Oat hay averages 880 calories per pound. The average 1,100-lb. horse requires roughly 16,400 calories each day to maintain its weight, and most types of hay have roughly the same number of calories per pound. If you don't plan to provide any other food sources, you would need to feed your horse 18 1/2 lbs. of hay per day to keep it at a good weight.
Nutrition
Oat hay is about 38 percent acid detergent fiber (ADF), which is used to measure indigestible fiber in forages. Alfalfa offers 36 percent ADF and timothy hay offers 37 percent ADF. 54 percent of oat hay is total digestible nutrients (TDN). TDN measures the amount of energy available in the foodstuff. Alfalfa offers 56 percent TDN, and timothy hay offers 57 percent TDN.
Expert Insight
High-fiber roughage should make up 1.5 to 2 percent of your horse's diet. If you don't have access to sufficient quality hay because of drought or storage limitations, you can substitute some of the ration with beet pulp, soy hulls or hay or alfalfa cubes.
Considerations
It isn't possible for all horses to maintain a healthy weight on hay alone. If you're feeding your horse 2 percent of its body weight in hay and other high-fiber supplements and it still doesn't keep a good weight, supplement the diet with grain. The grain meals should be small, with each one no larger than 0.5 percent of your horse's weight. If your horse requires more than this to maintain a healthy weight, feed it several small meals daily.
Member Comments