some of last years square bale test results
Your hay test and your horse
How to decipher the lab report and tell what it means
Buying hay for your horse can be a challange whether you buy it a few bales at a time or buy a years supply as soon as it becomes available in the summer. Supply, price and quality have always been important parameters to consider when buying hay for horses, but now, more than ever before, horse owners are becoming aware of the importance of nutritional components of the hay they feed. Many hay dealers will provide you with a lab analysis for the hay they have for sale. If not, or if you grow your own hay, you'll need to sample it yourself for laboratory analysis.
How do I sample my hay ?
The first challenge in getting hay analyzed for nutrient content is obtaining a representative sample. Ideally, sampling hay involves the use of a hay drill suitable for "coring" sufficient bales to get a representative sample. Sampling at least 6-12 bales of the stack is recommended to get get an accurate sample.While coring bales with a proper hay drill is recommended, it is possible to take grab samples (handfuls) of a number of bales (atleast 10-12 different bales) if you dont have a drill. Whether you have cored bales or taken grab samples, the hay you have collected off the stack needs to be well mixed in a large pail and then sub sampled. The sub sample should be of a sufficient amount to fill a large zip lack bag.
When you have your hay sample ready it should be packed in water proof packaging and either personally delivered or sent via postal service, bus or courier to the lab of your choice. Make sure you included your name and phone number or e-mail address so that you can be advised when your hay analysis is completed. Analysis options can include wet chemistry or NIRS ( Near Infrared Spectroscopy ) and either would be suitable for the analysis of horse hay for the basic nutrients such as Moisture, Dry Matter, Crude Protien, NSC and sugars.
Analyzing hay for trace minerals should always be done using wet chemistry methods. While NIRS can be highly accurate for determining most nutrients in a hay sample, it isn't recognized as being sufficiently accurate for trace mineral analysis.
How do I read the lab report ?
As Fed versus Dry Matter basis
Your first look at your hay analysis report may be intimidating. You will see a large collection of numbers, usually arrayed in two columns labelled as "AS FED" and "DRY MATTER BASIS" . For the purposes of evaluating the hay for your horse you will most often consult the "DRY MATTER BASIS" column. Both sets of numbers represent the actual amount of the specific nutrient in the hay but the "AS FED" column is reported with the values expressed as a percentage of the feed including the weight of the moisture in it. The "DRY MATTER BASIS" column is reporting the nutrients expressed a a percentage of the feed without the moisture included. Every feed-stuff has moisture... some have more than others. In order to accurately compare the inputs into your horse's diet of one feed-stuff relative to another it is important to compare them on a "DRY MATTER BASIS" so that the nutrients they contribute are not being "diluted' in percentage by the moisture present in the feed. Grass or alfalfa hay should ideally be 90% dry matter or over, indicating the presence of 10% moisture or less. More than 10% moisture in a hay sample could indicate a higher risk for mold or heating in the bales.
Crude Protein
Crude protein is an estimation of the total protein content of a feed. It is determined by analyzing the nitrogen content of the feed and multiplying the result by 6.25. Protein in some feed stuffs such as grass silage or haylage can be further differentiated by criteria such as protein digestibility and protein quality.Generally grass or alfalfa HAYS THAT ARE 90% dry matter or above and harvested at a pre-bloom or pre-boot stage contain a high quality protein of superior digestibility.
The requirement for protein in the hay by a horse will vary according to what other feed are being offered, the work level of the horse and the metabolic state ie growing mature, breeding stallion, lactating mare ect. The protein requirements of horses are well documented in the ( National Research Council Nutrient Guidelines For Horses) available on-line at http://nrc88.nas.edu/nrh/ The hay you should buy for your should be high enough in Crude Protein % to ensure that maintenance protein requirements for your horse are being met. Ideally this means finding hay with crude protein in the range of 10%-14% on a dry matter basis(DM). Hay that is lower in CP than 10% could possibly have high NSC ( nonstructural carbohydrate) values so use caution in buying low protein "maintenance" hays.
ADF ad NDF and Lignin
The terms ADf and NDF stand for Acid Detergent Fibre and Neutral Detergent Fibre respectively. These terms refers to the cell wall portion of the forage that are made up of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin. These values are important because they give an indication to the ability of the horse to digest As forage matures the ADF,NDF and Ligniues tend to increase.As ADF,NDF and Lignin increase, digestibility of the hay usually decreases. The energy measurements such as DE(Digestible Engery) reported on your hay analysis are calculated using the ADF,NDF and Lignin values.
ESC,WSC,Starch and NSC
The terms ADF,NDF and lignin are all used to help quantify the cells walls in your hay test.The terms ESC,WSC Starch and NSC are used to describe the cell content portions of the hay.The terms ESc and WSC stand for ethanol soluble carbohydrate and water soluble carbohydrate respectively. ESC is a measure of the very simple sugars and WSC is a measure of the ESC plus the more complex sugars present in the hay sample. The difference between WSC and ESC is essentially the complex storage suar called fructan. Forage testing labs are not yet testing specifically for this sugar but it is possible to get an idea of the fructan content of your grass hay by subtracting the ESC value form the WSC value. The difference is the approximate percentage of the fructan in your hay sample. There is increasing evidence for on going research that fructan is a carbohydrate compound that may be causing significant health issues for our metabolically challenged horses.
Starch is a complex form of sugar that the plant may use to store carbohydrate. Most cool season grasses do not store plant carbohydrates as starch and so it isn't usually a very significant component of hay.
The sum of WSC (equal to roughly the ESC and fructan content of the hay) and the starch is equal to the NSC or Non-Structural Carbohydrate. NSC is the number commonly used by equine nutritionist and horse owners as a parameter for "safe" hay for metabolically challenged horses. The rule of thumb for feeding a horse with health issues such as Insulin Resistance, Cushings Diease or Pre-Laminitic Syndrome is sourcing hay with an NSC value of 10% or less on a dry matter basis.
Nitrate
Nitrate is a nitrogen containing compound that can be toxic to horses if ingested in large enough amounts. Hay can become high in nitrate if it is irrigated by high nitrate water, excessive applications of nitrogen containing fertilizers of if the hay field is infested with weeds that are high in nitrate. High nitrate can cause gastro-intestinal irritation,colic and/ or diarrhea in your horse but the biggest risk form nitrate is that of nitrate toxicity.Nitrate is converted to the more toxic nitrate in the hind gut of the horses by the fibre fermenting bacteria. Once converted , the nitrate travels through the gut wall into the blood stream where is interferes with the ability of the horse's red blood cells to carry oxygen.Clinical signs of nitrate toxicity are laboured breathing or panting, ataxia, convulsions, grey or bluish mucosa, abortions in pregnant animals and death.Ensure that nitrate levels on your hay test are low and negligible.
DE-Digestible Engery
Energy is frequently described as being a nutrient but in actual fact is a measure of the "fuel" provided for the horse by other nutrients.DE or digestible energy is a calculated value that is an attempt to quantify the amount of "fuel" provided by feed-stuff. On your lab report,DE is a computer derived calculation that has taken into consideration all the nutrients contained in the hay.
Digestible energy is quantified in terms of calories, or in horse nutrition,mega-calories (MCAL) , and a unit of measurements equal to 1 million calories. Calories are the units of energy that represents a standardized amount of heat released when organic compounds undergo combustion in the animal's bodies.
Comparing feed-stuffs for your horse on DE alone can be misleading. Higher fiber,lower digestibility feeds that might be suitable for an overweight horse because the would reduce intake,could have a high DE because cellulose as a complex carbohydrate, can actually have moderately high calorie content. DE doesn't give us a good indication of the digestibility of a feed or how readily the horse will eat it.
What is a Good Hay Test?
You now have your hay test in your hand but do you know what those numbers need to be for your horse? What constitutes a good hay test? That will depend on your horse and his age,amount of work, weather condition and whether he has any pre-existing metabolic conditions. We all know that insulin resistant horses have low tolerance for high sugar hays but if your insulin resistant horse is a mature pasture ornament he may not require the higher protein level commonly found in low sugar hays. It is important to use some common sense in selecting hays and balance your horse's diet for the hay in your barn by making it a part of a more varied diet including other safe fiber sources if it doesn't exactly fit your horses unique set of requirements.
Guidelines
The following is a table with some guidelines to follow when interpreting your hay analysis. Remember these are guideline only and a lab report with a nutrient that falls outside these guidelines is not necessarily a cause for major concern.One of the most important criteria in buying hay, regardless of the lab analysis is the quality. Is it clean, free from weeds and extraneous material like sticks etc.The best hay analysis in the world becomes of secondary importance if the hay is moldy or hot to the touch when you open a bale. Remember that regardless of your hay test your horse will be healthier if you follow some basic feeding principles including small meals fed often and ample fresh water.
General Test Guidelines For Horses
Mature Mature Metabolically
Sedentary Working Challenged
Dry Matter / Moisture (%) 88‐92 / 8‐12 88‐92 / 8‐12 88‐92 / 8‐12
Crude Protein (%) 10‐15% 12‐16% 10‐16%
ADF (%) 30‐40% 30‐40% 30‐40%
NDF (%) 50‐60% 50‐60% 50‐60%
WSC (%) 14 or less 17 or less 10 or less
NSC (%) less than 15 less than 18 less than <10
Nitrates (%) less than 0.44 less than 0.44 less than 0.44
Digestible Energy / kg 2 Mcal ± 0.2 2 Mcal ± 0.2 2 Mcal ± 0.2
Note that for low sugar hay the NSC% should be below 10%
How do I sample my hay ?
The first challenge in getting hay analyzed for nutrient content is obtaining a representative sample. Ideally, sampling hay involves the use of a hay drill suitable for "coring" sufficient bales to get a representative sample. Sampling at least 6-12 bales of the stack is recommended to get get an accurate sample.While coring bales with a proper hay drill is recommended, it is possible to take grab samples (handfuls) of a number of bales (atleast 10-12 different bales) if you dont have a drill. Whether you have cored bales or taken grab samples, the hay you have collected off the stack needs to be well mixed in a large pail and then sub sampled. The sub sample should be of a sufficient amount to fill a large zip lack bag.
When you have your hay sample ready it should be packed in water proof packaging and either personally delivered or sent via postal service, bus or courier to the lab of your choice. Make sure you included your name and phone number or e-mail address so that you can be advised when your hay analysis is completed. Analysis options can include wet chemistry or NIRS ( Near Infrared Spectroscopy ) and either would be suitable for the analysis of horse hay for the basic nutrients such as Moisture, Dry Matter, Crude Protien, NSC and sugars.
Analyzing hay for trace minerals should always be done using wet chemistry methods. While NIRS can be highly accurate for determining most nutrients in a hay sample, it isn't recognized as being sufficiently accurate for trace mineral analysis.
How do I read the lab report ?
As Fed versus Dry Matter basis
Your first look at your hay analysis report may be intimidating. You will see a large collection of numbers, usually arrayed in two columns labelled as "AS FED" and "DRY MATTER BASIS" . For the purposes of evaluating the hay for your horse you will most often consult the "DRY MATTER BASIS" column. Both sets of numbers represent the actual amount of the specific nutrient in the hay but the "AS FED" column is reported with the values expressed as a percentage of the feed including the weight of the moisture in it. The "DRY MATTER BASIS" column is reporting the nutrients expressed a a percentage of the feed without the moisture included. Every feed-stuff has moisture... some have more than others. In order to accurately compare the inputs into your horse's diet of one feed-stuff relative to another it is important to compare them on a "DRY MATTER BASIS" so that the nutrients they contribute are not being "diluted' in percentage by the moisture present in the feed. Grass or alfalfa hay should ideally be 90% dry matter or over, indicating the presence of 10% moisture or less. More than 10% moisture in a hay sample could indicate a higher risk for mold or heating in the bales.
Crude Protein
Crude protein is an estimation of the total protein content of a feed. It is determined by analyzing the nitrogen content of the feed and multiplying the result by 6.25. Protein in some feed stuffs such as grass silage or haylage can be further differentiated by criteria such as protein digestibility and protein quality.Generally grass or alfalfa HAYS THAT ARE 90% dry matter or above and harvested at a pre-bloom or pre-boot stage contain a high quality protein of superior digestibility.
The requirement for protein in the hay by a horse will vary according to what other feed are being offered, the work level of the horse and the metabolic state ie growing mature, breeding stallion, lactating mare ect. The protein requirements of horses are well documented in the ( National Research Council Nutrient Guidelines For Horses) available on-line at http://nrc88.nas.edu/nrh/ The hay you should buy for your should be high enough in Crude Protein % to ensure that maintenance protein requirements for your horse are being met. Ideally this means finding hay with crude protein in the range of 10%-14% on a dry matter basis(DM). Hay that is lower in CP than 10% could possibly have high NSC ( nonstructural carbohydrate) values so use caution in buying low protein "maintenance" hays.
ADF ad NDF and Lignin
The terms ADf and NDF stand for Acid Detergent Fibre and Neutral Detergent Fibre respectively. These terms refers to the cell wall portion of the forage that are made up of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin. These values are important because they give an indication to the ability of the horse to digest As forage matures the ADF,NDF and Ligniues tend to increase.As ADF,NDF and Lignin increase, digestibility of the hay usually decreases. The energy measurements such as DE(Digestible Engery) reported on your hay analysis are calculated using the ADF,NDF and Lignin values.
ESC,WSC,Starch and NSC
The terms ADF,NDF and lignin are all used to help quantify the cells walls in your hay test.The terms ESC,WSC Starch and NSC are used to describe the cell content portions of the hay.The terms ESc and WSC stand for ethanol soluble carbohydrate and water soluble carbohydrate respectively. ESC is a measure of the very simple sugars and WSC is a measure of the ESC plus the more complex sugars present in the hay sample. The difference between WSC and ESC is essentially the complex storage suar called fructan. Forage testing labs are not yet testing specifically for this sugar but it is possible to get an idea of the fructan content of your grass hay by subtracting the ESC value form the WSC value. The difference is the approximate percentage of the fructan in your hay sample. There is increasing evidence for on going research that fructan is a carbohydrate compound that may be causing significant health issues for our metabolically challenged horses.
Starch is a complex form of sugar that the plant may use to store carbohydrate. Most cool season grasses do not store plant carbohydrates as starch and so it isn't usually a very significant component of hay.
The sum of WSC (equal to roughly the ESC and fructan content of the hay) and the starch is equal to the NSC or Non-Structural Carbohydrate. NSC is the number commonly used by equine nutritionist and horse owners as a parameter for "safe" hay for metabolically challenged horses. The rule of thumb for feeding a horse with health issues such as Insulin Resistance, Cushings Diease or Pre-Laminitic Syndrome is sourcing hay with an NSC value of 10% or less on a dry matter basis.
Nitrate
Nitrate is a nitrogen containing compound that can be toxic to horses if ingested in large enough amounts. Hay can become high in nitrate if it is irrigated by high nitrate water, excessive applications of nitrogen containing fertilizers of if the hay field is infested with weeds that are high in nitrate. High nitrate can cause gastro-intestinal irritation,colic and/ or diarrhea in your horse but the biggest risk form nitrate is that of nitrate toxicity.Nitrate is converted to the more toxic nitrate in the hind gut of the horses by the fibre fermenting bacteria. Once converted , the nitrate travels through the gut wall into the blood stream where is interferes with the ability of the horse's red blood cells to carry oxygen.Clinical signs of nitrate toxicity are laboured breathing or panting, ataxia, convulsions, grey or bluish mucosa, abortions in pregnant animals and death.Ensure that nitrate levels on your hay test are low and negligible.
DE-Digestible Engery
Energy is frequently described as being a nutrient but in actual fact is a measure of the "fuel" provided for the horse by other nutrients.DE or digestible energy is a calculated value that is an attempt to quantify the amount of "fuel" provided by feed-stuff. On your lab report,DE is a computer derived calculation that has taken into consideration all the nutrients contained in the hay.
Digestible energy is quantified in terms of calories, or in horse nutrition,mega-calories (MCAL) , and a unit of measurements equal to 1 million calories. Calories are the units of energy that represents a standardized amount of heat released when organic compounds undergo combustion in the animal's bodies.
Comparing feed-stuffs for your horse on DE alone can be misleading. Higher fiber,lower digestibility feeds that might be suitable for an overweight horse because the would reduce intake,could have a high DE because cellulose as a complex carbohydrate, can actually have moderately high calorie content. DE doesn't give us a good indication of the digestibility of a feed or how readily the horse will eat it.
What is a Good Hay Test?
You now have your hay test in your hand but do you know what those numbers need to be for your horse? What constitutes a good hay test? That will depend on your horse and his age,amount of work, weather condition and whether he has any pre-existing metabolic conditions. We all know that insulin resistant horses have low tolerance for high sugar hays but if your insulin resistant horse is a mature pasture ornament he may not require the higher protein level commonly found in low sugar hays. It is important to use some common sense in selecting hays and balance your horse's diet for the hay in your barn by making it a part of a more varied diet including other safe fiber sources if it doesn't exactly fit your horses unique set of requirements.
Guidelines
The following is a table with some guidelines to follow when interpreting your hay analysis. Remember these are guideline only and a lab report with a nutrient that falls outside these guidelines is not necessarily a cause for major concern.One of the most important criteria in buying hay, regardless of the lab analysis is the quality. Is it clean, free from weeds and extraneous material like sticks etc.The best hay analysis in the world becomes of secondary importance if the hay is moldy or hot to the touch when you open a bale. Remember that regardless of your hay test your horse will be healthier if you follow some basic feeding principles including small meals fed often and ample fresh water.
General Test Guidelines For Horses
Mature Mature Metabolically
Sedentary Working Challenged
Dry Matter / Moisture (%) 88‐92 / 8‐12 88‐92 / 8‐12 88‐92 / 8‐12
Crude Protein (%) 10‐15% 12‐16% 10‐16%
ADF (%) 30‐40% 30‐40% 30‐40%
NDF (%) 50‐60% 50‐60% 50‐60%
WSC (%) 14 or less 17 or less 10 or less
NSC (%) less than 15 less than 18 less than <10
Nitrates (%) less than 0.44 less than 0.44 less than 0.44
Digestible Energy / kg 2 Mcal ± 0.2 2 Mcal ± 0.2 2 Mcal ± 0.2
Note that for low sugar hay the NSC% should be below 10%