cheaper than hay ?

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hannah28

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hey told today by yo/ym that our hay is going up :(
at the min its £3 but i think it is going to go up a lot !
so was just wondering if there is any alternative ?
my horse in the winter goes through at least 3 bales of hay and so does my friends so maybe concidering big bales of something to share?
what would you recommend my horse is not really fussy.

also what is silage (sp?)

cheers :o
 
Silage is fed to cows NOT horses. It would make them very very ill. I'd say you'd be best to share a large bale of hay with a friend as this would be the most cost effective. There's no real cheaper alternative.
 
Silage is no good at all for horses....it's OK for Bovines as they have 4 stomachs to digest it.

I am going to be feeding 50% oat straw this year....around the same pro-rata as in 1976..to 50% hay.

No way would I feed silage to Equines.
 
We sell hay in big round bales and our neighbours sell small haylage bales. At the moment we are selling around 30 large bales a week, at 20.00 per bale collected..at this rate we will have nothing left for our clients in the winter !! I am not sure if people are actually feeding it now or just stocking up for winter, our neighbour is totally out of this years haylage. Hopefully we will get a heavy 2nd crop of the fields, but by the time we have paid for diesel, fertilizer, stacking ect it will be about 30 quid a bale maybe even 35.00..quite scarey times, i can see a lot of horses being nneglected or even left this winter as people just wont be able to afford it
 
hannah28 said:
dont want to sound stupid but my friend told me big baled hay is the same a silage as it is fermented (sp?) but surely its not ? and big baled hay doesnt go of ?
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Your friend is wrong. If you feed silage to your horse, you could kill him/her! Haylage is slightly fermented but not to the extent of silage.

Also, big baled hay(lage) does go off if it is not used quickly enough - as soon as the bale is opened, the air gets into it, which allows the bacteria to respire quickly and reproduce, but also for mould to start growing.
 
Silage will not kill horses!!!!! Silage costs around £10 per large bale whilst haylage can cost anything up to £45!!!!! Total mugs aren't we!!! Yes avoid early cut immature grasses as these will be higher in energy than most horses would require and also avoid wet silages as they also tend to be more acidic and not so suitable for the digestive system of a horse. This applies to bales sold as 'haylage' also! Any type of preserved forage with 'additives' to aid the preservation process should be avoided as there have been links to an increase in tooth decay in horses. Many large reputable 'haylage' making companies use them!! So if you come across a farmer selling a later cut fairly dry 'silage' for a good price, take a sample for analysis to determine if it would be suitable for feeding to horses as often they are fine, and in some cases more appropriate than some 'haylages'!.
 
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