Hay/haylage dilemma

[AWinter]

Just throwing this out there in case anyone has any great ideas.

Have 4 horses living together, cannot be separated so they all need to eat the same forage. Needs to be low sugar, but one of them seems to be coughing on normal hay. I’ve got some lovely dust extracted hay which would be perfect but it only comes in small bags and works out way too expensive to feed to 4 horses ad-lib. Steaming or soaking isn’t an option, could potentially wet the nets down but not sure how useful this is.

Haylage seems like a good option but I have been told that it isn’t a good choice, something about it messing with the ph in the gut, fermenting etc. more available sugars? Also concerned about how quickly you need to use it before it goes off.

My ideal would be to find bigger bales of dust extracted hay but this doesn’t seem to exist. I’ve given up with trying to find a local supplier so would be looking at the companies who deliver. Happy to mix with with dust extracted hay I currently have just need something to bring the cost down a bit.

I also need a full analysis as I have a horse with kidney issues who can’t have too much calcium. Any ideas?

 

[blitznbobs]

Just throwing this out there in case anyone has any great ideas.

Have 4 horses living together, cannot be separated so they all need to eat the same forage. Needs to be low sugar, but one of them seems to be coughing on normal hay. I’ve got some lovely dust extracted hay which would be perfect but it only comes in small bags and works out way too expensive to feed to 4 horses ad-lib. Steaming or soaking isn’t an option, could potentially wet the nets down but not sure how useful this is.

Haylage seems like a good option but I have been told that it isn’t a good choice, something about it messing with the ph in the gut, fermenting etc. more available sugars? Also concerned about how quickly you need to use it before it goes off.

My ideal would be to find bigger bales of dust extracted hay but this doesn’t seem to exist. I’ve given up with trying to find a local supplier so would be looking at the companies who deliver. Happy to mix with with dust extracted hay I currently have just need something to bring the cost down a bit.

I also need a full analysis as I have a horse with kidney issues who can’t have too much calcium. Any ideas?

Don’t know who told you haylege is higher in sugar because it is lower in sugar but higher in protein.

 

[Surbie]

To add to the mix, a friend of mine feeds drylage to her field of 3. One coughs on hay so that is out. The nutritionist we both use was impressed with it. It stores longer open.

Low sugar haylage might be worth looking at? Most of my yard's haylage feeders are on timothy haylage, which you can still get in large bales I think? My small bale version lasts me just over a week open, even in summer.

 

[AWinter]

Don’t know who told you haylege is higher in sugar because it is lower in sugar but higher in protein.

Not higher sugar but I believe the sugar is more digestible for some reason, there is a scientific thing, its more the ph thing that concerns me but there doesn’t seem to be any literature on this, they’ve got enough health issues between them

 

[Noble]

It is generally an earlier cut so more easily digested hence why some horses do well on it. The fermentation process turns the sugar into lactic acid so if your horse have gut issues it may not suit. It is also higher protein. For a normal horse of good weight without ulcers I prefer haylage.

 

[nutjob]

I used to feed large bale haylage. It lasted 2 big horses a week but I don't have a lot of grazing. It can heat up in the summer and you might need to open and spread it out. I'm back on hay now as its a bit cheaper and I'm not having a supply or quality problem with it. The pH is lower as acids are produced during fermentation, many horses are OK and some are not. If you mix it with dust extracted hay then you have a better chance of all being fine.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Some farmers make what we call light haylage it's just like non dusty hay and smells slightly of haylage,so it doesn't heat up and go off so quick it's also wrapped so easier to store.

 

[PurBee]

The PH drops while the haylage is fermenting - lactic acid utilising the sugars - once the fermentation is complete the PH raises again as the lactic acid die-off having done their job.
It really depends on the haylage maker - some youll open and it smell pungent vinegar - over wet when bagged, and still fermenting like mad. Some is practically dry like hay, and hasnt fermented, but it’ll usually be more ‘dust-free’ than open hay bales.

There’s a handful of uk companies offering larger bales haylage. Using a haylage company means you have a better chance youll end up with actual haylage - fermented low-sugar hay completely dust-free. The likelihood of a farmer ’having a go’ at making haylage and doing it right - right bale pressure, right hay moisture levels at baling, right amount of thickness of plastic to ferment it in, is less likely to do it well simply because they think anything wrapped in plastic can be called haylage. They dont know theres a specific chemical process required with quite tight specific parametres to be met to make a good product. 1 in 10 farmers likely make it well. I’ve had horrendous examples of haylage from generic hay makers. Literal balls of mould when cutting open the silage wrapping of large rounds or squares. Its mostly just damp hay, sweating and moulding in a plastic bag.

In your position with 4 horses i’d try this company who make and supply/deliver larger 150kg bales on a pallet. They do timothy/meadow/ryegrass haylage types. You could ask to buy a small bale of each type and decide which you like best, to test it. I’d personally go for their meadow and timothy so the horses get a nice mix of grasses in their diet.
Some companies will offer a bulk discount if you contact them directly and ask literally if you can have a discount buying 3 pallets of large bales. Worth asking!

Big Bale Haylage Timothy

Big Bale Haylage Timothy. A traditional native grass type to create a forage that is typically lower in sugar and protein then ryegrass.

www.writtlehayandstraw.com

 

[AWinter]

The PH drops while the haylage is fermenting - lactic acid utilising the sugars - once the fermentation is complete the PH raises again as the lactic acid die-off having done their job.
It really depends on the haylage maker - some youll open and it smell pungent vinegar - over wet when bagged, and still fermenting like mad. Some is practically dry like hay, and hasnt fermented, but it’ll usually be more ‘dust-free’ than open hay bales.

There’s a handful of uk companies offering larger bales haylage. Using a haylage company means you have a better chance youll end up with actual haylage - fermented low-sugar hay completely dust-free. The likelihood of a farmer ’having a go’ at making haylage and doing it right - right bale pressure, right hay moisture levels at baling, right amount of thickness of plastic to ferment it in, is less likely to do it well simply because they think anything wrapped in plastic can be called haylage. They dont know theres a specific chemical process required with quite tight specific parametres to be met to make a good product. 1 in 10 farmers likely make it well. I’ve had horrendous examples of haylage from generic hay makers. Literal balls of mould when cutting open the silage wrapping of large rounds or squares. Its mostly just damp hay, sweating and moulding in a plastic bag.

In your position with 4 horses i’d try this company who make and supply/deliver larger 150kg bales on a pallet. They do timothy/meadow/ryegrass haylage types. You could ask to buy a small bale of each type and decide which you like best, to test it. I’d personally go for their meadow and timothy so the horses get a nice mix of grasses in their diet.
Some companies will offer a bulk discount if you contact them directly and ask literally if you can have a discount buying 3 pallets of large bales. Worth asking!

Big Bale Haylage Timothy

Big Bale Haylage Timothy. A traditional native grass type to create a forage that is typically lower in sugar and protein then ryegrass.

www.writtlehayandstraw.com

Really interesting thanks, I’m going to email the haylage companies and see about nutritional analysis as this opens up a lot more options for me.

 

[Wizpop]

Yes, we have ‘dry haylage’ it’s known round here as ‘wrapped hay’. It does keep really well in the large, round bales. Haven’t had it analysed so don’t know how it compares to ordinary haylage or hay, but could be another option.

 

[tda]

We also have our haylage made on the drier side, almost wrapped hay but not quite
I would prefer hay, but I have two who will cough on hay, but are ok on this drier haylage