I just got some Teff hay to try with my IR pony, who is a companion for my 9 months pregnant mare. The pony seems to like the hay and I was wondering if Teff was safe for pregnant mares and nutritionally sufficient. They are fed seperately and I’m not really looking to change her feeding program at this point, but was thinking of introducing some of it into her feed if it safe enough - ie, any issues the same as the fescue grass/hay would?
You get many varieties of Teff and they are all absolutely suitable for feeding to all horses, incl and especially pregnant mares. It is one of the highest protein hays out there. If one feeds Teff ad lib, one is able to cut down one’s concentrates substantially because the horse does so well on it. There are absolutely no dangers with feeding Teff to your pregnant mare. It is my hay of choice, supplemented by a little alfalfa and oat hay. Horses prefer Teff to almost every other hay available.
I have been feeding it to my pregnant mares for years. No problems !!
no worries. We grow over 100 acers of it I feed to all me breeding mares. Love it. My husband and I have been featured in many articles about the teff hay and it’s male up and nutrition benifits. feel free to im me or email me any questions.
I’d love to try teff in MI. Do you know anyone growing it up here?
Warm ground for Teff
Hi,
We are in Mid PA and grow Teff hay/forage. We like it very much because you get two crops off of it. It is an annual crop, so dies with first frost, but can pasture it up until then, if you take hay off first.
It needs to go in the ground after danger of frost is over and likes HOT soil. I don’t know what part of MI you are in, but don’t plant too early and make sure you are past frost.
It is super for places where you get a dry summer and no grass coming, and we like it for paddocks that get eaten down in winter/spring:), as it germinates in about 5 days.
msfarab
Sounds interesting but I cannot find anywhere around here to purchase seed?
Bad news…
[B]I know this is an old post but someone sent it to me so I could share our experiences with Teff.
I would not give Teff hay to my horses if was given to me. I have never had such bad experiences in all our horse years, than we did in the short period that we gave Teff.
Our local supplier had a plot planted for free so he could see the “benefits” of it. It was great for him - easy to grow, good yield, but it was awful for us.
We had multiple eye injuries - yes from the Teff. It actually punctured their eye and due to the barbs along it’s stems we couldn’t remove it without a vet’s assistance.
We had multiple colics that we were able to attribute directly to the Teff. We put the horses on Teff - they coliced. Took their feed away - got them healthy - within hours of being put back on the Teff hay they colicked again. Took them off - got them healthy - put them back on Orchard and haven’t had another colic episode.
Our vet took one look at the Teff and said it was a nightmare waiting to happen. She sent us magnified views of the Teff, of Coastal and of Alfalfa. Teff is covered with barbs…all along the stem, every part of it.
So, while it’s nutritional value is wonderful, the risks associated with it are far too great for me. I have 100 bales left that I will likely give away or burn. It’s just not worth the risk.
If anyone would like to see the photos just email me. I will gladly share.[/B]
teff hay
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WOW! Sounds like you got a nightmare batch of teff hay 
Sorry that you had such a bad experience. Can’t imagine dealing w/so many colics. I’ve had ONE colic [rich alfalfa], and that was one too many, thank you.
I’ve been using teff in S.CA for a few years and all of the horses eat it at a good rate [ie: not bolting and not leaving and wasting]. I feed it free choice to my formerly RAVENOUS IR TWH. Since using it FC, he has become a grazer and walks away from his feed rather than bolting his 2x/d feedings. YEAH!!
Based on research I’ve done, teff tests very close to timothy, which I have considered to be the “gold standard” of grass hays. Orchard usually has inverted Ca:Phos ratio [ideal being approx. 2:1 [acceptable up to 6 Ca:1 Phos] and can have high sugars/starches/NSC levels. Very palatable, tho, and an excellent mix w/alfalfa b/c it offsets the high Ca:Phos ratio of alfa. I believe that alfa/orch mixes are seeded to yield a more consistent 40/60 ratio than the “alfa/grass” mixes which are extremely variable from bale to bale. In CA, it is difficult to find a decent bermuda hay. What we get is very fine-stemmed/“stringy”. Vets here [and AAEP, I beleive]generally advise against it due to the risk of impaction colic. The vet hospitals are slowly changing to teff hay from timothy, altho’ some still use tim. As w/any hays, teff can vary in its analysis. I have seen some w/well over 10% NSC, which must be soaked to remove sugars for IR/Cushings/founder/PSSM horses. Most analyses I’ve seen on teff have NSC at about 10% ~ the max for metabolic horses per Eleanor Kellon, VMD, lead researcher on Eq Cushings and Insulin Resistant Horses [ECIR] project and Yahoo group. http://www.drkellon.com/aboutdrkellon.html
The protein of teff is much lower than alfalfa ~ also usually about 10%. Dr. Kellon urges people to get an analysis on whatever hay they are using [esp. w/horses w/issues] and to balance the minerals appropriately. A hassle, particularly in a boarding facility that gets frequent deliveries.
Another WONDERFUL feature of teff is that ~ in S.CA ~ the cost is substancially lower than tim or orchard. The local feed store has a #1 teff for $16.50/bale and a #2 teff for $7/bale. In comparison, the variable [0-50%]alfalfa/grass mixes [NOT orchard] are about $10-12/bale and tim and orchard are $25+/bale. All are “western bales”, weighing roughly 90-120lbs. in comparison to “eastern bales” that weight in at about 60 lbs. I’d LOVE to have the eastern size! Do they think that we westerners are stronger and able to hoist these cumbersome bales??!! NOT!
Barb in Yucaipa, CA
[QUOTE=HeatherSC;4494731]
[B]I know this is an old post but someone sent it to me so I could share our experiences with Teff.
I would not give Teff hay to my horses if was given to me. I have never had such bad experiences in all our horse years, than we did in the short period that we gave Teff.
Our local supplier had a plot planted for free so he could see the “benefits” of it. It was great for him - easy to grow, good yield, but it was awful for us.
We had multiple eye injuries - yes from the Teff. It actually punctured their eye and due to the barbs along it’s stems we couldn’t remove it without a vet’s assistance.
We had multiple colics that we were able to attribute directly to the Teff. We put the horses on Teff - they coliced. Took their feed away - got them healthy - within hours of being put back on the Teff hay they colicked again. Took them off - got them healthy - put them back on Orchard and haven’t had another colic episode.
Our vet took one look at the Teff and said it was a nightmare waiting to happen. She sent us magnified views of the Teff, of Coastal and of Alfalfa. Teff is covered with barbs…all along the stem, every part of it.
So, while it’s nutritional value is wonderful, the risks associated with it are far too great for me. I have 100 bales left that I will likely give away or burn. It’s just not worth the risk.
If anyone would like to see the photos just email me. I will gladly share.[/B][/QUOTE]
