Feeding - Hay & Haylage

roxy007

roxy007

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Hi - are there any problems likely to be encountered by feeding hay and haylage. My mare needs a lot of feeding in the winter to keep her weight on therefore this winter we have decided to try something different in that we will be using a ring feeder in the field for hay where she can help herself and also give her a medium hay net of haylage morning and evening as well. She also get two feeds of Dodson & Horrell 16 plus cubes mixed with ultimate balancer and she did well with that feed last winter.

Is it likely to cause problems giving her free access to hay in the field and haylage nets morning and evening
 
Nope adhoc hay in the winter is the best thing for them imo. we put a round bale into a ring feeder and they'll eat what they need when they want. Just make sure the wrapping/string is taken off the bale first and that there are no sharp bits on the feeder that could cause trouble.

I hate to see haynets hanging in fields on fences or gates and that it the quickest way to poach up the gates too. When we feed hay like that (rather than a big bale) we just empty the haynet or sack in a sheltered spot in the field (so it won't blow away), make sure you split it up into 2 piles per horse, so there's no reason to fight.
 
Not sure if you are asking about using a ring feeder too hazydaze? If so (and sorry if you've been using these happily for 100 years!) make sure you don't site it in a corner or anywhere a horse could get cornered if you have more than 1 horse in the field. Cornered horses sometimes do the most horrendous things trying to get away and terrible injuries and worse can result. Also, make sure there's enough space for all neds in the field to eat, ie if lots of horses, maybe TWO feeders. Also, from a pasture management point of view, the ground around it may get terribly poached so worth thinking where best to put it or move it around. x
 
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