Table of Contents
What do horses eat straw or hay?
Horses will nibble at straw, but it won’t hurt them to eat it. Unlike hay, it provides no nutrients, but the fibrous material can keep the gut moving. Your best choice is probably wheat straw, if available, because horses usually won’t eat it.
Do you feed animals straw or hay?
Straw Versus Hay Hay is harvested while it is still a live, healthy plant. Straw is the dead stalks of plants after the valuable parts of the plants have been harvested. Hay provides a good nutritional value for animals who are going to be eating it, while straw provides little nutrition.
What do cattle and horses eat?
1. They Both Eat Grass and Hay. Horses and cows like to eat grass as well as hay. In fact, they both need to eat forage, plant material, to keep their digestive systems working correctly.
What is the best hay for cattle and horses?
As a general rule of thumb, grass hay is best for horses. Alfalfa or other legume hay can be an excellent feed to mix with grass hay for animals that need more protein. Alfalfa is also a good winter feed because heat is created by the digestion of protein.
Can you feed cattle straw?
Straw is a good alternative in rations for cows and sheep if properly supplemented with higher quality feedstuffs. Differences in feeding value do exist among the straws. Oats is the most palatable and nutritious; barley straw is second and wheat straw has the lowest nutritional value of the main grains.
Can horses eat cattle hay?
The protein content of dry cow hay ranges anywhere from 10 to 22 percent. It is often off color, very mature, and may contain a little mold. While dry cow hay is fine for cattle in the feedlot, it is not fine for horses.
What is the horse food?
Horses are herbivores and, as such, they need a very specific diet. In simple terms, horses eat grass and hay or haylage, but salt, concentrates and fruits or vegetables can also enhance their diets, depending on the required work regime and available feed.
Can you feed a horse cow hay?
Generally speaking, hay producers use the term when they realize the hay is not of sufficient quality to interest most horse owners. On the flip side, cow hay could mean dairy-quality alfalfa, a pure legume forage that is rich in protein, often over 25\%, and therefore inappropriate for most classes of horses.
Do cows and horses eat hay?
During the cold winter months when pastures contain scant forage, hay is the typical diet for cattle, horses, sheep and goats. Next to pasture, good quality hay is the ideal feed.