2nd vs 3rd cutting alfalfa?

[Amy3996]

Which do you/your horses prefer?

My ulcer prone/hard keeper OTTB gets alfalfa to supplement the barn’s grass hay in the winter. I’m headed out to my hay supplier tonight to take a look at some alfalfa. He has both 2nd and 3rd cutting available for slightly different prices, and I’m on the fence about which to buy. I don’t believe it’s been tested, so I’m working on limited information from texture and appearance. We had 3rd cutting this past year from a different supplier that my horse seemed to do fine on.

[luvmyhackney]

Whatever is the softest, I prefer 3rd cut for hard keepers.

2nd cut can be more fiber and less leaf.

[lenapesadie]

My old TB wastes less of 2nd cut. Third cut is so leafy that it separates from the stems and he won’t eat it. Possibly 3rd with higher moisture content would be different

[Scribbler]

I think you need to see the hay to decide. What gets sold as first second third cut can vary a lot depending on local conditions.

[Simkie]

Very, very, very in general, I prefer later cuts over earlier cuts. But you really need to SEE the hay.

[Amy3996]

Thanks, everyone! I figured once I actually see and touch the hay tonight, I’d have a better sense of which to buy. I was just curious if there was any other factor I should be considering too.

ETA: The second cut was coarse and stemmy, but surprisingly leafy when he opened up a bale. He ended up having two types of third cutting. One was similar to what I bought last year but softer, with finer stems and more leaves. The other was gorgeous, super soft and bright green.

Thankfully my supplier was really forthcoming about that batching being baled late and maybe with a higher moisture content than they would’ve liked. He wasn’t comfortable selling it until he was confident it would keep. I ended up going with first 3rd cutting option. It’s still subjectively nicer than what I’m currently feeding (we’ll see what His Royal Highness thinks) and I didn’t want to gamble on hay that might not have been put up correctly.

Price delivered and stacked is still somehow $3 less per bale than I paid last year, so counting my blessings.