Coughing horse what to do re hay

NooNoo59

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My horse has got inflamed airways and the vet has prescribed a 10 day course of ventopulimin. Obviously hay is a issue so have been soaking it but he does not like it. I am wary of feeding haylage as he is a chunky lad although our yard haylage is excellent. Thought about steaming but there lots of conflicting views as to whether basic steaming with kettle and bin is really effective. I know I could make one but I am not sure the yo would like me running that every day off his electric! Help??
 

Lucky788

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I soak hay for 20/30 mins in the morning then drain and feed that night, it will have dried out a bit by then and mine loves it, perhaps play around with how long you soak it for?
Another pony on my block has steamed hay, two kettles over the hay and lid on the bin it’s in, left for a a few hours then fed might be worth a try certainly smells nice :)
 

poiuytrewq

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I'm pretty sure the kettle and bin thing has been proven rubbish. If not the people who do and swear by it obviously are not really dealing with proper dust allergies.
The hay has to be steamed consistently to a high core temp and it's just not possible with a kettle.
How long have you been feeding soaked hay? Could it just be a case of it being different and getting used to it?
 

NooNoo59

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About a week. I will see what he has left in the morning. I suppose if he is hungry enough he will eat it. I don't think the kettle steam is efficient enough. Still thinking about haylage
 

poiuytrewq

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I'd be inclined to give the haylage a go. I was worried it would either send daughters horse who has a serious dust allergy into overdrive or make him fat. He did gorge a bit at first but soon settled and it actually was fine. I used fairly dry meadow haylage though.
He does now eat soaked hay but I have to be thoughtful of how long I soak it (20-30 mins max) and I really need to feed it asap after soaking. I was trying to be super efficient and soak the night before to drain and feed in the morning but he dislikes that!
 

DabDab

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Pouring a couple of kettles of boiling water through a hay net of hay definitely works to stop a short term cough. For long term allergies it isn't sufficient though.

Haylage for a couple of weeks really shouldn't cause him to put on much weight
 

Mule

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I'd go for the haylage. You could give him less of it if you're concerned about weight gain.I had a horse with COPD and spent years messing about soaking hay. When I moved her on to haylage I couldn't believe I didn't do it years earlier.
 

dixie

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It depends on the haylage but it's definitely worth a try
I've a retired horse who coughed a lot on hay and switched to haylage this winter plus Fast Fibre as a hard feed and can't believe the difference in him. He's barely coughed at all and I can't see any difference in his weight, that could be the lack of grass though. It's also made my life a whole lot easier, soaking hay is no fun at all. My haylage is a very dry type though.
 
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