Ok I will look into FeedXL! Thanks!
Can you buy some alfalfa hay to supplement a few flakes a day? Got to be cheaper than the pellets.
If you are not going to test and weigh your hay and track how many pounds a day each horse is eating, FeedXL is a waste of money. Without knowing for sure exactly how much roughage and exactly what the roughage is wrt test results, your results from FeedXL could be way off.
What does ālow proteinā mean? what might be lower than ideal may be providing enough total protein if the horse is eating enough. Youād also need to calculate how much protein is coming from the hard feed.
And the OP already stated that the hay has been tested.
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The protein content was 1.8%
:eek: :eek: Are you sure? Iāve seen 4% protein, not sure if Iāve seen 3% or my head is making that up, but never that low. What the heck? What kind of hay is it? Was it cut so late it might as well be straw?
Thatās what the anaysis said. It looks like straw so yes it was probably cut pretty late. Iām not the one who buys the hay I donāt really have a say in the matter. I have my horses at a friend of mines and he buys in bulk. Thatās why I supplement. He knows itās just filler because he uses it for his sheep. The horses also have some grass growing in the pasture as well itās not just this hay.
Itās native grass as well so thatās a good indicator itās not high in protein because itās in the panhandle
I would say that what youāre describing is not something Iād be feeding any significant amounts of. Indigestible fiber has to be high (what is the NDF?), and with protein that low, there rest of it has to be pretty poor. What is ADF?
If itās indigestible and unpalatable, itās going to take a lot more than normal amounts of any fortified feed to get things up to par.
Adf is 46%
Grasses should be between 30-35%-ish ADF, so 46% is really high. NDF? Iām betting pretty high too, a good bit over 60%. Can you at all find some even decent hay? This doesnāt sound suitable at all for horses. Iād be worried about impactions, or a true hay belly, from high indigestible fiber, and itās certainly low in nutrition.
I will definitely look for some but I donāt think there isnāt any around for at least 2-3 hrs away.
Given the hay is so grim, you might want to consider feeding the bulk of the nutrition in a senior feed, as you would for a toothless oldster, and just use the hay for āchewā factor to keep them entertained.
Will be costly but might be as good as it gets in a poor hay year. 
I agree, 10-15lb of TC Sr, add in 5-10lb of soaked alfalfa cubes (for long-stem fiber), and hope thatās good enough.
Is there anyone around you who would want to go in on a load of hay that would make delivery from 2-3 hours away worthwhile?
I donāt think so but I will look into it for sure!! I didnāt think about a complete feed. That could work as well!
@Ziggylyla is there any chance you can post the hay analysis? Iām really intrigued by something so low in protein, and am curious what the rest of the analysis looks like 
Triple Crown also does good quality bagged grass forage. (chopped)
https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/products/grass-forage/
So does ADM; (cubes or pellets)
https://www.admanimalnutrition.com/wā¦orageproducts1
You might check this carb table for TSC too.
https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/NSC-page_web020819.pdf
It would likely be cheaper to buy hay from some distance away than to feed a complete feed. Pound for pound, even expensive hay tends to be the cheapest way to feed horses.
The comment of your barn owner saying the hay was ājust fillerā is alarming. Hay is the primary source of food for horses. It canāt be ājust fillerā unless they have pasture instead.
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