Does anyone wear a mask to do their haynets?

[Birker2020]

I'm a bit worried as every now and then I get a bit of dusty hay and get quite wheezy.

My supplier is good, she sells round bales to a number of us on the yard and we have all used her and her late Father for years. Generally the hay is top notch but lately the odd bale has been a bit dusty and I ended up throwing away some hay the other day, only second time in about 10 years. I've noticed when I've been shaking it out that I am struggling afterwards with the dust.

Sometimes it manifests itself with my voice going really hoarse and other times I will develop a wheeze if I exert myself afterwardss. It think it was mentioned years ago whether I was slightly asthmatic but never investigated and I've never developed asthma per se but wheezing and voice going hoarse would suggest maybe I have undiagnosed asthma but I'm also not sure if this is 'normal' and everyone gets this before I start pestering my doctor for an inhaler.

I have noticed that with the last bale when I've been swimming after leaving the yard I have really struggled with my stamina in the swimming pool, I have struggled with my breathing and become very weak and exhausted much sooner than how my body normally indicates 'getting tired now'.

I'm wondering if a decent facemask might counteract these issues in case I get some dusty hay again. I will add that I always wet my hay after adding to the nets.

We had a dear friend who used to work alongside my partner year ago who was very sadly diagnosed and died from Farmers Lung which was apparently brought on by dusty hay.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I have done in the past but now we use haylage, although I can still sometimes come away from the bale sneezing!

 

[Birker2020]

I have done in the past but now we use haylage, although I can still sometimes come away from the bale sneezing!

Haylage is brilliant for that reason I know, but although horse came eating haylage he went off it in favour of the hay I started mixing in!

But were you ever wheezing and losing your voice when you used hay before you used a mask?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Haylage is brilliant for that reason I know, but although horse came eating haylage he went off it in favour of the hay I started mixing in!

But were you ever wheezing and losing your voice when you used hay before you used a mask?

No, I got sinusitis and headaches and black hankies when I blew my nose!

 

[PurBee]

Farmers lung is very real - being exposed to invisible mould spores in straw/hay daily, breathing them in, slowly inhibits the airways and has other detrimental affects. Im sorry to hear about your friend being overcome by it. It’s not really a well-known recognised risk amongst horse folk.

When i was using hay, i wore masks sometimes as the dust would affect me too in the ways you describe. Runny nose, sneezing, coughing later on during the day, and not having the lung capacity i used to have.
I threw away more hay than i fed to be honest, as i thought if im sneezing and have a runny nose, its not going to be any good for the horses. So then i went into the arduous soaking regime.

It all got too stressful….travelling all day to collect hay from a hopefully better supplier, sort through good and not so good bales….throwing away more than i fed….soaking on freezing winter nights, hauling heavy wet nets about to feed…so i switched to majority haylage. Only feeding hay i make myself which is baled at 10-14% moisture = no mould.

Im doing much better and so are the horses. I dont suffer with hay fever by the way. If you did all hay would probably cause a reaction. I know the hay is good when i stuff my face into it and inhale a good lung-full smelling gorgeous summer meadows and dont sneeze afterwards!
(canadian hay is terrific if you ever come across any…those canadians know how to make hay!)

Wearing a mask prevents most ingestion of spores/particles….but honestly, if a mask is needed, the hay isnt good to feed, as soaking it only stops the spores being airborne, they still get ingested and can cause gut mycotoxicosis.

I tried steaming, that was great, but im off grid so needed to run a generator to use the steamer….costly.
High heat kills spores so i them dunked nets into very hot water hosed off from the house cylinder hot water system.
When youve got 20kg’s in divided nets to haul about and ‘pre-treat’ before feeding it all becomes time-consuming, costly, and really depressing. The overall cost of crap hay to sort (making me ill) and make good enough to feed by steaming/soaking was actually costing me more than 10 quid per 20 kilo of best-quality exceptional haylage. So now i get haylage to my door, and just feed the horses….saving hours and hours per week. Plus we’re all healthier….there’s no price on health.

 

[PurBee]

No, I got sinusitis and headaches and black hankies when I blew my nose!

Thats completely true….the state of whats in our noses after sorting hay tells us whether the hay is any good!

 

[Fjord]

I have used a mask when doing hay, because it made me cough and sneeze, I don't like breathing it in if it's too dusty. Black hankies too which is gross! It never made me wheeze though, just gave me itchy eyes sometimes.

 

[tda]

I did when I used hay, but it also brought me out in hives on my arms, so we gave in and feed haylage ?

 

[usaequestrian]

I've gotten really itchy/sneezy when I'm in the hayloft/haying horses. However I find that when I'm in the hayloft I get very irritated, but when I'm in the barn I get less sneezy, it might have something to do with enclosed spaces and how much air there is.

 

[Birker2020]

Farmers lung is very real - being exposed to invisible mould spores in straw/hay daily, breathing them in, slowly inhibits the airways and has other detrimental affects. Im sorry to hear about your friend being overcome by it. It’s not really a well-known recognised risk amongst horse folk.

When i was using hay, i wore masks sometimes as the dust would affect me too in the ways you describe. Runny nose, sneezing, coughing later on during the day, and not having the lung capacity i used to have.
I threw away more hay than i fed to be honest, as i thought if im sneezing and have a runny nose, its not going to be any good for the horses. So then i went into the arduous soaking regime.

It all got too stressful….travelling all day to collect hay from a hopefully better supplier, sort through good and not so good bales….throwing away more than i fed….soaking on freezing winter nights, hauling heavy wet nets about to feed…so i switched to majority haylage. Only feeding hay i make myself which is baled at 10-14% moisture = no mould.

Im doing much better and so are the horses. I dont suffer with hay fever by the way. If you did all hay would probably cause a reaction. I know the hay is good when i stuff my face into it and inhale a good lung-full smelling gorgeous summer meadows and dont sneeze afterwards!
(canadian hay is terrific if you ever come across any…those canadians know how to make hay!)

Wearing a mask prevents most ingestion of spores/particles….but honestly, if a mask is needed, the hay isnt good to feed, as soaking it only stops the spores being airborne, they still get ingested and can cause gut mycotoxicosis.

I tried steaming, that was great, but im off grid so needed to run a generator to use the steamer….costly.
High heat kills spores so i them dunked nets into very hot water hosed off from the house cylinder hot water system.
When youve got 20kg’s in divided nets to haul about and ‘pre-treat’ before feeding it all becomes time-consuming, costly, and really depressing. The overall cost of crap hay to sort (making me ill) and make good enough to feed by steaming/soaking was actually costing me more than 10 quid per 20 kilo of best-quality exceptional haylage. So now i get haylage to my door, and just feed the horses….saving hours and hours per week. Plus we’re all healthier….there’s no price on health.

Thanks for your reply. Yes it was incredibly sad about my friend.

Its only the very odd bale, like I say in ten years I've thrown two away. Its mainly good quality, I give it a good shake out first which gets rid of any dust, but its far from mouldy.

I certainly won't be going down the route of soaking my hay, that would be a complete nightmare and I'd struggle to be able to lift it high enough to tie up with my back/arthritic issues as horse could be an Olympic athelete with his front legs!

I know Canadian hay is good, its very green stuff as someone on the yard years ago used to feed it.

If Marksway hadn't changed their quality I would probably have ended up feeding that still, I suddenly seemed to have three in a row that was considerably different from the ones I'd had the couple of weeks before.

 

[Sprout]

I have to use a mask to make up haynets and muck out stables.

 

[jnb]

I am lucky enough to have the most amazing old meadow hay (the meadow is old, not the hay!) which is never dusty, however in the past (on livery yards) we've had dreadful stuff and I have had to resort to smuggling my own in to feed (one yard sold their own, decent quality hay for £££, and bought in cheap brown shrivelled up dusty stuff for the liveries!!)
Nothing worse than bad hay. I'd wear a mask OP and steam or soak it otherwise ask yard if non dusty hay can be sourced / can you buy your own with a reduction in livery costs?

 

[PurBee]

Thanks for your reply. Yes it was incredibly sad about my friend.

Its only the very odd bale, like I say in ten years I've thrown two away. Its mainly good quality, I give it a good shake out first which gets rid of any dust, but its far from mouldy.

I certainly won't be going down the route of soaking my hay, that would be a complete nightmare and I'd struggle to be able to lift it high enough to tie up with my back/arthritic issues as horse could be an Olympic athelete with his front legs!

I know Canadian hay is good, its very green stuff as someone on the yard years ago used to feed it.

If Marksway hadn't changed their quality I would probably have ended up feeding that still, I suddenly seemed to have three in a row that was considerably different from the ones I'd had the couple of weeks before.

Your op sounded like youve got a good supplier by having just a few odd dusty bales in 10yrs. Some suppliers will exchange/refund for dodgy bales….others wont. Entirely dependent on the type of people they are. As your hay is always mostly good, having the odd bale out of 20 being musty….id personally swallow the cost and let it rot into the hedgerows. But if you’re finding 1 out of 3 bales to be too mouldy, its worth talking to supplier.
Last year was dire for uk hay makers in many regions - over on the farmers forum there was a massive thread showing their failings, and moanings about weather conditions for hay.

I agree about marksway. Their haylage these past few months is very inconsistent in terms of moisture quality. I got a reading of 30% moisture for some ryegrass high fibre…and a 65% moisture reading from their timothy. Another pallet load, i’ve had very dry timothy, and better moist high fibre ryegrass. I’ve been having them for yrs and this past 2 orders its been either too wet or too dry, than their normal excellent made quality.
It shouldnt be weather dependent as theyre not making hay so their moisture guarantee of a narrow window is not being upheld by some of their farms.
I’m in the process of collating batch numbers from the pallets i receive and moisture readings, to get in touch with head office and enquire what the problem is. Hopefully they’ll identify the farm responsible for badly made haylage and correct the issue.

Horses prefer haylage made well. Too dry it hasnt fermented and has a stinky sock smell. Too wet it is over fermented and smells very pungent vinegary. Horses will eat too wet over too dry haylage. But they prefer the golden 45-55% moisture haylage. It smells sweetish…it has a glossy texture. Timothy is tricky to make into haylage on its own, it ferments better when mixed with ryegrass in the field. Some haylage suppliers now offer timothy/ryegrass mix haylage and that is generally excellently made. I wish Marksway would offer a mix their timothy and ryegrass leys….i have suggested it to them!

Im in ireland so have limited suppliers available from the uk willing to ship a pallet to me….especially since brexit. But there’s now loads of haylage suppliers in the uk that tend to supply all the country stores. You will find many do a mix of grasses, rather than just ryegrass. Order 1 test bale, before committing to a pallet, if you’re interested in trying different types of haylage. Thankfully haylage has now extended beyond just high energy racehorse ryegrass ?

It sounds like you have a good hay supplier anyway, so needing to change due to consistent bad quality isnt an issue.
I agree, wet hay nets are a bliddy pain to deal with….im fairly fit and strong but wet hay nets slapping against my thigh as i haul it to the yard is not an experience i want to repeat!

 

[Birker2020]

I agree about marksway. Their haylage these past few months is very inconsistent in terms of moisture quality. I got a reading of 30% moisture for some ryegrass high fibre…and a 65% moisture reading from their timothy. Another pallet load, i’ve had very dry timothy, and better moist high fibre ryegrass. I’ve been having them for yrs and this past 2 orders its been either too wet or too dry, than their normal excellent made quality.
It shouldnt be weather dependent as theyre not making hay so their moisture guarantee of a narrow window is not being upheld by some of their farms.
I’m in the process of collating batch numbers from the pallets i receive and moisture readings, to get in touch with head office and enquire what the problem is. Hopefully they’ll identify the farm responsible for badly made haylage and correct the issue.
!

Wow, it wasn't just me who noticed then! It was lovely back in October, by early November it went really rubbish and by mid November horse decided to go on strike lol. It was the blue wrap /high fibre one I used.

I wasn't sure if it was weather dependent - their website says:
It is cut just like hay but, instead of being allowed to dry completely, it is baled when the grass has wilted and the dry matter content has reached around 55%. This takes about 24 hours in good drying weather.

Their website also says it is consistent and reliable.

 

[paddy555]

I find it odd that anyone would handle hay without an FFP3 mask and that anyone would feed dry hay to horses even if it was the best quality ever produced. IMHO their lungs and mine are just too valuable.

 

[Coblover63]

Yes, I have builders dust masks because hay makes me cough. It also makes my eyes itch so when I leave the yard I wipe my face and hair with a wet wipe to get rid if the dust. Ans I wear rubber gloves too ??‍

 

[twobearsarthur]

Yes I do. My mum was diagnosed with chronic farmers lung and it’s incredibly debilitating. I’m a nurse and it wasn’t something I was aware of before her diagnosis. So now I always wear a mask. I feel like I dodged the bullet my mum didn’t and I’m not taking any chances.

 

[Birker2020]

Yes I do. My mum was diagnosed with chronic farmers lung and it’s incredibly debilitating. I’m a nurse and it wasn’t something I was aware of before her diagnosis. So now I always wear a mask. I feel like I dodged the bullet my mum didn’t and I’m not taking any chances.

I'm so sorry to heart about your Mum.
I am going to buy myself a mask from the building supply shop this weekend. Thank you for your reply.

 

[Gloi]

Do use a mask but it would also be worthwhile seeing the doctor.
I'm asthmatic and quite badly affected by hay and dust but now have my horse on livery so I have my nets and mucking out done for me.

 

[asmp]

Do sufferers from Farmers Lung always have a cough? I know someone who has some of the other symptoms but the doctors are a bit at a loss as to what is wrong with them.

 

[Gloi]

Do sufferers from Farmers Lung always have a cough? I know someone who has some of the other symptoms but the doctors are a bit at a loss as to what is wrong with them.

I don't know what symptoms your person had however my sister had a lot of lung problems besides her asthma.
Amongst them was aspergillus which she was on various antifungal and other medication for. That is often implicated in farmers lung.
She also had bronchiectasis as a result of many chest infections over her lifetime.
Hopefully the chest clinic can get to the bottom of your friend's problems.

 

[Birker2020]

Do sufferers from Farmers Lung always have a cough? I know someone who has some of the other symptoms but the doctors are a bit at a loss as to what is wrong with them.

She hd a cough. But she also lost an alarming amount of weight and was always shivery feeling the cold but would get hot flushes too. And she ached all over her body which was another symptom.

 

[bluehorse]

Yes always, I get asthma and it sets me off. The dust can also make my skin itch. I make up a weeks nets at a time and make it the last job I do on the yard before going home so I can wash my face. It’s always worse with big bales I find, I think because you have to pull them apart more. Small bales are never so much of an problem but I still wear a mask.

 

[Cecilrides]

Your op sounded like youve got a good supplier by having just a few odd dusty bales in 10yrs. Some suppliers will exchange/refund for dodgy bales….others wont. Entirely dependent on the type of people they are. As your hay is always mostly good, having the odd bale out of 20 being musty….id personally swallow the cost and let it rot into the hedgerows. But if you’re finding 1 out of 3 bales to be too mouldy, its worth talking to supplier.
Last year was dire for uk hay makers in many regions - over on the farmers forum there was a massive thread showing their failings, and moanings about weather conditions for hay.

I agree about marksway. Their haylage these past few months is very inconsistent in terms of moisture quality. I got a reading of 30% moisture for some ryegrass high fibre…and a 65% moisture reading from their timothy. Another pallet load, i’ve had very dry timothy, and better moist high fibre ryegrass. I’ve been having them for yrs and this past 2 orders its been either too wet or too dry, than their normal excellent made quality.
It shouldnt be weather dependent as theyre not making hay so their moisture guarantee of a narrow window is not being upheld by some of their farms.
I’m in the process of collating batch numbers from the pallets i receive and moisture readings, to get in touch with head office and enquire what the problem is. Hopefully they’ll identify the farm responsible for badly made haylage and correct the issue.

Horses prefer haylage made well. Too dry it hasnt fermented and has a stinky sock smell. Too wet it is over fermented and smells very pungent vinegary. Horses will eat too wet over too dry haylage. But they prefer the golden 45-55% moisture haylage. It smells sweetish…it has a glossy texture. Timothy is tricky to make into haylage on its own, it ferments better when mixed with ryegrass in the field. Some haylage suppliers now offer timothy/ryegrass mix haylage and that is generally excellently made. I wish Marksway would offer a mix their timothy and ryegrass leys….i have suggested it to them!

Im in ireland so have limited suppliers available from the uk willing to ship a pallet to me….especially since brexit. But there’s now loads of haylage suppliers in the uk that tend to supply all the country stores. You will find many do a mix of grasses, rather than just ryegrass. Order 1 test bale, before committing to a pallet, if you’re interested in trying different types of haylage. Thankfully haylage has now extended beyond just high energy racehorse ryegrass ?

It sounds like you have a good hay supplier anyway, so needing to change due to consistent bad quality isnt an issue.
I agree, wet hay nets are a bliddy pain to deal with….im fairly fit and strong but wet hay nets slapping against my thigh as i haul it to the yard is not an experience i want to repeat!

Hi Purbee, how do you go about testing the moisture content of your haylage bales? I’ve also noticed with the horsehage that some of mine have been really dry recently.. mainly the blue ones, I wondered if it was how I was storing them but as they are sealed and double skinned don’t think that could happen. Others are defs wet and vingery more the green bags. presumably the different moisture content effects the quality but not sure how or if too moist / over fermented would be actively bad for them somehow.

 

[PurBee]

Hi Purbee, how do you go about testing the moisture content of your haylage bales? I’ve also noticed with the horsehage that some of mine have been really dry recently.. mainly the blue ones, I wondered if it was how I was storing them but as they are sealed and double skinned don’t think that could happen. Others are defs wet and vingery more the green bags. presumably the different moisture content effects the quality but not sure how or if too moist / over fermented would be actively bad for them somehow.

There’s a few moisture testers on the market….got mine for around 80 quid on ebay if i recall rightly. Some sell for 280 quid and up yet there are youtube videos showing that between them all there’s not much difference in the readings, so for the purpose of hay/straw testing, being ‘almost’ accurate is good enough if it says 13% when an expensive machine will read 13.8%. You’d only want an expensive moisture tester if doing lab studies or something where absolute accuracy is paramount.

Yeah, the horsehage blue bags are drier than usual. Whats annoying about it, is that if its not packed with adequate moisture the fermentation isnt possible to be thorough and complete, therefore the hay, being ryegrass and known for high sugar levels as hay, will have a higher sugar content than properly fermented ryegrass.
I would prefer it over-fermented, than under tbh. At least i know i dint have hiked sugar levels to contend with. Im mixing it with well fermented timothy, so am able to reduce the amount of dry ryegrass blue bag im feeding. I dare not feed them 100% this particular batch of ryegrass.
I’ve been getting horsehage for yrs, and this recent batch , im guessing from last summers cut, is totally different to their ‘normal’.
It would help if you could shoot them an email, giving the batch number on the back of the bags of dry haylage, and enquire what is going on With change in quality/moisture. Without customers contacting them, they wont maintain the proper quality control, which is what seems to be happening. Im emailing them too. A choir is needed to be heard and alert them to the issue so they can sort it out.

I’ve been considering sending a chunk of the dry blue bag to hay testing lab for sugar levels. My mare, who’s never had an abscess in over a decade, developed a huge one when starting this dry batch. It may be coincidence, but as her management/feeds hadnt altered in 10yrs except for the dry ryegrass haylage, im inclined to wonder if the sugar levels tipped her over. She’s had footiness in the past with high sugar level feeds when suddenly eating new bedding….rare events...like a mild lami attack, but this developed into a nasty abscess this time. Their poops altered too so the feed is likely cause. Im really annoyed about it. It costs me 10euro a bag to get it to my yard…not cheap forage by any stretch of the imagination! Its got the blinkin royal stamp on it too, to add insult to friggin’ injury….fekin’ marketing BS boils my blood! ?

 

[Cecilrides]

There’s a few moisture testers on the market….got mine for around 80 quid on ebay if i recall rightly. Some sell for 280 quid and up yet there are youtube videos showing that between them all there’s not much difference in the readings, so for the purpose of hay/straw testing, being ‘almost’ accurate is good enough if it says 13% when an expensive machine will read 13.8%. You’d only want an expensive moisture tester if doing lab studies or something where absolute accuracy is paramount.

Yeah, the horsehage blue bags are drier than usual. Whats annoying about it, is that if its not packed with adequate moisture the fermentation isnt possible to be thorough and complete, therefore the hay, being ryegrass and known for high sugar levels as hay, will have a higher sugar content than properly fermented ryegrass.
I would prefer it over-fermented, than under tbh. At least i know i dint have hiked sugar levels to contend with. Im mixing it with well fermented timothy, so am able to reduce the amount of dry ryegrass blue bag im feeding. I dare not feed them 100% this particular batch of ryegrass.
I’ve been getting horsehage for yrs, and this recent batch , im guessing from last summers cut, is totally different to their ‘normal’.
It would help if you could shoot them an email, giving the batch number on the back of the bags of dry haylage, and enquire what is going on With change in quality/moisture. Without customers contacting them, they wont maintain the proper quality control, which is what seems to be happening. Im emailing them too. A choir is needed to be heard and alert them to the issue so they can sort it out.

I’ve been considering sending a chunk of the dry blue bag to hay testing lab for sugar levels. My mare, who’s never had an abscess in over a decade, developed a huge one when starting this dry batch. It may be coincidence, but as her management/feeds hadnt altered in 10yrs except for the dry ryegrass haylage, im inclined to wonder if the sugar levels tipped her over. She’s had footiness in the past with high sugar level feeds when suddenly eating new bedding….rare events...like a mild lami attack, but this developed into a nasty abscess this time. Their poops altered too so the feed is likely cause. Im really annoyed about it. It costs me 10euro a bag to get it to my yard…not cheap forage by any stretch of the imagination! Its got the blinkin royal stamp on it too, to add insult to friggin’ injury….fekin’ marketing BS boils my blood! ?

Thanks Purbee. I will email them too. It is very worrying if the drier bags would have a higher sugar content as I specifically feed it to my laminitis prone pony as it is meant to be safe for him. I can’t imagine that their forage analysis on their website would be the same if the fermentation process is not working as it should.
I’m sorry you have already seen I’ll effects from it. That is very frustrating, it is very expensive to buy and I also get it as I have felt I could trust the nutritional analysis and what seemed like reliable fermentation process. I pay 7.95 pounds per bag and collect it which is practically crippling in winter, if it’s not actually what it says on the tin it hardly seems worth it for that price.

 

[PurBee]

Thanks Purbee. I will email them too. It is very worrying if the drier bags would have a higher sugar content as I specifically feed it to my laminitis prone pony as it is meant to be safe for him. I can’t imagine that their forage analysis on their website would be the same if the fermentation process is not working as it should.
I’m sorry you have already seen I’ll effects from it. That is very frustrating, it is very expensive to buy and I also get it as I have felt I could trust the nutritional analysis and what seemed like reliable fermentation process. I pay 7.95 pounds per bag and collect it which is practically crippling in winter, if it’s not actually what it says on the tin it hardly seems worth it for that price.

Yes, it carries the ‘hoof kind’ symbol, so special attention needs to be paid for fermentation so that the sugar levels listed on their site, matches up with the actual product.

You can get a full haylage nutritional analysis done at forageplus for 45 quid. Pretty good value for a wide raging analysis that focuses on testing various sugar levels for laminitics.

https://forageplus.co.uk/product/nutritional-nir-haylage-analysis-for-horses/

I might actually do a one off test with this dry stuff, as ive had 2 pallets recently very dry and having lab proof it isnt what it says it is, would help prove the point to them.

There’s silvermoore haylage, and devon haylage that do a high fibre version or low sugar mixes, for laminitics. They supply many country stores. On their website youll find a map of what country stores they supply in the uk. I havent used silvermoor, but have used devon haylage timothy and ryegrass mix, which has always been very consistent, excellent fermentation…beautiful stuff.
There’s more uk haylage makers these days that do a ‘low sugar haylage’ or ‘high fibre ryegrass haylage’, as they realise that many horses require low sugar and do well on haylage if respiratory issues are involved too. Worth googling up to date results as im always googling haylage and surprised to see whats on offer in the uk…..wish i was there!

 

[Cecilrides]

Yes, it carries the ‘hoof kind’ symbol, so special attention needs to be paid for fermentation so that the sugar levels listed on their site, matches up with the actual product.

You can get a full haylage nutritional analysis done at forageplus for 45 quid. Pretty good value for a wide raging analysis that focuses on testing various sugar levels for laminitics.

https://forageplus.co.uk/product/nutritional-nir-haylage-analysis-for-horses/

I might actually do a one off test with this dry stuff, as ive had 2 pallets recently very dry and having lab proof it isnt what it says it is, would help prove the point to them.

There’s silvermoore haylage, and devon haylage that do a high fibre version or low sugar mixes, for laminitics. They supply many country stores. On their website youll find a map of what country stores they supply in the uk. I havent used silvermoor, but have used devon haylage timothy and ryegrass mix, which has always been very consistent, excellent fermentation…beautiful stuff.
There’s more uk haylage makers these days that do a ‘low sugar haylage’ or ‘high fibre ryegrass haylage’, as they realise that many horses require low sugar and do well on haylage if respiratory issues are involved too. Worth googling up to date results as im always googling haylage and surprised to see whats on offer in the uk…..wish i was there!

annoyingly I haven’t yet found a good Devon supplier near me - the little pony seems to struggle to eat the Timothy , and the place I was getting it always had holes in the bags (which are single wrapped unlike horsehage I think from memory) and seemed disgruntled when I asked for ones not split! But haven’t found the meadow mix which is meant to be softer locally. Also their bales drive me nuts trying to get it out in sections which are only partially cut through the bale and I end up having a wrestling match to get sections off.
I will investigate silvermoor - on a quick look on their website they don’t seem to give starch content on their nutritional analysis, maybe I am being blind, but that’s something I would want to know. Their low sugar high fibre Lite version seems for sugar a bit higher at 6.1 than the claim for horsehage blue which is less than 5%.
I have found marksway gives the most detailed explanation of their process of baling and at which moisture percentages , that it has been air compressed, double skinned semi permeable packaging to allow gas out but no air in etc. All that makes me feel more like I know what I am getting (tho subject to what we have just been talking about!) than the other providers who just don’t give that level of detail.
It’s difficult to compare how much more you get in a horsehage bale (as they claim to have compressed it down) than other providers, the others don’t tell you, but the Devon stuff doesn’t seem (as?) compressed, horsehage claim that lack of air compression makes fermentation less efficient and may allow growth of undesirable organisms. I don’t know why providers don’t give more detail on what they have done with their bales, maybe they think people do not want to know, but the detail from horsehage is why I have gone for them despite the price but this latest development is annoying.
I suppose it is a general bugbear of mine that it’s quite normalised to not really know or be able to find out the specifics of the forage you are feeding your horses and how it has been made. Local horse feed store looked at me like I was mad when I asked if they had a nutritional analysis of their own brand haylage they were selling.

 

[PurBee]

annoyingly I haven’t yet found a good Devon supplier near me - the little pony seems to struggle to eat the Timothy , and the place I was getting it always had holes in the bags (which are single wrapped unlike horsehage I think from memory) and seemed disgruntled when I asked for ones not split! But haven’t found the meadow mix which is meant to be softer locally. Also their bales drive me nuts trying to get it out in sections which are only partially cut through the bale and I end up having a wrestling match to get sections off.
I will investigate silvermoor - on a quick look on their website they don’t seem to give starch content on their nutritional analysis, maybe I am being blind, but that’s something I would want to know. Their low sugar high fibre Lite version seems for sugar a bit higher at 6.1 than the claim for horsehage blue which is less than 5%.
I have found marksway gives the most detailed explanation of their process of baling and at which moisture percentages , that it has been air compressed, double skinned semi permeable packaging to allow gas out but no air in etc. All that makes me feel more like I know what I am getting (tho subject to what we have just been talking about!) than the other providers who just don’t give that level of detail.
It’s difficult to compare how much more you get in a horsehage bale (as they claim to have compressed it down) than other providers, the others don’t tell you, but the Devon stuff doesn’t seem (as?) compressed, horsehage claim that lack of air compression makes fermentation less efficient and may allow growth of undesirable organisms. I don’t know why providers don’t give more detail on what they have done with their bales, maybe they think people do not want to know, but the detail from horsehage is why I have gone for them despite the price but this latest development is annoying.
I suppose it is a general bugbear of mine that it’s quite normalised to not really know or be able to find out the specifics of the forage you are feeding your horses and how it has been made. Local horse feed store looked at me like I was mad when I asked if they had a nutritional analysis of their own brand haylage they were selling.

Many haylage suppliers usually make tight big round bales, wrap them in loads of silage wrap, let it ferment, then once fermented, repackage into small squares, single thick plastic bags Of around 18-22kg.
Some companies using this method ruin the haylage when the repackaging bag is not tightly packed and air sucked out -then there’s the possibility of secondary fermentation happening.

Devon haylage use the repackaging method from huge bales into small, yet their bags are airless and they are 1 company i didnt experience secondary fermentation with.
Their sections of the small bale are annoying arent they, due to not being cut right through!
You‘re wise to not accept bags with holes in them…..thats a ruined product!

There’s a funny thing about the equine forage industry. They dont go by customer preferences/demands, like other industries, they instead tell the customers what their horse should eat. Most of these companies have no idea about equine nutrition just to compound the issue the industry suffers with. Its only very recently you can get various haylage types, despite high sugar forage being unsuitable for most horses. Ryegrass is easy to mono-crop and hybridised italian ryegrass gives greater yield per acre, meaning each acre makes more money.
Luckily theres some in the industry looking to what horses need, offer more varieties of forage, and the other companies follow-suit so they dont get ‘out-competed’ in the market.


I generally split an entire 20kg bag open, and battle with haylage, no matter how its packaged, as mostly the strands are long and folded into the whole bale. Im feeding 2 and use 1 bag every day/other day so they are fine exposed to air for up to 36hrs, and longer if drier.

Marksway make their haylage differently - they make small square bales and compress and wrap those, with no further repackaging. Their haylage is easily split up by taking a flake off, like traditional hay.
The downside to their method, is that they dont know how each batch turned out as they dont re-open bales after baling to repackage. Also, larger bales ferment easier than small, the mass of the material allows rapid colonisation of bacteria to ferment. I think this is why their stuff is usually wetter than other suppliers, to ensure the fermentation.
These latest batches are like hay that got rained on so the farmer decided to wrap for haylage…its so dry, but a damp dry. And the smell is of stale socks.

Im going to post some other haylage supplier links I found so you can check them out. Its a downside that many companies dont go into their process deeply, but ive found the best way, no matter what spiel they give on their websites, is to try a bale or 2 before committing to a large order.
High fibre ryegrass means its cut later in the year, than early june full of sugar. Later grass growth produces stemmier stems. So even asking when it was cut you can know if it’ll be rocket fuel or more fibre.
Some companies are worth emailing to ask for the sugar nutritional analysis of the haylage type youre interested in. They sometimes have the info and dont publish it.

Many of the below companies will supply bulk loads. If youre interested in trying them, ive always asked for 1 bale to be couriered to me. If youre in the uk you might find they supply country stores and can pick one up to try. The below companies offer various energy level haylages.

Energy level of below 10 is regarded safe for most laminitics, generally.
Marksway timothy is very very stemmy….my goodness their timothy is huge! Other brands of timothy are not a fibrous /stemmy yet still low sugar so perhaps your horse doesnt like horsehage timothy due to it being sooo fibrous, and would get on okay with a finer timothy, offered by other brands.

https://www.havenanimalfeeds.co.uk/baillie-haylage-118-c.asp

https://www.colehay.co.uk/product/small-bale-haylage-meadow-mix-40-bales-pallet/

http://www.thomasbellcountrystore.co.uk/product/hi-fibre-low-energy-haylage/

https://www.writtlehayandstraw.com/product-category/haylage/

https://www.msandtjhaylage.com/products