Finding the right haylage

It can be hard to find hay with a really low sugar content, because sugar is a natural part of grass. For your PPID horse, who has had laminitis, it can be a good idea to mix some straw into the feed to dilute the sugar content. Straw contains very little sugar and protein and can help reduce the amount of sugar without affecting the energy content of the roughage too much.

When you look at hay analyses, focus on digestible crude protein per megajoule (MJ) of energy. For your horses, especially the mare who has foaled and needs to recover, a forage with a higher protein content would be an advantage. A ratio of 6 or higher is good, but to put better condition on the broodmare you could try to find forage with an even higher protein content.

In summary:

The PPID horse: dilute the sugar content with straw.

The broodmare: aim for a forage higher in protein to support recovery and muscle-building.

If you have more questions about reading hay analyses or finding the right forage, do not hesitate to ask!