Understanding Hay Quality has gotten complicated with all the hay supplier claims flying around. As someone who has bought hundreds of loads of hay, including some outstanding and some that should have been left in the field, I learned everything there is to know about hay quality. Today, I will share it all with you.
Why Hay Quality Matters
A 1,000-pound horse typically eats 15-25 pounds of hay daily. Over a year, that’s roughly 5-10 tons of hay. The quality of that hay dramatically affects your horse’s health, body condition, and even behavior.
Poor-quality hay can lead to:
- Weight loss despite adequate quantity
- Digestive problems including colic
- Respiratory issues from dust and mold
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Need for more expensive concentrates to compensate
Good-quality hay, on the other hand, can serve as a complete diet for many horses with minimal supplementation.
Visual Inspection: What to Look For
Before you buy, examine the hay carefully. While visual inspection can’t tell you everything, it reveals important quality indicators.
Color
Quality hay should be green—this indicates it was cut at appropriate maturity, cured properly, and stored well. However, color alone doesn’t determine nutritional value.
- Bright green: Generally good; indicates proper curing and storage
- Yellow/brown: May indicate sun bleaching (surface only is fine) or over-maturity at cutting
- Dark brown/black: Warning sign—may indicate heat damage from baling too wet
- White/gray patches: Mold—do not feed
Smell
Smell is one of the most reliable quality indicators.
- Sweet, pleasant, fresh: Good hay
- Musty or moldy: Reject—respiratory hazard and potential toxins
- Tobacco or caramel scent: Heat damage from excess moisture at baling
- Strong ammonia: Possible mold or bacterial growth
Texture and Feel
Break open a bale and examine the interior:
- Should feel soft and pliable, not brittle or dusty
- Stems should be fine to medium (coarse stems indicate late cutting)
- Leaves should be abundant and attached (leaf loss means nutrient loss)
- Minimal dust when shaken
Maturity at Cutting
When hay was cut affects its nutritional value more than almost any other factor.
The Kentucky Equine Research explains that as plants mature, fiber content increases while protein and digestible energy decrease. Hay cut early (pre-bloom or early bloom for grasses, bud to early bloom for legumes) provides more nutrition per pound.
Signs of over-mature hay:
- Thick, coarse stems
- Visible seed heads in grass hay
- Flowers or seed pods in legume hay
- Few leaves relative to stems
Probably should have led with this section, honestly.
Understanding Hay Types
Grass Hays
Timothy: Popular, moderate nutritional value, widely available. Good all-purpose hay for most horses. Protein typically 8-11%.
Orchard grass: Soft, palatable, slightly higher protein than timothy. Good for picky eaters and horses prone to respiratory issues.
Brome: Common in Midwest, similar nutritional profile to timothy. Often economical.
Bermuda: Common in southern regions. Fine-stemmed, can be good quality but variable.
Fescue: Caution—some fescue carries endophyte fungus that’s dangerous for pregnant mares. Otherwise nutritious.
Legume Hays
Alfalfa: High protein (15-22%), high calcium, higher calories than grass hay. Excellent for hard keepers, growing horses, lactating mares, and performance horses. Too rich for easy keepers and may be inappropriate for some metabolic conditions.
Clover: Similar to alfalfa but less common as pure hay. Often found mixed with grasses.
Mixed Hays
Grass-legume mixes combine benefits of both. A timothy-alfalfa mix, for example, provides more protein than straight timothy but less than pure alfalfa. Good middle-ground option for many horses.
Hay Analysis: The Only Way to Know for Sure
Visual inspection tells you about physical quality, but only laboratory analysis reveals actual nutritional content. The American Association of Equine Practitioners recommends hay analysis as a valuable tool for developing appropriate feeding programs.
Key values from hay analysis:
- Crude Protein (CP): 8-12% adequate for most adult horses; higher for young, working, or breeding horses
- Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF): Indicates digestibility; lower is more digestible (under 35% ideal)
- Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF): Affects intake; very high NDF means horses eat less (40-60% typical range)
- NSC (Non-Structural Carbohydrates): Sugar + starch; critical for metabolic horses (under 10-12% recommended for sensitive horses)
- Digestible Energy (DE): Caloric value
How to get hay tested:
- Take a core sample from multiple bales (sampling probe is ideal)
- Mix samples together
- Send to an agricultural lab (your extension office can direct you)
- Cost is typically $20-50 per sample
Storage and Handling
Good hay can be ruined by poor storage. Protect your investment:
- Store indoors or under cover when possible
- Elevate bales off ground on pallets to prevent moisture wicking
- Allow air circulation between stacks
- Keep away from direct sunlight to minimize bleaching
- Use oldest hay first (rotate stock)
- Check bales before feeding even from good batches—one moldy bale can appear
Red Flags: When to Reject Hay
Always reject hay that:
- Smells moldy, musty, or like ammonia
- Shows visible mold (white, gray, or black patches)
- Creates significant dust clouds when handled
- Feels hot in the center of the bale (ongoing heating)
- Contains obvious foreign material (wire, plastic, dead animals)
- Has blister beetles (in alfalfa from certain regions)
- Shows significant insect infestation
Don’t be afraid to reject delivered hay that doesn’t meet standards—your horse’s health is worth more than avoiding an awkward conversation.
Buying Strategies
Buy in quantity when possible: Buying by the ton or truckload typically costs less per bale and secures consistent quality.
Establish supplier relationships: Good hay suppliers prioritize repeat customers. Build relationships before hay shortages hit.
Test before committing: Buy a few test bales before purchasing large quantities, especially from new sources.
Consider timing: Hay prices and availability fluctuate seasonally. Buying at harvest often costs less than buying mid-winter.
Document what you receive: Note cutting date, supplier, and batch when storing multiple hay sources.
Matching Hay to Your Horse
Easy keepers: Lower-calorie grass hay, possibly tested for low NSC. Avoid alfalfa or limit strictly.
Hard keepers: Higher-quality early-cut hay; grass-alfalfa mix or straight alfalfa if needed for calories.
Performance horses: Quality early-cut hay providing good nutrition; may include alfalfa for protein and calcium.
Senior horses: Soft, leafy, early-cut hay easy to chew; may need soaking or switching to cubes/pellets if dental issues exist.
Metabolic horses: Tested hay with NSC under 10%; may require soaking to reduce sugars further.
That’s what makes hay quality endearing to us horse people — learning to evaluate hay yourself is one of the most valuable skills you can develop.
The Bottom Line
Hay quality directly affects how much grain you need to feed, how your horse feels and performs, and your overall feed costs. Investing time in finding and evaluating good hay pays dividends in horse health and your budget. Learn to assess quality, build relationships with reliable suppliers, and consider testing—it’s the foundation of sound equine nutrition.
Sources: Kentucky Equine Research, American Association of Equine Practitioners, University Extension Services
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