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Horse owners looking for an easy-to-cultivate fiber source should consider barley hay. Although barley is not as nutrient-dense as other forages, it has other dietary merit. The level of plant development at harvest is paramount in determining the nutritional value of barley hay.

“Barley hay must be harvested while the grain is in the soft dough stage. At this point in development, the seed heads are not fully developed, and there is only slight lignification. Seed heads increase the caloric density of the hay,” said Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., nutritionist with Kentucky Equine Research (KER). “If left to grow too mature, barley hay would be about as nutritious as any straw.”

According to Crandell, if cut when green, barley hay contains about 9% protein and provides more or less the same nutrition as mature grass hay.

In addition to having compromised nutrient density, overly mature hay can cause soft tissue damage to the mouth with its seed awns. Fully developed awns, found at the end of glumes in a spikelet, are sharp. They may catch in a horse’s teeth or cause small oral ulcers due to tissue irritation. Some barley varieties are awnless or have only small awns, called awnlettes. In all varieties of barley, the awns on young plants are harmless.

Barley hay should be fed with discretion, as it should not be given to horses with insulin resistance (IR) or equine metabolic syndrome (EMS).

“As with other grain hays, barley hay is high in nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC), primarily because the grain attached to the plant,” said Crandell. An excess of these carbohydrates in a horse’s diet can trigger or heighten metabolic issues, especially if the animal already has IR or EMS.

“In southern Europe and western parts of the United States, barley is grown extensively as a forage crop and grain source. When harvested for hay in the United States, barley is often grown with two or three other grains to provide a more balanced forage option,” explained Crandell.

Barley hay can be a valuable forage for many horses, provided that it is harvested early and used as part of a complete, fully fortified diet.

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