This educational article is brought to you by Standlee Hay Company, the Official Forage of the USEA.
Forage is the single most important ingredient in a horse’s diet, even compared to grains and supplements. We’ll help you understand which factors are important when evaluating forage for your horse.
There are several different types of plants that can be used for horse forage. Horses can also eat multiple types of forage assuming they’ve adapted properly. Forage can roughly be divided into 2 types: legumes and grasses. Legumes commonly include alfalfa and clover. Grasses consist of plants like timothy grass, orchard grass and blue grass. The trick is matching up which forage type best meets your four-legged friend’s needs. Performance horses, broodmares and horses needing to gain weight will all benefit from the additional calories and quality protein in legume or legume mix forages. On the other hand, easy keepers (horses with slower metabolisms) and those undergoing moderate to light exercise will do well on grass-based forages.
Forage comes in a variety of different physical forms including pellets, cubes, chopped (chaff) products and bales. Like forage types, a horse can digest multiple formats of forage without upsetting their system, assuming they’ve gradually adjusted. When it comes to forage format, there’s no universally “better” or “correct” option. Instead, you should be using formats that match your horse’s specific needs and eating habits.
No matter what format of forage you’re using, proper storage is crucial to keep your horse happy and healthy. Forage that’s kept outside without a cover runs the risk of being rained on. This can cause the forage to mold or become weather damaged, no matter what type of physical form it’s in.
Why not find out if you’re giving your horse the ideal forage to meet their needs? Click here to use Standlee’s Forage Finder, a special tool developed by our nutritional specialists to help you provide the best diet to your favorite four-legged friend.
Are you following along with the action from home this weekend? Or maybe you're competing at an event and need information fast. Either way, we’ve got you covered! Check out the USEA’s Weekend Quick Links for links to information including the prize list, ride times, live scores, and more for all the events running this weekend.
Since the mid-’80s, lifelong horsewoman and professional artist Debra Sue Waters has devoted countless hours to the sport of eventing, and last year topped the rankings of the USEA Volunteer Incentive Program in Area V. Assisting behind the scenes at an event just comes naturally to the Millsap, Texas, resident.
Have you thanked your competition management team lately? Here’s your spring season reminder to do just that! Whether you’ll be debuting in the Starter division or cruising around at Advanced, competition management has a lot of moving parts to manage that will ensure a great experience for you and your horse. Keep your competition management team happy and help support the future of eventing with these quick tips from STRIDER.
The MARS Bromont Rising U25 scholarship program, administered by the USEA Foundation, is pleased to announce that up to 10 grants of up to $2,500 each will once again be available for talented young riders aged 25 and under, who are aiming to compete in the MARS Bromont (Quebec, Canada) U25CCI divisions in June, 2024. Highlighting this year’s program is the return of three-time German Olympic team member Bettina Hoy, as a guest coach for 2024.