Beyond the bale: thinking outside the box to ensure our horses have the forage they need

Equestrians may have to start thinking outside the box when it comes to alternative forage sources for horses, scientists have suggested, if recent weather trends are here to stay.

Last summer’s low hay yield in some parts of the country, followed by a dry summer and very wet late winter, have created problems for many owners and yards.

Possible ways of coping with this situation, should it become the norm, will be discussed at a public lecture at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) in Cirencester on 25 February.

“Researchers in the equine industry are now keen to develop a greater understanding of the forages we feed our horses, as well as to look into alternative forages and new feeds, both of which they believe will be essential in order to be able to manage horses sustainably into the future,” an RAU spokesperson said.

The lecture will be led by Simon Daniels, RAU associate professor of equine science, and his former colleague Meriel Moore-Colyer, now professor of equine science at Hartpury University.

Professor Moore-Colyer has been studying haylage for some 35 years and in more recent years, she and Dr Daniels have been part of a research group looking into forage.

“There are ways we can think imaginatively around this problem, but I would think haylage might become a crop that’s a bit more used, and that we can conserve within our climate,” she said. “You can conserve it earlier, when we still have a bit of moisture; we were still getting quite a lot of rainfall in April, and that’s when they can start making haylage and silage.”

Professor Moore-Colyer said this earlier harvesting could be more productive than waiting for hay to grow in a dry late spring and early summer.

Alternative forage sources for horses

Dr Daniels said that horses will always need forage, and the key may be considering different forage options.

“We have colleagues in Germany, for example, who have been looking at different approaches. They’ve been making more alfalfa hay at some studs, because it’s something they can grow and conserve. I think probably, going forward, we might have to think a bit differently if we’re going to keep having years of variable weather.”

Dr Daniels said he would like to “bust some myths” about haylage; some owners think it is more acidic so should not be fed to horses prone to ulcers. But, he explained, the saliva produced by chewing means the haylage is not acidic by the time it reaches the stomach.

“If there’s lots of water-soluble carbohydrate in the haylage that might ferment in the stomach, that we don’t know the answer to, but I think owners worry that haylage is acidic, so not suitable for horses with gastric ulcers, but actually we don’t truly know that, and if they’re chewing well, it might not be a problem.

“People are obviously concerned about a lack of forage, but maybe we do have forage options available, but we’re not truly exploring.

“Mariel did some work, years ago, feeding ponies silage. It might not be the most appropriate, but we do have forage sources we could probably explore better, that we know we can conserve, but we’re very hay focused, because that’s what’s always done.”

Nutritional value

Another issue both scientists are interested in is nutrient quality of forage; if this is better, it could mean less need for concentrated feed.

“We need people to understand a bit more about the energy they can get from forage, and we need better analysis,” Dr Daniels said, adding that this is an area his team is looking into.

Professor Moore-Colyer agreed that alfalfa could help here too; analysis has shown it is a very good source of crude protein.

“So that’s something; mix alfalfa with haylage and you have a balanced diet,” she said. “And we can grow good alfalfa in this country.”

Both scientists agreed that the key is to start thinking differently.

“We’re not saying ‘You need to change everything’,” Professor Moore-Colyer said. “We’re just suggesting a little shift here, a little shift there. It’s not saying ‘I can’t feed hay again’; you might be able to feed a bit of hay and a bit of something else, so that’s going to be our message.”

The lecture starts at 6.30pm on 25 February and tickets are available online.

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