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Hi Laney,
For once, this is a fairly short answer. Nutrition-wise, pellets and
hay are close to identical, assuming the plants that the pellets and/or
hay came from are the same in nutrient quality. Because quality of
nutrition decreases as the plant matures, pellets tend to be a little
lower in overall quality than top-quality hay---the reason is because
growers who are out for profit (aren't we all) know that it's harder to
judge hay quality in a pellet. Harvesting a more mature crop means
higher yield, so they let the plants mature more and so get the maximum
yield per acre of a somewhat lower quality forage. However, you can
look at a feed bag label and see what the protein level is---usually
around 15%, which is just fine for an endurance horse. A oat/alfalfa
blend will be even lower, probably around 13%, which I like even
better. Even though the tag will say "minimum 15%" (or whatever), you
can bet it won't be much higher than that---if it was, the grower would
be selling his crop somewhere else where he could get a higher price.
This is where the difference is between hay and pellets. In pellets,
obviously, the alfalfa/oat hay has been ground up, so the particle size
is smaller than it is in flake hay. This makes it less bulky in the
hindgut, and a horse can eat more of it. That's either a good or bad
thing depending on whether your horse needs to be able to stuff in more
groceries, or whether he wolfs down his meals and needs to slow down.
Because of the decrease in bulk, there is less "entertainment value" to
the pellets than having hay to pick at, and less gut-filling quality to
the hay. Therefore if your horse is at all prone to intestinal upsets,
you should feed hay because it fills the gut to a greater extent. Taken
to somewhat more of an extreme, having a diet with too little bulk can
shift the acid-base balance of the gut, but that's not real likely in
this sort of scenario.
The other difference is that pellets aren't as dusty as hay is sometimes
and if your horse has upper respiratory problems, pellets are better.
Pellets are also better for horses that have special problems like cleft
palates.
One other note about pellet size---there are pellets, and there are
cubes. Hay cubes are processed out in the field, and it can be a common
occurance for small critters hiding out in the hayfield to get caught up
in the machinery and become bunny burgers. That in itself is just icky
but not really a big deal, EXCEPT that the illicit animal flesh in a
somewhat anaerobic environment inside the hay cube can become a good
place for botulism bacteria to grow, which is extremely toxic. It takes
very little botulism bacteria to make a horse very sick. A few years
ago, a bad batch of cubes got sent out from a California processor---a
very well-known and reputable one that is still in business---and about
a dozen horses died of botulism toxicity. This wasn't through any
negligence on anyone's part, it's just something that can happen. The
reason why I personally prefer pellets over cubes is because the size is
smaller, therefore there is very little anaerobic space inside the
pellet for botulism bacteria to grow. So even if some bunny flesh gets
mixed up in there (which is also less likely to happen because pellets
aren't processed in the field), the botulism bacteria is much more
likely to die on its own because botulism cannot live in the presence of
oxygen.
Assuming your horse is normal in most respects (other than that he has
an endurance rider for his Mom ;->), feeding pellets is just fine.
Providing a bit of oat hay to nibble on would probably be greatly
appreciated, and would also endure that your horse is getting sufficient
bulk to keep the hindgut happy.
OK, I lied. So this wasn't so short.
Hope this helps.
Susan Evans Garlinghouse
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