Question

I have spoken with some local hay producers, as I am trying to purchase hay appropriate for my metabolic horse. One producer mentioned his hay contains significant broomsedge. Is this OK?

Answer

Broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus), also known as broomgrass or sagegrass, is a warm-season bunchgrass native to some regions of the United States, especially the Southeast.

According to a United States Department of Agriculture fact sheet, broomsedge is not considered an important cattle forage, and the same holds true for horses. While animals do not find broomsedge especially palatable in hay, as it is often harvested as a mature plant, palatability seems slightly better as a pasture forage, especially when plants are young and tender. Still, hay producers and forage experts often see the proliferation of broomsedge in pasture and hayfields as problematic, not beneficial.

In a nutshell, broomsedge is an opportunistic plant; some might even consider it a weed. Why broomsedge gains a foothold in a pasture or hayfield is not fully understood, but poor management seems to be the common denominator. Overgrazing, overstocking, and improper pasture management create difficult conditions for forage stands to grow successfully, thus providing an opportunity for broomsedge and other weeds to increase.

Feeding predominantly broomsedge has caused at least one documented death of a horse.^* In this case, broomsedge seed heads were found in the only forage available to the horse, which was round-baled hay. The horse had multiple oral lesions, and seed heads from broomsedge were observed within those sores on physical and microscopic examination.

Though not related taxonomically to broomsedge, foxtail and other members of the Setaria genus can also cause ulceration of the lips, tongue, oral cavity, and nasopharynx of horses due to awns, sharp, bristle-like plant structures that can puncture and migrate into mucosal tissue.

While this answer has not included a specific response as to whether broomsedge would be appropriate for a metabolic horse, hay containing significant broomsedge would not, in general, be recommended for horses.

^*Graves, M.T., and J.L. Ivey. 2018. Ulcerative stomatitis associated with ingestion of broomsedge hay in a horse. Veterinary Records Case Reports 6:000660.