grain feeding. There, it’s probably right to feed hay to a horse, and then allow the food to digest for around fifteen minutes before commencing with the grain.

In the end, it may not matter a great deal which order the food goes into the horse. If you are looking to get the absolute best health and best performance out of the animal, then these guidelines must be rigidly adhered to. Both hay and grain are important aspects of the horse’s overall nutrition, as each food provides something a little bit different. The horse’s body is a machine, though. Like with most machines, it will only achieve optimal performance when provided the right fuel. It doesn’t matter if you are planning to compete with the horse or you just enjoy taking it out for a Sunday stroll. When given the right nutrition base, your horse lives a happier life and you gain great satisfaction in its health.

 

Patricia Reszetylo
http://EquineTeleseminar.net

 

Comments

[Joni Solis]

Please note that many horses are over fed. Your horse may not need any grain at all. Many horses do great on just good quality hay without any added grain. Try it and see if your horse is one of them. You might be surprised. You could save money and have a healthier horse by skipping the grain. BUT make sure you do feed fresh, good quality hay!