Dry Rye or soggy meadow haylage??

chestnutmarelover

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I have a predicament, all decent hay in my area has run out, I can't soak dusty because don't have running water (ok if it rains all the time tho!) so I have the option of dry rye haylage or much wetter meadow haylage. One mare is lammi prone, tb doesn't need an excuse to be stupid & another mare - so which would be preferable? :confused: Please no-one say neither, in an ideal world I know this!! I do have small amount of hay left I can mix it with.
 
Our pony is laminitis-prone and our vet advises meadow hay only for him (soaked). He calls rye hay "rocket fuel" and says it's best suited to racehorses! So I'd go for the wet meadow haylage myself but I'm not an expert as regards haylage - never used it. I'm just going by what I've been advised re hay.
 
I definitely wouldn't be feeding rye hay to a lammi prone pony. And it is a fallacy that all haylage is higher in sugar than hay. The meadow haylage I used is only 6% sugar, but get it analysed as it isn't expensive - £15 with D&H as far as I recall & that is for a 24hr turnaround.
 
Janesomerset i'm WsM - why, do you have some lovely dust free hay that isn't gonna cost me an arm & leg?! :p

Good hay is getting pretty scarce round here, but I could have asked around for you - but now I see we are a long way away from you. I'm still using 2011 hay and the 2012 hay I have got is a little bit dusty, but I have to soak it anyway. Two of the horses on our yard are eating the 2012 hay soaked, and two are eating it dry, and they all tuck into it. It is costing us £4 per bale delivered. The supplier hasn't got very much left though.
 
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