Hay soaking methods / tips

[Wheels]

Some of my hay is a little on the dusty side so looking for tips / methods for the least wasteful and least messy ways to remove said dust. I don't want to fully soak for hours to remove sugar/ nutrients etc just to reduce the dust a bit after I heard a couple of coughs from 2 of the ponies.

Is just rinsing for a few minutes effective or does it need a good dunking?

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

From a not wasting water front I’d fill a trug and dip in for ten minutes or so...while you muck out say..then hang to drain...or run hosepipe over net for ten mins(bit more time consuming as have to stand there wafting hose around).

 

[The Xmas Furry]

I put a couple of sections at most in a haylage sack (I cut them open on a long side). Leave hose going to fill sack, leave for 5 mins then tip out water.
Currently am only doing half a section for mini pony in daytime which gets tipped out in doorway of shelter.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I've done it a few ways for my dust sensitive horse:

Put the hay in a net, dip in water, either leave it there for a few minutes or just submerge then pull it back out again (it does get quite heavy). We have rain water collection barrels, so I just used one of those.

Put the hay in a net and hose it down for a min or two.

Put the hay in a plastic canvas large sack of sorts, the kind you out weeds, lawn clipping, and green waste in, and use the hose to water. I poked a few pin holes in the bottom drainage.

Use a plastic tote instead of sack.

Just water the hay on the cement slab by the stable.

So many options and it doesn't have to be completely soaking wet in my experience.

When it is raining I just put the hay out in the rain for a little bit. Hay watered without much effort ?

 

[SEL]

I have to soak for other reasons but my livery friend tips her stable water buckets over a net when she starts mucking out and then hangs it up to drip dry. Good water recycling

 

[JesterandPatch]

I also recycle undrunk water from stables into a black bin then use that to soak hay daily, just top up with hose as required, I soak twice a day as have a fatty who needs calories controlled but tip the water out after every use

 

[Widgeon]

I've been soaking mine by splitting it into three small holed haynets (about 2.5 sections in each) then shoving the whole lot into a wheelie bin with a tap (installed by me) in the bottom. Then I water with a hosepipe and leave for fifteen minutes. Having never soaked hay before I've been shocked at how brown and stinky the water is - I'm using each binfull of water twice, but it's really pretty grotty looking after just one go of soaking. Every other day I open the tap and leave to drain onto the grass.

 

[Wheels]

Some great ideas, thanks - will have a look what I've got hanging around that might work but I do love the idea of a wheelie bin with a tap - so might have to dust off the wallet!

 

[Widgeon]

Some great ideas, thanks - will have a look what I've got hanging around that might work but I do love the idea of a wheelie bin with a tap - so might have to dust off the wallet!

The only thing I would say is, make sure you get a tap with a wide enough bore! I bought the kind of tap you get on the bottom of water butts, but it turns out that it you want to drain half a wheelie bin with that kind of tap, it takes AGES. I have to haul the half-full bin accross the grass from where it lives next to the tap, then heave it up against a wall and leave it overnight to drain. If I was going to do it again I'd go for a 16-20mm diameter tap, i.e. BIG.

 

[Ellietotz]

I have one of those massive wheelbarrows, I put the hay in there and chuck a few buckets of water over it then tip to drain the water.

 

[huskydamage]

I put my haynet in a black dustbin and tip 3x kettles of boiling water on it, then put lid on and leave to soak/steam for a few hours.