Feeding Dried Grass to Horses
The dried grass in Dengie feeds is harvested when it is young which is in contrast to grass left to produce hay which is much more mature and in some cases, has gone to seed. Young grass plants are much more digestible and so grass used in Dengie feeds is easier for the microbes in the horse’s gut to break down than grass hay. This means more energy and nutrients are available to the horse and so these very digestible forms of grass tend to help maintain and promote weight gain or support horses in work.
What influences sugar levels in grass?
Of all the chopped fibre ingredients we use in Dengie feeds, grass has the highest sugar content. This is because alfalfa is a legume and so doesn’t store surplus sugar as fructan and straw is the co-product from cereals where surplus sugar has been used to form the cereal grains or ‘seeds’ which have been harvested to use in human and livestock feed.
In the UK, where Dengie grass is grown, grasses tend to be cool-season grasses and they store sugar in the form of fructan; long chains of fructose sugars. This means they can cope with colder conditions in winter and can keep growing in cooler weather when other grasses would struggle. However, cool-season grasses are, unsurprisingly, much less efficient in hotter conditions or in periods of drought which is why we see our paddocks and lawns turn in hot and dry conditions. Drought stress is also known to result in increased concentrations of sugar in grass which continue to rise as the drought progresses.
The amount and intensity of light is also significant in determining the sugar levels in grass as photosynthesis, the process by which plants make sugar, needs light. Long, bright summer days are most likely to result in higher sugar concentrations in grass assuming other factors aren’t inhibiting the plant.
These are just some of the factors that determine sugar levels in grass. As our grass is cut multiple times a year starting in the spring and continuing through to the autumn, it is challenging to ensure it contains a consistent sugar level – especially given how the amount of light and weather varies throughout the year in the UK! We are able to counter this at Dengie, by using a blend of different grasses and different cuts, carefully selecting which bales we use for every batch.
This is also why we use grass very sparingly in any horse feeds that we produce for good doers and horses prone to laminitis. It is worth noting that the legal requirement for declaring a ‘sugar’ value on chopped fibre feeds is for simple sugars, things like sucrose and fructose. This doesn’t include fructan or the water soluble carbohydrate so misses important information in relation to the suitability of a feed for a horse or pony that requires a low non-structural carbohydrate diet. As ingredients like alfalfa and straw contain very little WSC the difference between sugar and WSC values is small, but when a larger proportion of grass is included in a horse feed, the difference may well be significant in determining its suitability. If you are choosing a horse feed and the amount of NSC is relevant, such as for horses with Equine Metabolic Syndrome, then make sure you contact the producer of the feed for a WSC value if it isn’t already given on their packaging or website.
What grass types do we use at Dengie?
The grass used in Dengie feeds is a blend of tall fescue, timothy and rye, it is grown in the UK either by our own farmer members or a select group of partner farmers in different regions. We conduct lots of testing to learn more about the relationships between growing conditions, plant species/varieties and the nutritional values in the end material. As a result, we know that the species and variety of grass used have much less influence on sugar levels than is often believed. We also know that different types of grass grow better in different soils and cope with certain weather conditions more efficiently. As our aim is always to try to produce consistency in nutritional value, appearance and palatability, using a blend of grass types helps us to achieve this.
Why do we use dried grass rather than chopped hay?
By drying grass with hot air rather than relying on the sun to make hay, we are able to start our harvest in the spring and continue through to the autumn. This means we can cut the grass when it’s highly digestible and therefore more nutritious. In addition, drying with hot air means the grass is dried quickly. This not only helps to lock in the nutrients but also means we are producing a forage of the highest hygienic quality. This basically means the mould and dust counts are as low as it’s possible to achieve in a normal (non-sterile) environment. Mould levels are monitored regularly and it is no exaggeration to state that air-dried forage is thousands of times lower in moulds than sun-dried forage. This is a key consideration for any horse but especially those with equine asthma and elite sport horses where respiratory function is key to performance.