Feeding Straw - Any Advice

[Tia]

We made haylage in England and it wasn't rubbish OR covered in molasses.

Haylage is purely hay grass which is cut earlier than regular hay and bagged with more moistness in it than dried out hay would have.

Over here we only produce hay because there really isn't a market for haylage here.

I'm really not sure where you are getting your information from but they are quite obviously ignorant about hay or haylage production. Would someone who owns a HAY FARM be classed as an expert? Were your "experts" experts in hay making? Or in talking bologne?

If you'd like to let them know - haylage comes off the exact same fields as hay; no rubbish leftovers, no taken and smothered in molasses, pure and simply directly from the hay field.

 

[Tia]

Sounds like you are talking about Mollichaff

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[sleepingdragon10]

[ QUOTE ]
Sounds like you are talking about Mollichaff

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[/ QUOTE ]

Yep....my thoughts exactly

 

[AmyMay]

Thanks all who gave me advice regarding feeding Amy straw in with her haylage ration.

Started on Sunday night - and no problem. Just mixed it in and off she munched. The only thing left in the mornings is the stalky bits that she obviously doesn't like.

Many thanks.

B

 

[sleepingdragon10]

Very happy that she's taken to it with no problems

You must be feeling rather relieved.

Bethxx

 

[Patches]

[ QUOTE ]
I would personally not feed straw, its just not brilliant for them as a subsitute for proper hay. Why not just take your horse off haylage and give him normal hay - horrible stuff haylage IMO. Its just rubbish hay disguished with molasses.

One of my boys could live on fresh air, so he gets proper hay in a small holed net - about 3-4 slices a day and it does him fine.

[/ QUOTE ]

pmsl!!!! Never been out to the bales and soaked them in molasses before we wrap them! Never heard such rubbish in my life!!!!

Don't know who told you that drivel but it's a load of nonense. We have made hay and haylage in the past from the SAME field, cut at the SAME time. Haylage was baled and wrapped the third day after being cut and turned to dry evenly and hay was baled and left unwrapped the fifth day after cutting and turning daily, to ensure it's thoroughly dried.

That's ALL the difference is. We've baled silage too and that is baled the day it's cut or the next day at the latest.

 

[Patches]

Pleased to hear she's accepted her stealth diet! LOL

(I've only just read the haylage debate lower down. OOoo...it's made me chuckle!)

 

[AmyMay]

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You must be feeling rather relieved.

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Well to be honest Beth, she's a bit of a pig, and will really eat anything. The only thing that does worry me is that a few people mentioned colic in the post - so am at risk of becoming a little paranoid.

But she's never been a collicy horse - so no reason to suppose she's gonna start now

B x

 

[TGM]

Think I have found a reference to the molassed stuff DS was talking about. In Derek Cuddeford's book Equine Nutrition there is a section entitled 'Bagged Grass Products'. In that he first describes haylage, where he explains it is wilted grass baled and sealed into plastic bags. Then he describes what he calls 'hay-based products' which is hay produced in the conventional way, processed through a cleaner and then has boiling molasses added and sealed under pressure.

 

[AmyMay]

Ah well done Poirot.................