Forage is the foundation of the equine diet. It is nearly a cliche to say this, but there is a reason for that! While most horse owners understand how important forage is in their horses diet, they are not familiar with some of the less common forage choices that may be available to them. Teff is one of these.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutrient composition, voluntary dry matter intake, and apparent dry matter digestibility of teff hay cut at three different stages of maturity. This was one of the first studies that really utilized the full capabilities of PSERT. The study was headed up by Jessica Bussard and Natasha Repard.
The study involved many late hours spent at the barn collecting samples and caring for the horses, but in the end it was a great study! The results were eventually published in the Journal of Animal Science.
It turned out that teff hay cut at an early or mid-stage of maturity was well accepted by the horses and had a good nutrient makeup that was well digested. It certainly seems that teff hay may be another forage choice for horse owners in Pennsylvania and beyond.
