Hay soaking question

[Sossigpoker]

I'm thinking about soaking my cob's hay for his weight.
The only reason why I'm hesitant is because he was suddenly taken very ill back in March , with temperature over 40 c! He was tested for strangles, flu ,.EVH and it was none of those. He improved quickly on antibiotics and pain relief but as no one else was ill on the yard we never found out the cause.
At that time I was soaking his hay for about an hour ,.always in fresh water. To start with I soaked using the nets He eats from, which is the Shires soft mesh haylage net which is kind of knitted rope material. I was paranoid that the net held the water and brew up bacteria in it. I then changed to soaking in a standard nylon net and feeding from the haylage net.
So I'm nervous of soaking his hay again just in case his illness was something to do with that (vet thinks it's unlikely).

Does anyone have any advice on soaking , hygiene and possibly the net harbouring bacteria ?

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I used to soak hay in the Shires 4kg nets but this year I have switched to just filling the soaking tub with loose hay, soaking, draining then rinsing. It is more messy but I find the hay is soaked more thoroughly and as I feed from the floor anyway it saves filling and emptying the nets in the first place.

 

[PurBee]

I would feed straight away or within the hour after pulling from short soakings. 1hr.
I soaked morning haynet at night once but the morning ‘fermented’ smell put me off, with it standing for 8hrs, as like you, concerns over bacteria (on the hay) breeding (due to moisture) meant i did always then soak before feeding.

(Although any bacteria on hay would get moist in their belly anyway so its not likely a route for infection due to soaking)

Nylon nets get less rank/stinky than the softer cotton type nets, for continuous soaking use.

It probably was coincidence your boy got ill last time you soaked.
The only way i can think of that would cause a bad bacterial infection would be if you left the bag draining on soil/grass and mud got on the wet hay? Mud microbes - some are beneficial, some not. Or left the net hanging up against a door/fence/post that animals scratch their bum on etc...i.e microbe-laden surface.

 

[SantaVera]

My vet recommend soaking for 12 hours.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Thanks PB I always hoist the wet nets up and tie to a ring so they drip dry so it won't have been soil contamination.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Im soaking his over night hay from 2-4 pm and it gets fed around 6 pm.

 

[Lipglosspukka]

I would think it very unlikely that your horses illness was as a result of an hours soaking.

I would stick with your hour. That's plenty of time to remove the worst of the sugars. Soaking overnight or for prolonged periods is an outdated practice and quite frankly, is disgusting.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

My vet recommend soaking for 12 hours.

My vets dont advise this at all.

OP, anything from an hour to 2 is usually reccomended , then rinse off thoroughly.

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

I’ve usually either soaked all day or all night and never had an issue. Often especially in winter soaking for two hours isn’t that practical if you’ve got to go to work and aren’t riding.

 

[Regandal]

I also soaked for an hour, then tied it up outside and rinsed it. The novelty soon wears off………

 

[Sossigpoker]

I used to soak hay in the Shires 4kg nets but this year I have switched to just filling the soaking tub with loose hay, soaking, draining then rinsing. It is more messy but I find the hay is soaked more thoroughly and as I feed from the floor anyway it saves filling and emptying the nets in the first place.

Can I ask how you drain it? Do you have a bespoke system set up? I'm just using a large bucket to soak , then lift the net up to drip and rinse it with fresh water.
If I soaked the hay lose in the bucket, any ideas how to lift it out drain ?
Lift it into a net and rinse in the net ?

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Can I ask how you drain it? Do you have a bespoke system set up? I'm just using a large bucket to soak , then lift the net up to drip and rinse it with fresh water.
If I soaked the hay lose in the bucket, any ideas how to lift it out drain ?
Lift it into a net and rinse in the net ?

I use the round cattle lick tubs and once the hay is soaked I just tip it over to drain. I put a boot on the front so the hay doesn’t fall out but it really is very simple and not at all technical with taps or drains. Repeat to rinse and drain again then I pile it into the wheelbarrow to take it to the stable. Two tubs does my 15hh his overnight hay and the thing I’ve noticed is the hay swells far more loose than it ever did in the haynets and it seems to last him much longer.

 

[Green Bean]

Just reading through this post, I do wonder. My horse has a cough and has had various treatments for it. One change I had to make was to wet her hay. I was told by the vet to tie the hay net up and run the hose over it generally (all around less than a minute) then leave it hanging until it stops dripping (around 15 minutes).
I read an interesting article discussing the water left behind in the bin after immersion soaking - apparently, the water shouldn't be discarded into public water systems as it is more contaminated than sewage (which I must say, I find a bit hard to believe but there you go).
This has made me wary of any immersion soaking other than a quick 'dunk' and I do question why it needs to be soaked in a bin at all. When I spray my hay net, water does reach all parts of the hay (I have removed it from the hay net to check).

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

I read an interesting article discussing the water left behind in the bin after immersion soaking - apparently, the water shouldn't be discarded into public water systems as it is more contaminated than sewage (which I must say, I find a bit hard to believe but there you go).
.

Hay water is full of sugars which are food for bacteria and algae therefore it can cause them to multiply quickly in a watercourse. In doing so they deplete the water of oxygen and other organisms will die such as invertebrates and fish m. It’s called BOD or biochemical oxygen demand. Milk is one of the worst and a leak or spillage from a tank will be highly polluting but there’s nothing wrong with drinking milk. Sewage will have other nasties in it such as ammonia and more harmful bacteria but has a lower BOD.

 

[ycbm]

Soaking is used to remove soluble carbohydrates from the forage. Up to a point, the longer it's left soaking, provided you have enough water, the more calories it will take out of the hay/ haylage.

It's completely impractical for many horse owners to soak for one hour and then feed it immediately.

There are vet sites that recommend 12 hours. I know a cushings horse that was sore footed unless hers was soaked for twelve hours, rinsed and soaked again. I've been soaking overnight, all day, or even for 24 hours if the air temperature is as cold as the inside of my fridge 4 degrees or less, for decades, on and off, and never had a problem.

The main issue with forage soaked that long is you lose water soluble vitamins and minerals and need to make those up with a good balancer.
.

 

[Micky]

I’ve been soaking my cushings horses hay for 6/7 years now, sometimes for 3 hours (in summer when it’s warm), sometimes overnight, sometimes for 6 hours in the day, he always eats it, never had a weird smell from it, just the usual not unpleasant smell that comes from soaked hay, he’s not been ill and has maintained weight accordingly. Unless your water is contaminated, I think it would be unlikely it was the soaked hay that made your horse poorly. When I have tried rinsing the hay after soaking to ‘get rid of more carbs’ he won’t eat it..so that’s out the window. Keep soaking, it will do more good than harm for an overweight horse.

 

[holeymoley]

I soak in nets and then feed it loose in a box. I only soak for 1 maybe 2 hours maximum though. Others I know soak for 12/24hours and it’s absolutely stagnant by the time it’s fed- i wonder why they don’t cause problems with that.

From time to time I also take the haynets home and wash in the washing machine ?‍? just to rid them of grime. If you can’t do that, a bucket with fairy liquid, a scrubbing brush and a few hot kettles works too.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I soak in nets and then feed it loose in a box. I only soak for 1 maybe 2 hours maximum though. Others I know soak for 12/24hours and it’s absolutely stagnant by the time it’s fed- i wonder why they don’t cause problems with that.

From time to time I also take the haynets home and wash in the washing machine ?‍? just to rid them of grime. If you can’t do that, a bucket with fairy liquid, a scrubbing brush and a few hot kettles works too.

Yes washing nets is essential especially if you use the soft mesh nets like I do.

 

[ycbm]

I've never washed a net either, and I do use the soft ones. Are people using enough water? I use 350/400 litres for 2 large or 3 medium haynets and rotate 2 sets of nets on alternate days.

I know it can be difficult if you are on a yard with metered water.
.

 

[Sossigpoker]

My yard owner doesn't allow anything bigger than a large tub trug (I think it's 75 litres) on the yard. Not because of water use but because of tidiness. I asked if I could bring a green wheelie bin and she said no. ?‍
Today I soaked the night hay (6 kg) lose in that and another bucket , tipped it into a net to dry and rinsed with fresh water whilst dripping. It does seem to fluff up even more when speak lose like this.
Trouble is the yard isn't really set up for good doers as the grass is so good!
Today the little sod wouldn't be caught by anyone but me so had 5 hours out on that grass and his belly looks hideous now!
Im really paranoid about laminitis so really trying to control the weight!

 

[Sossigpoker]

Sorry should have added that I soaked the hay for about 1.5 hours and it was fed about 1.5 hours after that.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Hay cube is by the far the easiest and efficient way of soaking hay. I ram a cube full and feed two big cobs on the hay in it, double netted to slow them down. In this weather I soak for the time it takes to do the yard, couple of hours, in cold temps over night. Admittedly pulling the hay out and stuffing nets is time consuming but it works for me.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Hay cube is by the far the easiest and efficient way of soaking hay. I ram a cube full and feed two big cobs on the hay in it, double netted to slow them down. In this weather I soak for the time it takes to do the yard, couple of hours, in cold temps over night. Admittedly pulling the hay out and stuffing nets is time consuming but it works for me.

Do you wheel the cube out of the stable for soaking and then wheel back in? Do you fix the hay nets inside the hay cube ?

 

[AdorableAlice]

Do you wheel the cube out of the stable for soaking and then wheel back in? Do you fix the hay nets inside the hay cube ?

Soak at the tap and drain off and then wheel cube into stable if feeding direct from it, I only have one horse that can feed direct from it. I pull the hay out and stuff haynets and then hang them. It would not be possible to feed hay in a net inside a cube unless the horse was unshod.

 

[holeymoley]

I use a haycube too but I found it used a lot of water- we’re metered and it has the slowest flow, so I use a feed bin and then empty the hay out the net in to the haycube. A bit irish and I would use the haycube properly if I had issues with draining or lifting. It also needs scrubbed out just as much as it can go grimey too.

 

[Surbie]

I will now be washing haynets every now and then!

I would struggle to properly soak hay where I am now, but when I did it was only for an hour tops before draining then feeding. It fitted my routine - soak net and then hang to drain while I muck out, bring in, groom, ride, and feed, then bung the net in before I leave for the night.

 

[Lady Jane]

My vet said said soak for 15 hours to remove sugars but it must have loads of water not be packed in a bin. Less if the weather is hot (2-3 hours)

 

[Kaylum]

My vets dont advise this at all.

OP, anything from an hour to 2 is usually reccomended , then rinse off thoroughly.

They do actually.

But there again every single feed company/vet has a different answer.

https://www.ridingsequinevets.co.uk/soaking-hay-for-horses/

 

[SantaVera]

The laminitis site has lots of info. there is a graph which shows that most sugar is lost after 16 hours soaking more than double the amount of 3 hors soaking. was looking at tit the other day.

 

[ycbm]

The laminitis site has lots of info. there is a graph which shows that most sugar is lost after 16 hours soaking more than double the amount of 3 hors soaking. was looking at tit the other day.

Excellent, that's what I wanted, some research. I hope they also mention that you need enough water, because as soon as the sugar concentration in the water reaches the same as the sugar concentration in the forage, the loss will stop. If your bucket is too small, then changing the water half way through will do.
.