Extracting dust from hay

[Pebble101]

For various reasons I hate soaking hay.

Is there a system currently on the market they you can buy which extracts dust from hay for the private horse owner? I know there used to be a Dust Care machine (as seen in the Ian Stark Cross Country video) but I don't think these are still manufactured.

Any help appreciated thanks

 

[CastleMouse]

How about steaming your hay with a hay steamer?
http://www.happyhorseproducts.co.uk/

 

[Pebble101]

It is another option I am considering but I am worried that if the hay dries out then you are back with the same problem.

I am feeding hay in the field where it will dry out more quickly. It's part of the reason I don't want to soak - it makes it very heavy to carry and it also freezes in bad weather.

 

[buzzles]

I steam hay by filling a hay net, putting it in a dustbin, pour a kettle of boiling water over it and leave it for 10-20 min. This works really well, it's much easier than soaking as you're not hauling heavy hay nets around the yard and trying to avoid getting soaked. It gets rid of all the dust and spores and even when it dries out it's no longer dusty. The horses also seem to prefer it and it won't freeze.

 

[happihorse]

How about feeding haylage? I'm sure that you could find a low protein one that would have a similar nutritional content to hay, in small bales (if necessary).

 

[Pebble101]

I never found the steaming method with a kettle worked. I have 3 horses, two of them having quite a lot of hay, it would take me ages using dustbins (have you ever realised how long a kettle takes to boil when you are short of time?

) The hay steaming machine looks good as you can do several haynets at the same time.

I don't want to go down the haylage route as I get hay from my own field, and although it doesn't look dusty I have been told it's amazing how much dust comes out of the cleanest looking hay.

Also a neighbour lost one of her horses from salmonella poisoning and it was thought it was caused by a problem with the haylage which has made me very wary about using it.

 

[custard]

A few weeks ago someone on here suggested a wallpaper stripper as an alternative to that steaming machine. Average stripper is about £20 so worth a try I reckon

 

[kerilli]

hahaha, those expensive ones, if you look at the website the two smaller sizes have the steam provided by... well, it looks to me just like a wallpaper stripper!
£100 for a wallpaper stripper attached to a heavy-duty plastic bag.
£195 for a wallpaper stripper attached to a heavy plastic box with lid...
hmm. i'll buy another kettle and another dustbin, i think.

 

[Cop-Pop]

The problem with steaming hay is it removes the nutrients from it. If you don't want to feed haylage then you're better off soaking the hay, although I did see a man once put his hay into an empty bedding sack, seal the end round a pipe then attach a vacuum cleaner to it!!! He said it worked brilliantly but seeing as his horse didn't have a problem wth dust anyway it was hard to tell.