Teff Hay is gaining popularity within the horse community and it’s no wonder with its low sugar / low starch qualities suitable for horses suffering from laminitis or other metabolic conditions.
But what exactly is Teff, and where does it come from?
Teff is an annual, warm-season grass that is native to Ethiopia. It’s considered an ancient grain, and its seeds are used for human products. Teff seeds are the smallest grain in the world! It is a C4 plant, meaning that it stores energy as carbohydrates differently from C3 plants (such as timothy hay).
On average, it has fewer non-structural carbohydrates (NSC’s) when grown under the right conditions. This is what makes Teff such a fantastic product for horses needing a low-sugar / low-starch diet and why it’s essential that hay is tested like the all the MultiCube products.
Thanks to its fine-stemmed, leafy, and soft nature Teff is a palatable forage for horses. As well as being low in sugar and NSC’s, it is also high in complex fibre – and is often compared to timothy hay in regard to protein and energy values.
Teff hay is very versatile– it thrives in hot weather and is drought tolerant, as well as being able to grow in waterlogged soil. In warm conditions, it can grow very fast and allows farmers to often get 3-4 harvests during the season. In Australia, it’s currently grown from Southern Victoria to Queensland but seems to be more suited to the clay soils found in the Murray irrigation areas where MultiCube is situated.
MultiCube grows and supplies Teff in two products – Compressed Teff Hay Bales, and Teff & Lucerne Hay Cubes. Due to its fine-stemmed nature, Teff isn’t suitable to be made into Hay Cubes on its own therefore, we blend it with lucerne for the ultimate low sugar / low starch hay cubes. Lucerne complements Teff well as it is high in calcium, rich in protein and still has low NSC’s.
If you are interested in finding out more about Teff Hay read this great blog on Feed XL here.
Teff and Lucerne Hay Cubes
Compressed Teff Hay