Now Is The Time To Consider Using A Forage Analysis

Horse owners know that optimum nutrition is key
to maintaining the health of their equine
partners. Every horse needs a balanced diet.
From broodmares and stallions, foals and growing
youngsters, show and performance horses, even
retirees and pastures pets, all horses can
benefit from the correct combination of
carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins,
minerals and fiber to compliment their
particular lifestyle. Yet with all of the many
feed choices on the market, each claiming to be
the best available, how is a horse owner to
decide which diet to choose?

Horses Require Forage

The majority of any horse's daily feed should
come from some type of forage. Whether hay or
pasture, horses need large quantities of plant
material to satisfy their evolutionary need to
graze. The challenge horse owners face is that
the quality of the forage can vary from year to
year, or even season to season, depending on
factors such as rainfall, temperature,
fertilization and growth cycle of the plants. In
order to better understand exactly what their
horses are eating, horse owners can order a
forage analysis test from a feed specialist or
agriculture extension office.

Forage Analysis

A basic forage analysis will typically measure
the percentage of dry matter, crude protein,
sugars, ash and fiber. Additional analyses can
include calcium, copper, iron, magnesium,
manganese, potassium, phosphorous, sodium and
zinc. All of these nutrients are vital to a
horse's health, and they must be available in
the correct ratio to provide maximum nutrition.
The testing lab will provide information on how
to interpret the test findings so that each
horse owner can properly supplement their
horse's diet, if necessary. It is best to
conduct an analysis early in the spring to get a
jump on immediate nutritional needs, and again
later in the summer to see if the analyzed
values have changed.

How to Provide Samples to the Lab

When testing the forage of a horse's hay, the
owner should open several bales and take a
portion from the middle of each bale, mix the
samples together and send them all in one bag.
This ensures that the test is not limited to one
small portion of one bale and allows for a much
more accurate result. When sampling pasture,
both grass and other forage should be collected
from a variety of different locations throughout
the field. Samples should be collected using
scissors, with plants cut close to the ground
but excluding roots or soil. Again, the samples
should be combined to give an overall result for
the pasture and not one small portion of it.

Selecting Supplementary Feeds

Once the nutritional value of the forage is
known, the testing lab or other feed experts can
advise horse owners on the feeds or supplements
that may be needed to ensure maximum nutrition
for their horses. It is just as important to
know what to feed as it is to know what not to
feed, as the proper balance is critical.

Test, Test, Test

Responsible horse owners do not leave the
health of their valued equine partners to
chance. Simple lab tests can give a very
detailed account of what the horses are eating
and what they need. Given the cost of feeding
horses and the health risks of feeding
incorrectly, a nutritional analysis of any
horse's forage is an small investment with big
returns.

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This article is writtent to provide the reader
with the information regarding a forage analysis
this spring, some labs may differ but this is the
accepted method. Resourced
http://www.dodsonandhorrell.com

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