# Thoughts on feeding Bermuda Grass Hay to horses?



## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

Burmuda hay is great horse hay. That being said, it varies greatly in type and quality. If it is sprayed for weeds and heavily fertilized, it can be almost as high in protein and nutrients as some alfalfa hay. Hay that is that rich may not be suitable for feeding 'free choice'.

On the other hand, if it is weedy, very mature and not bright green, it may be very little more than a low protein filler. This is OK too if you feed free choice (as long as it is not moldy or dusty) and supplement with the carbs, protein and vitamins that it is lacking. 

If a horse colics on it and there has not been a sudden feed or management change, I would first question if the horse has a problem. Is the horse not drinking enough water? Has the horse been adequately dewormed? There are so many facters that figure more prominently into colic than the variety of hay, that I would look there first.


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

My horses are fed free choice Bermuda. They also receive concentrate feed and a flake of alfalfa every day. No complaints from them as of yet.

Why do we feed Bermuda? Because it is pretty much the only thing available in this area due to high temps and scarce rainfall in the summer months that would kill many other forage grasses.


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## SaddleUp158 (Dec 26, 2008)

We feed both bermuda and prairie grass hay year round, supplementing with alfalfa when needed. I am assuming your concern with bermuda is due to it being a finer hay that can ball up and cause colic. If this is your concern you can always give them a flake of a more coarse hay to help push it through. We have not had an issue with colic while feeding it.


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## GeorgiaGirl (Jun 16, 2014)

The situation is, my three horses have been eating the bermuda hay for months and they are fine. Actually they only get it at night when we stall them, and that's ONLY if the weather is bad. Enter new horse - my boyfriend's sister brings her horse over to be kept in our barn due to the inclimate weather we've had lately... she had been feeding her horse a finer type of hay, square bales then started giving him our bermuda hay which we cut ourselves, round bales and it is coarser. Next day her horse is lying down in his stall, vet is called and it's determined he has an impaction somewhere. The water HAS been freezing over so maybe none of them were getting enough water but we have remedied that. But why the one horse gets sick and not the others if it's lack of enough water...


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Over a year ago after loosing my best trail horse to colic, I went from a straight alfalfa hay diet to small portions of alfalfa (about 1/2 of what they were getting before) and all the bermuda in front of them 24/7 that they want to eat. So I don't know about the colic risk, but I feel like it's better that they have forage in front of them most of the time rather than just two meals of hay a day, which was what I was doing when feeding straight alfalfa hay.

I have heard (on the internet) that coastal bermuda can put them at a higher risk of impaction but if anything my guys have softer stool when eating both types of hay together than alfalfa alone. 

Also, I don't know exactly what coastal bermuda is.......if that is what we simply call "bermuda" here in Arizona or if it is something different.

Our bermuda is usually pretty pale color-wise, sometimes more yellow-gray than green. If I find a green batch I get happy. :lol: So I look at it more as a filler to go along with their higher quality alfalfa hay than anything else. My vet felt our bermuda here in Arizona was pretty poor quality nutrition-wise as well. I don't know if it ALL is, but that was his opinion when I asked him about it.

I found the most lovely hay the other day........"paca verde." It is an alfalfa/rye mix, mostly rye. I don't know what the nutrient content is, but it smells and looks fabulous. So now I've been feeding a bit of all 3 kinds of hay.......alfalfa, bermuda and rye. The bermuda is just like a salad they can much on all day.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

PS. I use a stock tank de-icer in the winter. I run it through plastic electrical conduit to keep the horses from chewing on the wire. So that way I know they have access to water all night.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

My gelding gets mostly Bermuda hay with alfalfa at night. In the going on four years I've owned him, he has never had a problem. He tends to eat the Bermuda more slowly, which is why I asked my BO to feed him mostly that, so he stays fuller longer. Otherwise he vacuums up his alfalfa in about .2 seconds and then is hungry and cranky.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

If the change in hay was pretty sudden, that is probably why he got the bellyache. If it is at all possible, switch hay slowly. Mix a little of each until they are used to the new hay and then they are usually OK.

If this all happened when it turned colder, that is also a risk factor. Would be a double risk if hay type was changed at the same time. Best way to avoid impactions when there is a big temperature change -- either up or down -- is to add a handful of electrolyte or salt to a little grain and encourage a horse to drink more water.


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## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

I have been feeding bermuda hay to multiple horses since 1987. The only problem I've had with it is too-fat horses.


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## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

Coastal and Alicia varieties of Bermuda hay are finer stemmed with more leaves and horses will gobble it up typically. However those two types and mainly coastal as it's very easy to grow, are the main types/ varieties of hay to cause impaction colic as the stems can become tangled in each other and horses don't always chew it as well. 

Tifton 85 is a type of coastal and is a bit bigger in the stem area, but not much, Jiggs is a good type to feed, and if you can get common and especially giant Bermuda those are the best varieties to use, though not as leafy as the coastal or Alicia types.

As for the horse not getting enough water, maybe it was already dehydrated and when the water froze (if it did that night) then it could have pushed the horse over the edge so to speak, whereas the other horses may have handled the situation better.


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## BarrelracingArabian (Mar 31, 2010)

I fed my gelding bermuda for awhile he at first was not pleased with the switch from his grass/alfalfa mix but soon ate it without a problem. He was on it for about 2 months.When I went to pick him up after being gone a week my friend who was feeding said he looks ribby and sure enough he did. My main problem with it was I went threw grass way faster then my mix but he lost weight. My friend though feeds it to her mare and she does amazing on it (very very easy keeper). So not only does it depend on the quality of grass but also your horse. My guy would probably have to be virtually free fed to be kept at a good weight on it(atleast the kind I was getting). Now hes back on alfalfa and gaining the weight back nicely again.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Horseychick87 said:


> Coastal and Alicia varieties of Bermuda hay are finer stemmed with more leaves and horses will gobble it up typically. However those two types and mainly coastal as it's very easy to grow, are the main types/ varieties of hay to cause impaction colic as the stems can become tangled in each other and horses don't always chew it as well.


Coastal (bermuda) is a common grass/hay fed towards the coast (east of I-95) here in NC, and they have to be more vigilant for sand impaction colic there, too.


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## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

Salt is a big issue in these cases. Many horses just don't get enough salt from the blocks, especially in winter, so they don't drink enough water to go with all the hay they need to keep warm. Mine all get a breakfast of wet beetpulp (or any wet feed) with a good tablespoon of salt added EVERY morning.


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## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

PaintHorseMares said:


> Coastal (bermuda) is a common grass/hay fed towards the coast (east of I-95) here in NC, and they have to be more vigilant for sand impaction colic there, too.


 Yup, in FL, I can get a 600# roll of coastal for about $40, whereas if I want something like Bahia or Jiggs Bermuda I'd be paying over $50 per roll. 40# squares will go for $5.50 for coastal and $7.00 or more for Bahia/ Jiggs. Timothy is about $14 for a 40-60# bale.

I always try to keep hay off the ground. A slow feed net and a trough with holes in the bottom works great for a ground level slow feeder.

A lot of people don't know how to 'test' a horse for sand in the intestines, or don't bother with it at all. I always provided a sand purge product each month, regardless of how much sand I find in the manure. I do wish more people would do it.


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