I normally get an alfalfa orchard blend for my horse that low and sugar. This horse has a history of ulcers although latest gastroscope only showed one small grade one superficial. Horse is doing very well on orchard alfalfa blend in a slow feeders and 1/4 of gastrogard for maintenance. I have been offered hey that is a mix of brome, Timothy and orchard. Can you please tell me about Brome.
We grow and bale Brome on our farm in Kansas. It is FANTASTIC hay. Very leafy, no tough stems. Nutrition is fairly close to Timothy. Definitely not a legume like alfalfa. Not sure that it would have the levels to be of any benefit towards ulcers.
Meant to add that Brome is a very common hay in Kansas/Oklahoma. It doesn’t seem to be as popular on the East Coast. We are only able to get 1 cutting per year off of the Brome we grow in central Kansas, so that may be a factor on the East Coast, where most growers can achieve second and even third cuttings on Orchard and Timothy. Heck, we’ve even had local growers here in MD get a 4th cutting when conditions are just right. Brome just doesn’t regrow as fast as other hay grasses.
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Is Bromegrass course or soft?
I like brome hay. Depends on when it’s cut but it can grow some big leaves. But as has been said it does tend to be leafy even when nature so in that sense it is not very coarse hay. It’s not going to be a replacement for your alfalfa mix though
I would prefer alfalfa orchard blend. The fine orchard/alfalfa blend is beautiful and he loves eating it!
The Brome we grow has broad long leaves that are soft, and the stems are fairly soft, too. Not stalky like 1st cut or over-mature timothy, but not as fine as some other grass hays.
My old toothless guys have no trouble gumming the Brome, it is easier on them than most Timothy.
But like IPEsq reiterated, Brome is NOT a legume and is not a replacement for alfalfa. Different nutrient profiles…
I can’t get brome here but I wish I could. I would love to have some of that hay!!! My friend who posts here as Auburn used to feed it to her mare when the mare was having impactions from timothy. Since brome had finer stems than timothy her mare did well on it. If you are getting this hay before it gets overly mature and it is well cured be happy. Just add a flake or two of alfalfa when you feed it and create your own mix. I find straight alfalfa seems to be easier to source than grass hay. Well at least where I am ( Alabama).
Thanks I think I will get it because I’m splitting the load with two others this hay provider has alqays been there for us when we needed hay. It’s low sugar which is also Important.
my only concern is this horse had twice experienced small intestine blockage colics I nearly lost him in June of 2017. However since that time he’s had no colics abdominal ultrasound showed no abnormalities and aside from one small grade one ulcer internal me since specialist felt he appeared healthy. I feed no grain other than a vitamin mineral supplement and good quality finer hay in a slow feeder. The internal medicine specialist said the only thing you could do to help prevent future small intestinal blockages in his feeding fine hay. She did also recommend alfalfa.
The stems tend to not get as coarse as some other grasses, so it would probably work. My horse loves it personally, and it seems to be good for his stomach from a gas perspective. But it’s hard to get here except to the extent some gets mixed in with some of the local “mixed grass” hays. My horse definitely prefers the bales that seem heavier on brome vs orchard grass.
To keep the overall nutrition similar, you’d need to look for some straight alfalfa as well. If you get later cutting (e.g., 3rd), then you’ll likely have less stemmy alfalfa, and you might have better control over that than when you buy it as part of a grass mix.
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