You may recall that last month I sent a sample of Freedom Farm hay for analysis, and promised to follow up in this newsletter. Well, the analysis is back, and I feel like we are on the threshold of a wonderful process of learning about and fine-tuning our horses' feed! To better understand the hay analysis document, I met with our local friend and equine nutrition expert Barb Noble, who shared some interesting insights.
Barb's first comment was that our hay has a great nutritional foundation to start with, with special considerations for each type of feed we grow. I will be following up in future articles, but want to share some highlights from Barb:
Native Grass analysis: The simple sugars and starch are VERY LOW, which is great for our mini, ponies, and horses with metabolic issues like Cushings. I told her I'd fed the mini and ponies this hay for the first time this year, and that for the first time, our mini (Comet) shed his winter coat completely. She agreed, that was great news!
- Orchard Grasses 1st and 2nd cutting: these were also low in simple sugars and starches (below 10%) and showed good protein levels, which makes them a superior choice over Alfalfa which is very high in sugars.
- Iron levels: Barb noted that these were high, but not scary high, as she typically sees in the northwest. (High iron is particularly problematic for horses with Cushings or other metabolic problems.)
- Zinc and copper: these levels were low, given that these two elements serve to balance higher iron levels (such as in our hay). So this is an important focus as we begin our education in better balanced nutrition for our horses. (Barb recommends California Trace as a basic supplement to our type of hay, because it has no added iron and is high in copper and zinc.)
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A note from Barb Noble:
When Mary asked me to write a little about my passion for equine nutrition, I had to smile. As a child I hated food. As a nursing student I hated Nutrition. Really. I don't mean I didn't like it, I hated it. I didn't want to hear about it or know about it. I did not care about nutrition, and did not want to care about nutrition.
But then my HORSE needed nutrition attention. NOW nutrition was of paramount importance! I read everything that came by about equine nutrition, and subscribed to equine nutrition web sites. I studied equine nutrition. I took a lengthy nutrition course with Dr. Eleanor Kellon DVM, and expect to take another this winter. To this day, I carefully balance minerals in the diet of my horses... nutrition is suddenly life quality, a path away from disease.
Funny how we change.
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Background: Why this hay?
Earlier this year Jerry suggested to me that we feed the mini and ponies a different hay that he believed would be healthier for them. I agreed at the time, though I was not that clear about the difference from the hay we fed last year. And I went about my business. Well, as summer arrived, I could not help but notice the ponies' coats getting glossy and shedding fully, which was unusual.
Naturally, I questioned Jerry further about what had changed from last year: It seems that the exceptionally great weather this year allowed Jerry an unusually high quality first cutting on all his fields. Typically, the weather isn't hot enough in June for a good first cutting (a bit under grown and wet), so it goes into silage bales for the cows. This year's hay was 100% wonderful, including some native grass fields, which Jerry suggested we try on the ponies. The result was very noticeable, and I wanted to know why, so that's what led me to contact Barbara Noble who explained that good native grass should be coveted because its low sugar content. One thing led to another and I had all our hay tested. Going forward, with Barbara's help, we will be tailoring our feed program to better fit our horses, and sharing what we learn with the many people in our community who buy Jerry's hay.
Freedom Farm's hay was analyzed by Equi-Analytical and the pdf can be downloaded from our website. If you buy hay from Jerry, you can send this analysis to the folks at California Trace and ask about proper supplementation for your horse.
