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hay, young, no mold: Detailed Information
The nutritional requirements shown by the horizontal black line
in graphs 1 and 2 are those of a mature 1100 lb horse in maintenance
to little exercise. The supplementation shown in graph 2 will
vary depending on the physiological status and exercise level of
a given horse.
Editor’s note:
The following graphs show the optimum nutrient requirements; in real life,
it is practical and just fine to work within a range above and bellow the
optimum nutrition line
Graph 1: Equine digestible energy, crude protein and mineral
content
[click to enlarge-14K]
Graph 1 shows the energy, protein and mineral content
of the hay (red bars), and compares these values to the nutrient requirements
of a mature 1100 lb horse in maintenance to little exercise (black horizontal
line).
Graph 2: Required supplementation
[click to enlarge-14K]
Graph 2 shows nutritional content (red bars) of the hay in comparison to equine
nutrient requirements (black horizontal line) and the required mineral supplementation
(yellow bars).
The yellow bars in Graph 2 highlight the importance of mineral
and vitamin supplementation. Horses loose so much salt through
sweating that it needs to be supplemented in much higher levels
than the other minerals. It is therefore a good idea to have a
mineral mix and salt supplementation available to the horse. Vitamins
are very easily lost from the nutritional components of hay, even
if it stored correctly, and they should always be part of the supplementation.
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