big bales haylage for 2 horses?

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MissMincePie&Brandy

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I am soon going to be a 2 horse owner again, horrah!.

Getting hay in my area is not as easy as it was though, and I'm thinking that once I get my second horse, it might be a better option to buy the big baled haylage bales.
Will I be able to get through a large haylage bale quickly enough after opening it though? Both are big horses over 17hh.
 
I used to use a big square bale for one horse and it lasted really well, it was quite dry though, almost like hay which my horse loved so I think that made a difference.

Other times though I have used small bales of haylage in the past and they would go mouldy before I could finish them, it was very wet.

I guess it depends on the haylage.
 
I use big round bale haylage for one 16.2 horse. I unwrap it fully and keep it in a barn. So far seem to get through one in about a month, and haven't had any problems with it going off. :)
 
This depends on lots of factors. Main one is the weather & whether you have somewhere cool to keep the bale. This time of year how mild it is during the day a bale lasts 2 to 3 weeks max. but during the winter cold months they can last up to a month but do start to get a bit ropey near the end. It also depends on how wet the haylage is, how old the grass was when it was cut (old long grass does not keep as well as shorter cut.) Also how tight the bales have been baled if the core is very tight & can't breath they can sweat from the inside out if not kept in a cool place.

So it will all depend on your supply, think you may just have to try a bale & see but I would wait untill it is quite so mild during the day.
 
A big bale lasts my two 10 to 12 days, both 15.2HH one Arab the other an AQH, they both get vertually ad lib and turnout daily.

I keep it outside in the shade and un wrap it completely. I then put a big tarpulin over it, to keep the rain off.

They've normally eaten it before it goes off, but really the dryer the better.
 
Yes, I agree, lots of people (on this forum) will say it lasts a week but the quality stuff baled at around 20% (when baled) will last far longer than this. So I think you'll be OK and should work out cheaper too.
 
I have 2 large horses on the big square bales of Ryegrass haylage and it's of a fairly dry consistency- I get through one every 10 days in the summer and every 7 days in the winter.

I completely unwrap it, so it can't over heat, and it keeps really well.

It depends on the size of the bale as well, and type of haylage as well as to how quickly you get through it- I remember about 5 or 6 yrs ago I was using a big bale haylage that lasted the same 2 horses about 3 weeks!, so it really does vary.
 
First cut haylage that is quite dry when wrapped will last almost like hay. On the other hand late cut haylage will be wetter and go mouldy very quickly. Fine for cattle awful for horses, and sheep as they can suffer from botulism. So it depends on when it was cut and the moisture content. Third cut haylage has just finished here, because of the short hours of sunshine and the temperature I dont think that I would even want to feed it to cattle.
 
A big bale of haylage which is very good quality - almost like hay and doesnt make the horses go loopy! Lasts my 15.2hh ISH and my friend's 16hh ISH about 3 weeks. We unwrap it fully and leave it in a barn. I give my boy a massive haynet overnight as I dont like leaving them without anything to eat for long. My friend is a bit stingy as she doesnt want her horse getting bloated but he only get 1hour turnout so I suppose it works out that we use around about the same about of haylage a day.

If you buy good quality haylage that isnt too wet it shouldnt go off too quickly. A big bale will probably last you about 3weeks ish too.
 
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