Can you soak haylage to get rid of sugars?

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Keenjean

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As above really. I have a horse with very slight reverse rotation of the pedal bone and in an attempt to help her I'm trying to adjust her feed and supplement her correctly ie less sugar and starch. The only problem is my horse is on part livery and only haylage is provided and there would be nowhere for me to keep hay if I purchased it. Thanks in advance :)
 
this is something I am wondering too as I was planning on chipping in with the YO towards the haylage fund feeding haylage this winter as all my hay went mouldy and went to waste under the tarp from all the rain we had (there is no hay barn to store hay at my yard). My mare goes nuts on anything sugary so have to be careful.
 
Yes, I soaked mine for 20 hours as my boy is intolerant to hay but a very good doer! Started feeding it dry now that his work has increased but he dunked in his water bucket so back to soaking :)
 
Yes I have done mine for 15 hours a day all summer to feet to a laminitic risk horse. Don't soak more than 1 day's at a time, it goes sour and/or heats up in warm weather if left.
 
Some info I found:

Hay
has a lower moisture content than haylage (should be 80% DM or higher);
needs several days of continuously hot, dry weather to be properly made;
MUST be correctly stored as humid, damp conditions can make it mouldy;
has more spores/dust than haylage so should be soaked or steamed before feeding;
can be high in sugar/starch (water soluble sugars can also be reduced by soaking);
is lower in digestible energy and protein than haylage made from the same grass.

Haylage
should have a higher moisture content than hay but lower than silage; 40-65% DM is necessary for it to be suitable for horses;
is partially dried (as if for hay) but is baled earlier*and immediately wrapped.*Good haylage can therefore be made where weather conditions are too precarious to make good hay (like Exmoor!);
does not contain the level of spores/dust found in hay;

has a lower level of non structural carbohydrate than hay made from the same grass; this is because the fermentation process converts sugars into fatty acids. *Haylage need not be soaked*because (a) high levels of water soluble sugars are not present and (b) once wet, it goes off and becomes unpalatable extremely quickly;
provides more digestible energy and protein than hay made from the same grass;
bales can be stored outside for months at a time but must NOT be punctured.

From

http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/all-about-hay-and-haylage.html
 
Last edited:
Vanner there is hay and hay and haylage and haylage. Haylage and hay made from the same grass cut at the same time of day may well differ as you quote, but that does not mean that all haylage is lower in soluble carbs/sugar than all hay.

Haylage soaks fine. It does not go off in 24 hours, plenty of us are doing it and we should know, surely?

An added bonus is that soaked haylage grows to around half as much volume again and keeps the horse busy for much longer :D



ps it's all very well for Rockley to quote that but they make their own haylage from established upland hill meadow - "poor" quality and multi-species. Try comparing fertilized ryegrass haylage (which is the main stuff sold commercially) with that for nutrition and you'd get a shock :)
 
Last edited:
cptrayes said:
Vanner there is hay and hay and haylage and haylage. Haylage and hay made from the same grass cut at the same time of day may well differ as you quote, but that does not mean that all haylage is lower in soluble carbs/sugar than all hay.

Haylage soaks fine. It does not go off in 24 hours, plenty of us are doing it and we should know, surely?

An added bonus is that soaked haylage grows to around half as much volume again and keeps the horse busy for much longer :D



ps it's all very well for Rockley to quote that but they make their own haylage from established upland hill meadow - "poor" quality and multi-species. Try comparing fertilized ryegrass haylage (which is the main stuff sold commercially) with that for nutrition and you'd get a shock :)
Click to expand...

Looking to soak some higher sugar haylage immediately, until lower sugar supply arrives. Trying to work out best way to do it.

What soaking range of time works to reduce sugars effectively?

Should I put it in a dustbin of water, leave it 8-24 hours, and then tip it on floor, rinse it with hose, put back in dustbin, take to field (ten minutes away) and tip on floor / in hay hutch for eating?

Is rinsing essential?

Would soaking for 2 hours reduce much sugar?

Have ordered some lower sugar haylage for next week.

Help / knowing what others do much appreciated.

Have fussy horse, so need him to want to eat it.
 
cptrayes said:
Vanner there is hay and hay and haylage and haylage. Haylage and hay made from the same grass cut at the same time of day may well differ as you quote, but that does not mean that all haylage is lower in soluble carbs/sugar than all hay.

Haylage soaks fine. It does not go off in 24 hours, plenty of us are doing it and we should know, surely?

An added bonus is that soaked haylage grows to around half as much volume again and keeps the horse busy for much longer :D



ps it's all very well for Rockley to quote that but they make their own haylage from established upland hill meadow - "poor" quality and multi-species. Try comparing fertilized ryegrass haylage (which is the main stuff sold commercially) with that for nutrition and you'd get a shock :)
Click to expand...

Looking to soak some higher sugar haylage immediately, until lower sugar supply arrives. Trying to work out best way to do it.

What soaking range of time works to reduce sugars effectively?

Should I put it in a dustbin of water, leave it 8-24 hours, and then tip it on floor, rinse it with hose, put back in dustbin, take to field (ten minutes away) and tip on floor / in hay hutch for eating?

Is rinsing essential?

Would soaking for 2 hours reduce much sugar?

Have ordered some lower sugar haylage for next week.

Help / knowing what others do much appreciated.

Have fussy horse, so need him to want to eat it.
 
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