How to Analyze Your Horse’s Hay or Pasture

10 Key Steps to Accurate Forage Analysis

Analyzing your horse’s forage is one of the smartest things you can do to improve their nutrition and avoid unnecessary supplements. Here’s a reliable, step-by-step breakdown, based on NRC guidelines and forage science.

1. Why Analyze Hay or Pasture?

💬 What Is Forage Analysis, Really?
It’s a lab test that tells you what’s actually in your horse’s hay or pasture — protein, sugar, fiber, and minerals. Without it, feeding is guesswork. With it, you feed confidently and avoid over- or under-supplementing.

Your horse’s forage—hay or pasture—typically makes up 70% to 100% of their total diet. If you don’t know what’s in it, you’re feeding blind. Even clean, green, or “good-looking” hay can be low in key nutrients or high in non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) that could harm at-risk horses.

Forage analysis takes the guesswork out of feeding and helps you build a truly balanced diet.

✅ What Hay Analysis Helps You Do:

• Balance the diet with precision – Match actual forage values to vitamin-mineral needs
• Prevent over- or under-supplementation – Avoid deficiencies (like copper or selenium) and toxicities (like iron or vitamin A)
• Choose the right feed or ration balancer – Only supplement what’s missing, not what’s already present
• Support metabolic, laminitic, or insulin-resistant horses – Select low-NSC forage based on real data, not appearance

Without analysis, you risk overfeeding what your horse already has—or missing what they urgently need.

2. Use a Reputable Forage Testing Lab

To get accurate, actionable results from your hay or pasture analysis, it’s essential to use a lab that understands equine nutrition. Many forage labs are designed for cattle feed analysis, which emphasizes crude protein and energy — but misses key nutrients that horses need in different ratios and forms.

🧠 Horses have unique mineral, protein, and carbohydrate requirements. Using a cattle-oriented test can result in misleading data and poor diet decisions.

✅ Recommended Equine-Friendly Labs

• Equi-Analytical (USA): One of the most trusted labs for horse owners. Choose a package like:
  • Fast Track (600): Basic energy, carbs, protein, Ca & P
  • Equi-Tech (601): Adds full mineral profile (e.g., Cu, Zn, Mg, Fe)
  • Equine Complete (604): Most thorough; includes trace minerals like selenium and cobalt
• Dairy One Forage Lab (USA): Parent lab of Equi-Analytical, with robust support and infrastructure.
• A&L Canada Laboratories (Canada): Offers equine-specific analysis panels with wet chemistry options and NSC testing.

🔍 Always request a horse-appropriate panel—not a standard livestock or dairy test. Look for inclusion of NSC, DE, major minerals, and trace elements.

3. Take a Proper Sample

Even the best lab can only work with the sample you send — and the accuracy of your hay or pasture analysis depends entirely on how you collect it. Poor sampling can result in misleading data and misinformed feeding decisions.

📦 Always follow your lab’s instructions for sample prep, packaging, and shipping to ensure reliable results.

🟫 For Hay:

🌱 For Pasture

🧠 Why It Matters

Over- or underestimating NSC, protein, or minerals can lead to poor feeding choices, especially for metabolic or performance horses.

Nutrients can vary between bales or parts of a pasture — especially in mixed fields or fields with uneven cutting or fertilization.

4. Choose a Comprehensive Test Package

Not all forage tests are created equal. A quick protein check is not enough to balance your horse’s diet — especially if you’re managing metabolic issues, laminitis, or planning a customized supplement plan.

📋 A well-chosen test reveals nutritional gaps and excesses, helping you feed with precision and confidence.

✅ Key Nutrients to Include in Your Test

💰 What It Costs (Approx.)

5. 🍬 Understand NSC (Non-Structural Carbohydrates)

NSC (Non-Structural Carbohydrates) refers to the rapidly fermentable carbohydrates in forage — namely:

NSC = ESC + Starch

This number is crucial when feeding horses prone to metabolic issues, as high NSC levels can spike insulin, trigger laminitis, and worsen hormonal imbalances.

⚠️ Why NSC Matters

Horses with the following conditions require low-NSC hay:

• Insulin Resistance (IR)
• Cushing’s / PPID
• History or risk of Laminitis
• Obesity or Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS)

Even one feeding of high-NSC hay can elevate blood sugar and insulin levels in sensitive horses, increasing the risk of founder.

📊 NSC Guidelines

🛁 Soaking High-NSC Hay

If your forage tests high in sugars, soaking hay in cool water for 30–60 minutes can reduce the water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) by 20–30%, making it safer for sensitive horses.

Drain and feed immediately after soaking to prevent spoilage or nutrient leaching.

6. Look at Mineral Ratios, Not Just Amounts

7. Compare Results to NRC Guidelines

Use your hay results alongside NRC 2007 values to compare actual vs. required nutrient levels.

Match the forage profile to your horse’s:

• Weight and workload
• Life stage (senior, growing, broodmare)
• Health status (e.g. ulcers, EMS, PSSM)

📚 You can find the full NRC tables or use simplified equine calculators from MadBarn or FeedXL (paid service).

8. Use the Data to Choose a Balancer or Supplement

Once you’ve tested your hay and received the results, you’re ready to make smarter feeding decisions — and avoid unnecessary or even harmful supplements.

🧪 What to look for in your hay analysis:

• Low in protein? A ration balancer with added amino acids can help.
• Deficient in copper or zinc? Choose a balancer with higher levels of these trace minerals.
• High in iron? Avoid supplements that add more — this is common in many areas.
• Adequate selenium already? Skip any product that adds more unless prescribed — selenium toxicity is a real risk.

🥕 Two options to fill nutritional gaps:

1. Ration Balancer
   A concentrated pellet with protein, vitamins, and minerals — ideal if your hay is lacking multiple nutrients. Feed in small amounts daily.
2. Vitamin-Mineral Supplement
   A more flexible option if your hay is only missing specific nutrients. These come in powder, pellet, or loose forms and are often top-dressed on feed.

🚫 Avoid over-supplementing:

Adding multiple products “just in case” can cause dangerous imbalances, especially with minerals like copper, zinc, selenium, and iron. More is not better — targeted nutrition is safer and cheaper.

🎯 Pro Tip: Let your forage dictate the supplement — not labels or flashy marketing. A product can be popular and still be wrong for your horse.

9. Test Every New Load or Cutting

Hay isn’t uniform — even if it looks the same, the nutrients inside can vary widely depending on how, where, and when it was grown.

🌾 Why hay nutrient levels change:

• Cutting stage: First, second, and third cuttings differ in maturity, leafiness, and nutritional value. Later cuttings often have more energy and protein but may also be softer and dustier.
• Growing conditions: Rain, drought, heat, and frost all affect sugar and mineral levels.
• Soil differences: Poor soil = poor hay. Even hay from the same field can vary year to year if soil fertility changes.
• Storage and transport: Exposure to sunlight, moisture, and temperature shifts can degrade vitamin levels (especially vitamin E) and reduce palatability.

🔄 What this means for feeding:

Don’t assume that this year’s hay is nutritionally identical to last year’s — even if it came from the same supplier or field.

📦 Always test each new delivery or cutting of hay before adjusting your horse’s diet or supplements. Last year’s analysis won’t give you accurate information.

A simple core sample sent to a forage lab can help prevent nutrient imbalances, unnecessary supplement costs, or even health problems like colic or laminitis.

🧠 Pro Tip: Label and store your analysis results by load and cutting, so you can track trends and feed strategically throughout the year.

10. Pasture Analysis Is Also Valuable

If your horse spends significant time on pasture — especially full-day turnout — it’s contributing a major part of their diet. Just like hay, pasture should be analyzed to get the full nutritional picture.

🧪 Why test your pasture?

• Pasture isn’t just “free food” — it often contains high levels of sugar and starch, especially in spring and fall.
• For horses with metabolic issues like EMS (Equine Metabolic Syndrome) or PPID (Cushing’s), understanding pasture sugar content is critical to prevent laminitis.
• It helps you balance supplements properly, since pasture may supply a lot of vitamin E, omega-3s, and some minerals that hay lacks.

📅 When and how to test:

• Test during peak growing season — typically late spring or early summer, when horses are grazing the most.
• Collect samples from the parts of the pasture your horse actually eats (not just clumps of weeds or trampled areas).
• Consider testing multiple times a year if your pasture is heavily relied upon.

🌱 Note: Pasture values fluctuate more than hay due to sunlight, temperature, rainfall, and grazing pressure — but a timely analysis still gives valuable insights into sugar levels and nutrient balance.

🚫 For high-risk horses:

• Use the results to decide if grazing muzzles, limited turnout, or even dry lots are needed during high-NSC periods.
• Include pasture analysis when building a feeding plan — it often reduces the need for certain supplements, especially vitamin E and omega-3s.

🧠 Pro Tip: Many equine forage labs offer pasture testing kits and can guide you through the sampling process.

*Here’s a little transparency: Our website contains affiliate links. This means if you click and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission. Don’t worry, there’s no extra cost to you. It’s a simple way you can support our mission to bring you quality content **