Differences between Hay and Haylage

Serephin

Serephin

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potential new yard includes their own haylage in the livery charge. now I don't really know anything about haylage apart from it has a higher sugar content and is wrapped in plastic!

if I move to this yard it would be more cost effective to use their haylage but I am unsure as to how to feed it. I have a haybar - can I just put the haylage in there or does it have to be feed in one of those small hole haylage nets? is it fed in the same quantity as hay? will it send my TB nuts?

sorry for being thick! any advice would be great, thanks.
 
Haylage has a lot more moisture in it than hay (about 60% as opposed to 20%) as it is wrapped in plastic soon after cutting to ferment. It also has a much higher energy value. It really depends on the horse how it will cope and you won't know unless you try it. I have an ex race horse who will eat ad lib haylage and be no different to when she's on hay, but my IDx I used to own would go mental on it. It's probably better off feeding it through a small holed net to make it last longer. Give it a try - you can always swap back (just make sure you do it gradually)
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As for quantity, probably feed less to start with and see how you get on.
 
Put it this way , you can feed any amount of hay whereas with haylage its alot less smaller amounts .

If you are starting off, I would mix the haylage and hay together first and gradually less hay until you have totally converted over to haylage .
 
I used to feed ad-lib haylage (in a hay bar) to mine at my previous yard. I didn't realise at the time but it was great for keeping weight on him - he hardly used to get any hard feed where as now he is on hay I really struggle to keep condition on him.

** edited to correct spelling!
 
My TBs both get adlib haylage over winter & don't heat up! They don't need any other feed either - the haylage is plenty enough for weight & energy
 
thats what I was hoping - to use it ad lib and keep the weight on instead of using hard feed.

Thanks for the replies!
 
Horses tend to do better weight wise on haylage than they do on hay. Most horses I have known don't heat up on haylage but there are exceptions to this.
I personally would always feed haylage in preference to hay unless the horse dictated otherwise.
If you have a fatty then you should be able to cut out hard feed or cut it right down.
It is a common misconception that you should only feed small amounts of haylage, ideally you should feed the same amount by volume that you do hay to make sure the horse gets adequate fibre. If your horse is struggling to keep weight off by all means reduce the amount but then feed it from a really small holed net so that the horse trickle feeds and keeps guts moving.
 
Bert is on adlib haylage as he cannot have hay.
Originally he was on horsehage blue, which had no affect on him but is very dear, I moved to a farmers haylage just before moving yards and he definately was a bit more "there".

I do notice a real difference as come summer when I stop haylage he turns into a plod again!
 
Actually haylage can often have less sugar content than hay as it ferments. I think D&H can analyse it for you, for £15 or something. If you are worried about your horse putting on too much condiiton with either hay or haylage, you can always soak it for a few hours to leach out the sugars and proteins.
 
I always used haylage for my arabian mare as she had a dust allergy and hay may her cough, she never acted any different , although too much ,and I alway gave her less than hay, made her extremely loose, I was using haylage green.

I ended up mixing it with the best hay I could find on her "loose days"

try it.
 
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