Can haylage change the character of a horse

[El B]

Hi I’m looking for some advice please.

Recently I had to change my 19 year old Irish sports horse from hay to haylage due to running out. Since then, she now leaves her hard feed to go and eat the haylage and becomes aggressive to our pony and will not share.

This is completely out of character for her as they have been the best of friends since I purchased her last summer.

She has also become very ‘on her toes’ when riding and bucked me bucked me off when asked to canter.

Could this be down to the change in feed or the fact that the spring grass is coming through.

Any advice appreciated

 

[HeyMich]

Haylage is much higher in sugars and more acidic than hay. It plays havoc with my mare's rear end (squitty bum, sores on legs etc, which then makes her grumpy) and she's had ulcers in the past, so I've decided to only feed hay from now on. Mind you, if she could climb inside a round bale of haylage and live there permanently, she would!

Not sure about the bucking though.

 

[Magnetic Sparrow]

Yes, in my experience it can make a significant difference. I found NAF haylage balancer reduced the effect in my horse, but didn't stop the effect completely.

 

[El B]

Yes, in my experience it can make a significant difference. I found NAF haylage balancer reduced the effect in my horse, but didn't stop the effect completely.

Thank you. I’ll give that a try

 

[El B]

Haylage is much higher in sugars and more acidic than hay. It plays havoc with my mare's rear end (squitty bum, sores on legs etc, which then makes her grumpy) and she's had ulcers in the past, so I've decided to only feed hay from now on. Mind you, if she could climb inside a round bale of haylage and live there permanently, she would!

Not sure about the bucking though.

I think the bucking came about because she was so excited. She’s usually very good and laid back when cantering, but this time she went off like a rocket.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Haylage + sunshine in spring = bouncy eejits (if not used to the former!)
Get some hay in if you can, or look at the haylage marketed for fatties. Might take a couple of days or so to get out of her system tho.

 

[The Trooper]

Hay has a higher sugar content than haylage. Haylage has a higher protein content.

I'm not denying that haylage may be the problem but it may not be sugar related.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Absolutely, very much so!

 

[siennamiller]

Mine went absolutely mental on haylage, really really vile!

 

[HeyMich]

Hay has a higher sugar content than haylage. Haylage has a higher protein content.

I'm not denying that haylage may be the problem but it may not be sugar related.

Yes, it has higher protein content, which gives it a higher digestible energy (DE) content. That's why they react with silly excess energy type antics!

That's also why they do better, generally, on haylage, and why it's not suitable for laminitics etc.

 

[ycbm]

There is so much misinformation about haylage around.

Haylage does not autmotically have a higher protien or digestible energy content than hay, that will depend far more on the grasses it is made from and the weather and time of day when it was cut than it will on whether it was baled dry or damp and wrapped. It has LOWER energy weight for weight and volume for volume because of the amount of water in it - usually at least a third of it is water, often 40%).

Dried out Timothy haylage will have far less calories and sugars in it than ryegrass hay. A kilo of any haylage as baled will contain around 30% less feed value than hay made with exactly the same piece of grass, because of the water.

It is more acidic, which sends some horses hind gut out of balance and can make them react as if they are getting too much or too rich food.

 

[El B]

Thank you all for your advice.

I’ll get some hay for her and see if there is a difference in her behaviour.

 

[Pinkvboots]

There is so much misinformation about haylage around.

Haylage does not autmotically have a higher protien or digestible energy content than hay, that will depend far more on the grasses it is made from and the weather and time of day when it was cut than it will on whether it was baled dry or damp and wrapped. It has LOWER energy weight for weight and volume for volume because of the amount of water in it - usually at least a third of it is water, often 40%).

Dried out Timothy haylage will have far less calories and sugars in it than ryegrass hay. A kilo of any haylage as baled will contain around 30% less feed value than hay made with exactly the same piece of grass, because of the water.

It is more acidic, which sends some horses hind gut out of balance and can make them react as if they are getting too much or too rich food.

Agree with this my hay supplier makes very dry Timothy haylage and he tested it along with his hay, and the protein and sugar content was the same.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Thank you. I’ll give that a try

Be careful, it made 2 of ours very footy.

I find that Aloe Vera juice counteracts acidity.

 

[Tihamandturkey]

Be careful, it made 2 of ours very footy.

I find that Aloe Vera juice counteracts acidity.

Yes - Aloe Vera juice is very effective - I buy the human version at Holland & Barrett - it's often with the "two for one" offers 🙂

 

[Bob notacob]

Horses need between 1.5 and 2.5% of their optimum body weight in dry matter forage per day. The important word here is Dry matter .Hay contains 12 % moisture haylage 30 % .If you do the numbers ,a horse requires half as much again of haylage against hay ,to have adequate fibre intake. The more acidic nature of haylage has not been shown in clinical trials to affect or induce Ulcers. Haylage can vary in energy content but in general the best haylage will have a higher energy content per KG ,DM than the best hay . Even the lowest energy haylage that is safe to give a horse (think Botulism) is hiof higher energy than a lot of poorer hay. My guess is that the OP,s horse is getting grumpy because it is hungry .It is not getting its daily fibre requirement .Put the horse back on hay .There isnt a shortage .

 

[ycbm]

Your sums are a bit off, BnaC Haylage can contain up to 40% water. At 10% for hay and 30% for haylage, you need to feed just under a third more haylage by weight than hay. At 10% for hay and 40% for haylage, you need to feed half as much again.

Better just to feed ad lib anyway, then you can be sure your horse is getting enough. And replace some with straw or a lower feed value grass like timothy of the horse is too fat.

 

[bubsqueaks]

So many different opinions/advice above no wonder it gets so confusing!
But I guess your horse is trying to tell you something & you have listened so just need to work out what!?!
Personally we feed a combination of soaked hay, steamed hay, haylage, oat straw, giving them much more variety of forage.

 

[Bob notacob]

Your sums are a bit off, BnaC Haylage can contain up to 40% water. At 10% for hay and 30% for haylage, you need to feed just under a third more haylage by weight than hay. At 10% for hay and 40% for haylage, you need to feed half as much again.

Better just to feed ad lib anyway, then you can be sure your horse is getting enough. And replace some with straw or a lower feed value grass like timothy of the horse is too fat.

Your sums are a bit off, BnaC Haylage can contain up to 40% water. At 10% for hay and 30% for haylage, you need to feed just under a third more haylage by weight than hay. At 10% for hay and 40% for haylage, you need to feed half as much again.

Better just to feed ad lib anyway, then you can be sure your horse is getting enough. And replace some with straw or a lower feed value grass like timothy of the horse is too fat.

oops typo error . should have been 35% water in haylage. Hay in the UK seldom comes in at much below 14% but looses some moisture in the stack. Due to our weather ,we snatch the hay asap so it is rare to get moisture contents below 12% in a stack (unless it is a couple of years old. 10% is however often quoted on American/Canadian sources . They have the oposite problem of the stuff drying out too quickly . Hope this clears up any misunderstanding.