Cute Young Brunette Girl Posing Near The Haystack With A Ladder

Most animals are fed hay in two daily feedings, morning and evening. However, this schedule is more for the convenience humans, as most grazing animals on pasture naturally consume fodder in multiple feedings throughout the day. Some animals, especially those being raised for meat, may be given enough hay that they simply are able to eat all day. Other animals, especially those that are ridden or driven as working animals, are only free to eat when not working, and may be given a more limited amount hay to prevent them from getting too fat. The proper amount hay and the type hay required varies somewhat between different species. Some animals are also fed concentrated feeds such as grain or vitamin supplements in addition to hay. In most cases, hay or pasture forage must make up 50% or more the diet by weight.
One the most significant differences in hay digestion is between ruminant animals, such as cattle and sheep; and nonruminant, hindgut fermentors, such as horses. Both types animals can digest cellulose in grass and hay, but do so by different mechanisms. Because the four-chambered stomach cattle, they are ten able to break down older forage and have more tolerance mold and changes in diet. The single-chambered stomach and cecum or "hindgut" the horse uses bacterial processes to break down cellulose that are more sensitive to changes in feeds and the presence mold or other toxins, requiring horses to be fed hay more consistent type and quality.
Different animals also use hay in different ways: cattle evolved to eat forages in relatively large quantities at a single feeding, and then, due to the process rumination, take a considerable amount time for their stomachs to digest food, ten accomplished while the animal is lying down, at rest. Thus quantity hay is important for cattle, who are able to effectively digest hay low quality if fed in sufficient amounts. Sheep will eat between two and four percent their body weight per day in dry feed, such as hay, and are very efficient at obtaining the most nutrition possible from three to five pounds per day hay or other forage. They require three to four hours per day to eat enough hay to meet their nutritional requirements.
Unlike ruminants, horses digest food in small portions throughout the day, and can only use approximately 2.5% their body weight in feed in any 24-hour period. They evolved to be continuously on the move while grazing, (covering up to 50 miles per day in the wild) and their stomach digests food quite rapidly. Thus, they extract more nutrition out smaller quantities feed. However, when horses are fed low-quality hay, they may develop an unhealthy, obese, "hay belly" due to over-consumption "empty" calories. If their type feed is changed dramatically, or if they are fed moldy hay or hay containing toxic plants, they can become ill; colic is the leading cause death in horses. Contaminated hay can also lead to respiratory problems in horses. Hay can be soaked in water, sprinkled with water or subjected to steaming to reduce dust.