Hay help: feeding the laminitic/Cushing's horse, coastal VS cool season grasses

[Bugs_s_Mom]

We have several management/nutritional issues going on at our barn but the most serious is the Cushing’s horse. We have one that is an air fern to the extreme and another typical OTTB with a history of ulcers (has been managed well for over 2 years now). We have historically fed coastal and have not had issues. The only reason I am even debating this is I can get fescue/orchard mix for the exact same price as coastal. I live in central NC and our coastal is soft, green, super fragrant and the horses generally like it. Last year we got Tifton bermuda and they ate that like crack but I waited too long and that supplier is sold out.

So my question/dilemma is, do I just stick with coastal or do I chance it and switch to the F/O mix.

FWIW, we did give a flake of medium (bleached and very stemy) quality alfalfa last year to the OTTB and the Cushing’s horse. They came out of winter looking like a million bucks.

TIA

[JB]

Without testing you can’t know if the F/O mix is suitable for the PPID horse. Do you know when (date) it was cut, and where it was grown? That might give some insight into the more likely sugar/starch content.

[Bugs_s_Mom]

The F/O that is the same price is grown in central NC. There are others out there for a little more per bale shipped in from northern states like PA etc.

[MorganMaresVT]

You really need to test both options to make an informed decision about what will be safe. The way it looks doesn’t give you the information you need.

[Bugs_s_Mom]

That’s what I figured. I am still exploring options and some of the sellers in the FB groups I joined have analysis available.

[JB]

Central NC has enough variety of weather in the Summer it’s too hard to know what conditions were like. Is that hay tested? If you offered to pay for it to be, would he? That’s a pretty inexpensive way to find out if it’s worth having an alternative to nearly straight Coastl

[Bugs_s_Mom]

The options that are tested are out of PA. I can definitely ask about testing as I plan to test any I get anyway. Testing is not expensive by any means.

[JB]

Yep, a good test with Equi-Analytical is around $30 or so

[MorganMaresVT]

It’s even cheaper, only $20 if you just want to be sure you’re getting ESC/WSC/Starch in there along with the basic protein and vitamin analysis. I just went through testing 4 different loads for my metabolic air fern Morgans. It’s been an awful hay year in Vermont because of July flooding, and even my regular local supplier had to bring us stuff from a different field than we usually get bales from, so I fretted about whether it would work out. And we had to supplement with stuff trucked in from NY. Fortunately it all worked out, and I became good friends with the nice accounting reps with Equi-analytical in the process And now have 400 bales of safe hay to get us through the winter, even though some of it looks too green and fluffy to possibly have an appropriate NSC value.

[JB]

@MorganMaresVT

It’s even cheaper, only $20

That’s the 600 Fast Track test, which doesn’t give you any minerals other than Ca and P. That might be fine, but personally, if I’m testing, and especially if I’m testing for EMS horses, I also want the trace minerals. And if the hay was known to be grown in a very unusual weather pattern, I’d especially want the trace minerals because they could really be out of whack.

[MorganMaresVT]

Yep, that’s fair!