Ad lib haylage woes

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scarymare

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I've fed ad lib haylage for the last two years with no real problems. Trouble is this year weather was too crap to make my own so I've brought in 80 bales (big) from my farmer.

I started feeding it mid October as the fields are very wet. One month on horses resemble bulls and even for me (who doesn't stress overly about their weight as they are babies and broodies mostly) they are too fat. I can't feed hay as we are in Aberdeenshire and nobody really managed to make any of sufficient quality. Only my riding horses (2) are rugged.

I'm thinking that as they do have a pick of grass that perhaps I should replenish the haylage at day 7 and not panic when they run out (generally at day 5). Each feeder has the 3 horses (equivalent) so thinking that this is excessive consumption anyway.

Any ideas welcome
 
Seriously?! You want to leave them for 2 days with nothing?? Stop being lazy and put piles out AM & PM like the rest of us who don't feed ad lib do!!!
 
Broke- but -happy,
was it not possible to give your opinion without the venom.

Scarymare, you will have to try to
limit their intake somehow. Maybe farmers haylage is smaller bales or richer quality than yours if theyre putting weight on. As FfionWinnie said adapt your feeder somehow.
 
I cant feed mine adlib haylage until it gets really cold otherwise they bloat ! they are on adlib hay but my gelding is hunting off that with no hard feed and still looking great.

I woud say you need to chuck some at that am and pm - section the bale off then you can just get in there - rip some off and chuck it in the feeders !

its sooo warm at the moment they dont need alot - mine even left most of their hay last night and they were shut in !
 
Small mesh feeder? Limit how fast they can get it?

TBH though your only options are more exercise or less feed. If it it neccessary to feed the whole bale then Id suggest meshing your feeder *assuming you have one? Or upping the workload.

Hope tat helps in a roundabout way!
 
Sounds like you will just have to ration it. I have a 17hh WB and a 2 yr old Dales youngster out 24/7 at the moment - WB is rugged (in light work) and they get a bale of hay a day between them. They are on about 3 acres with a bit of rough grass.
I just started giving a hard feed once a day 2 days ago - only a balancer for the 2 yr old. The 2 yr old was looking porky in September and I am pleased to see he has dropped quite a bit of weight, but still looks well.

Other 2 are at home - hardly any grass and in at night. Both get 2 small foarge feeds a day and hay/haylage in the stable. I put a pile out for them double armful size so they can munch for a good few hours. One is in daily work and the other aged pony.
 
I don't know if they do it here, but someone should, is make haynets for large rounds. Google Texas Haynets. They are in the States. But cuts down on waste and you put in a regular feeder. Slows them down too. As it's eaten down there is a crank at the bottom to keep tightening.

But, but, but, you could probably devise one from a soccer goal net.

Terri
 
I know someone who puts out a big bale of haylage and a big bale of straw, so that their horses always have something to eat but are not taking in too many calories.

I do wonder what those saying increase the workload think that broodies and youngsters can do.
 
I have had the same problem, although am using some rubbish hay at the moment but they are still getting fat. I'm afriad as there is a bit of grass out there I went for the just replenish every week option and they can eat the poor grass for 2 days, including a bit of fat reserves!

I have got big bale haylage but was hoping not to use that until it is really cold. My problem has been solved by an op on the youngster so they have to come in anyway, not the ideal solution though!

Mine are a 2 year old and a retired hunter so I would struggle to up their workload too.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I know someone who puts out a big bale of haylage and a big bale of straw, so that their horses always have something to eat but are not taking in too many calories.

I do wonder what those saying increase the workload think that broodies and youngsters can do.
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Yes, me too, I've always shied away from working yearlings :D:D. Funnily enough when I posted this there was another thread about a haynet topper for big bales which I think I am going to get 3 of. Putting out in piles? For 10 of them? Seriously?????. As for the poster who asked why feeding haylage when there is grass, WHAT ??????? - Obviously I don't feed hard feed so of course they need the additional nutrients of first cut forage DOH

I think half the problem is the quality of it, which is much better than the stuff I used to make. Would love to feed hay but there isn't any up here due to crap summer.
 
Equilibrium Ireland said:
I don't know if they do it here, but someone should, is make haynets for large rounds. Google Texas Haynets. They are in the States. But cuts down on waste and you put in a regular feeder. Slows them down too. As it's eaten down there is a crank at the bottom to keep tightening.

But, but, but, you could probably devise one from a soccer goal net.

Terri
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Yes I did find one of those shortly after posting and think a really good idea. There is some grass of sorts so its not like when there is snow on the ground when obviously ad lib is a necessity.
 
amymay said:
I've done it for about 7, yes. ATV, trailer on the back loaded up with hay - drive round the field and dump the piles around.
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Thanks but honestly there is no hay here. Multiply your poor summer by 3 and you have ours. I did go round and look at some big bale hay with view to purchase that and get in run in but I wouldn't have fed it to pigs tbh. Haulage costs are so immense too.
 
Does a bale last you 5 days with 10 horses? Thats not bad going really, im using 2 a week feeding 10.
To be honest, i know they are chubby now, but we havnt really got to the winter yet have we, i cant see the harm in them being a bit of the chubby side heading into winter, you will probably find they will loose alot of the weight gained once the weather changes & becomes really cold.
 
Broke_But_Happy said:
Seriously?! You want to leave them for 2 days with nothing?? Stop being lazy and put piles out AM & PM like the rest of us who don't feed ad lib do!!!
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Not entirely sure that laziness came into it, I think op was thinking that if they just had the grass available for two days each week then this would help to keep their weight in check. The other option is to ration each end of the day as you suggest. I don't understand the 'leave them with nothing' bit........
 
amymay said:
Hay/haylage - the point is in reference to your putting out piles for 10 horses - it's easily done.
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Not true. Out of my 10 (selling 3 in the spring honest) 6 are at/about 16.2.

This would mean at least 6 small bale haylage per day for the 10 of them which would take a considerable time just to unwrap, especially if horsehage and double wrapped. It would also mean £48 per day or £350 a week which I would consider prohibitive. My actual question was really aimed at the 'can I just leave them on grass for 2/7? This would mean I could buy one of the hay toppers per feeder as I could remove them for the farmer.

I read the debates about 'in the winter horses in the wild would naturally drop off' etc and just wondered if as it is so mild I could try the above?????
 
This would mean at least 6 small bale haylage per day for the 10
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Sorry, I'd just assumed a large bale would be opened and used - as you're doing now.

My actual question was really aimed at the 'can I just leave them on grass for 2/7
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No, which is why piles have been suggested.
 
amymay said:
Sorry, I'd just assumed a large bale would be opened and used - as you're doing now.



No, which is why piles have been suggested.
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Why not? Surely they are getting forage going through them still? just less calories as grass pretty low in sugar and protein atm. TBH, many yards both here and down South don't put anything out at all. Not being lazy but no way have I got time (already up at 5.30am) to struggle with big bale haylage and putting it into piles. Ridiculous idea. Actually been on the phone to my farmer (who also runs in my big bales) and he has some barley straw which was undersown with grass but as so late cut the 'hay' content is significant. What do you think? I'd never even heard of feeding straw until I came on here.
 
I'd go with someone above's suggestion of feeding straw alongside the haylage- they might not want it to start with compared to their sweeter haylage but they will eat it if they are hungry :)

Can you get access to straw?
 
millitiger said:
I'd go with someone above's suggestion of feeding straw alongside the haylage- they might not want it to start with compared to their sweeter haylage but they will eat it if they are hungry :)

Can you get access to straw?
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Yes, easily and good quality too. Can you tell me, is it OK for babies to pick at (now both 6 months +)?

Nice to have a practical suggestion - thanks
 
scarymare said:
Why not? Surely they are getting forage going through them still? just less calories as grass pretty low in sugar and protein atm. TBH, many yards both here and down South don't put anything out at all. Not being lazy but no way have I got time (already up at 5.30am) to struggle with big bale haylage and putting it into piles. Ridiculous idea. Actually been on the phone to my farmer (who also runs in my big bales) and he has some barley straw which was undersown with grass but as so late cut the 'hay' content is significant. What do you think? I'd never even heard of feeding straw until I came on here.
Click to expand...

I've not implied you were lazy. And if you want to do as you propose in your original post - fill your boots. But you asked a question on here which many have answered giving an opinion of no.

The idea of piles is not ridiculous - it simply doesn't fit in with how much you can actually do in a day (fair enough).

But there does come a point, surely, where if you can't manage stock in the best way because of either time constraints or too much stock, then a re-think is needed.

Either way, I'm sure you'll figure something out.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I do wonder what those saying increase the workload think that broodies and youngsters can do.
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I slimmed my horse down from fat to slim, whilst on rest, simply by restricting her grazing and upping her work to get the grass.... workload doesnt always have to mean riding it, does it?
Anyway, it's meant to be a helpful suggestion, rather than an excuse to get narky ;)
 
scarymare,

I dont see a problem why you cant just leave them on grass for 2 days, they arent going to starve and like you said they are fat. Its not as if they are stood on bare soil, they still have grass to eat. My 2 horses only get hay out if its frosty. Yes the grass has stopped growing but its still plenty of fibre.

One of mine is still muzzled when out and has half a flap of hay at night split and given at 2 times. He is a greedy so and so and putting lots of hay out would result in a fight as my other horse is a kicker and when he tries to steal her hay ( shes a tb ) she would kick him into next year.

At the end of the day they wont starve for 2 days.

We have some breeding cattle and fat stock wintering out, they get a bale of silage on a monday, wednesday and friday and are doing perfectly well with no silage and just grass on a weekend.
 
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