Ask ten horse owners what to feed and you will get ten answers, because the right hay depends as much on the horse in front of you as it does on the bale. A hard-working stock horse, an easy-keeping pony and an old retiree all have different needs, and the hay that suits one can cause problems for another. This guide walks through the main hay types available in Australia, which horses each one suits, and what to look for when you buy, so you can feed with confidence.
Before we get to hay types, one rule applies to all of them: quality matters more than variety. The best hay for horses is leafy, green, sweet-smelling and, above all, free of dust and mould. Horses have sensitive respiratory systems, and dusty or mouldy hay is a leading cause of airway problems and coughing. It only takes one look and a good sniff to sort the good from the bad. Give any bale a shake, check that it is clean and green through the middle rather than just on the outside, and steer clear of anything musty, bleached or full of weeds.
Get the quality right and most horses do well on a range of hays. Get it wrong and even the “right” type will let you down.
Oaten hay is one of the most popular and widely available horse hays in Australia, and for good reason. It is palatable, most horses eat it readily, and good oaten hay makes an excellent base for a horse’s diet. Browseoaten hay listings.
The one thing to watch is sugar. Oaten hay can be higher in water-soluble carbohydrates than some grass hays, which matters for horses prone to laminitis or with metabolic conditions such as insulin resistance or equine metabolic syndrome. For those horses, having the hay tested for sugar content is worthwhile. For a healthy horse in regular work, good oaten hay is a sound choice.
Wheaten hay is similar to oaten in feel and palatability, and horses generally take to it well. It works as a good general-purpose forage. Like oaten, it can run higher in sugars, so the same caution applies for laminitis-prone and metabolic horses. Well-made wheaten hay with soft, leafy heads and no coarse, over-mature stalks is what you are after. Browsewheaten hay listings.
Barley hay is perfectly good horse feed, with one thing to check: the awns, or beards. In hay cut too late, the awns can be sharp enough to irritate a horse’s mouth and gums. Barley hay cut at the right stage, before the heads harden, avoids this and feeds well. Give it a feel before you buy. Browsebarley hay listings.
Lucerne is the protein and calcium powerhouse of horse hays, and it has a place in most feed rooms, but it is rich. High in protein, calcium and energy, it suits horses with higher demands such as young growing horses, breeding mares, and hard-working performance horses. For the average pleasure horse or an easy keeper, lucerne is usually best fed as part of the ration rather than as the entire diet, since too much can unbalance the calcium to phosphorus ratio and provide more protein and energy than the horse needs. Think of it as a valuable supplement to a grass or cereal hay base. Browselucerne hay listings.
For many horses, particularly easy keepers and those prone to laminitis, a good grass hay is the safest everyday forage. Two stand out in Australia.
Rhodes grass hay is generally lower in sugar than cereal hays, which makes it a popular choice for metabolic and laminitis-prone horses, and it provides plenty of chew-time fibre.Teff hay has become a go-to for the same reasons, valued for its typically low sugar content and clean, soft feed. Both are well worth considering if you are managing a horse that cannot handle richer hays.
Generalpasture and grass hay can also make good horse feed, though quality varies more with mixed pasture, so buy on a look-and-smell basis and watch for weeds.
A couple of hays are worth a note of caution for horses. Ryegrass hay can be high in sugar and, depending on the pasture, carries a risk of ryegrass staggers, so it is not a first pick for horses. Clover hay can occasionally cause “slobbers,” a harmless but alarming drooling caused by a fungus that sometimes affects clover. And while vetch hay is a valuable legume for other livestock, it is one to approach carefully with horses, so seek advice from your vet or an equine nutritionist before feeding it. When in doubt with any of these, a quick word with a professional is the safe path.
Once you are confident in the quality, match the hay to the horse:
Horses in hard work, growing youngsters and breeding mares need more energy and protein, so a cereal hay base with some lucerne often works well. Easy keepers, ponies and laminitis-prone horses do better on lower-sugar grass hays such as Rhodes or teff, fed to maintain condition without excess. Older horses with worn teeth need soft, leafy hay that is easy to chew, and may need it supplemented or soaked. If your horse has any metabolic condition, testing the hay for sugar content takes the guesswork out of it.
There is no single best hay for every horse, only the best hay for your horse.
When feed is short and dear, it is tempting to buy on price and volume alone. In a dry year, though, quality matters more, not less. With horses there is an extra reason not to drop your standards: dusty, weathered or mouldy hay is a direct trigger for airway problems, and a horse with a compromised gut or metabolic condition still needs clean, low-sugar hay no matter how tight the season. A smaller amount of good, tested hay does more for the horse than a shed full of poor hay, and once you factor in the extra hard feed poor hay forces you to add, the good stuff can work out cheaper per unit of feed value. This is exactly when afeed test earns its keep, especially for metabolic horses where knowing the sugar content matters.
Whatever type you choose, run through the same checks. Look for green colour and plenty of leaf rather than coarse stalk. Smell for a sweet, fresh scent and reject anything musty or mouldy. Check for dust by giving the bale a shake. Confirm it is free of weeds, wire and foreign material. And ask the seller how and when it was cut and stored, since well-made, well-stored hay holds its quality far longer.
You can browse quality horse hay from verified sellers across the country in ourhay and fodder listings, and find everything else for your horses in theequine section. Every sale is protected through CheckVault escrow, so your payment is held securely until the hay arrives and matches what was described. If you want to understand how the different hays stack up on nutrition, our guides to thedifferent types of hay in Australia andprotein hays compared are a good next read.
Feed good hay, match it to your horse, and the rest tends to take care of itself.
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