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Grass, or grass products, provide the bulky foundation food that horses need. Its quality will depend on how it is managed, and the types of grasses grown. The best grass also makes the best hay, which is cut, dried grass, preserved to keep the same nutritional value throughout the year.
Where grass or hay is poor quality or scarce, or when it causes obesity and has to be restricted, specially formulated compounds, based on grassproducts, may be partly substituted. |
Good grasses include (ftom left to nght): meadow fescue, rye-grass, cocksfoot, timothy, Yorkshire fog and purple moor grass. |
Haylage, which is natural grass sealed in airtight bags, is highly nutritious and helps to prevent allergies to dust and fungal spores in hay. It can replace hay entirely as the horse's bulk feed, but introduce it gradually, especially a high protein variety such as lucerne. Haylage can be mixed with hay to increase volume and make it last longer.
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| Grass pellets (above), or a pasture mix (below), contain grasses and herbs with added minerals and vitamins. They are high in fibre, lOW in protein and energy. | A high-fibre mix (above) of selected dried herbage can replace poor quality hay or supplement grass. Haylage (below) is specially grown grasses, vacuum packed to retain moisture and nutrients. |