hay steamer/hay hutch

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lauren1988

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Hi, hopefully I've posted this in the right section of the forum. J

ust wondered if anyone had any experience of using a hay steamer? I've heard that they're really good for revitalising old hay and its better than soaking or damping it. I only have one horse and they are really expensive but was considering buying the travelling version which is advertised as being ideal for the one horse owner. We currently feed a combination of haylage and hay in the winter but supplies were so short this year that we found it really difficult to get either of a good quality by february/march time.

I've also been thinking about buying a hay hutch for ages, just never got around to it! Only looking at the small one, hopefully it will save the field getting too poached in winter as you can move it around and they're small enough to use in the stable as well which could be useful as my mare has just been scanned in foal so won't be using haynets when foalie arrives next year! There's the option of having it made out of stronger/tougher material - has anyone used them? which type is better? Thanks!
 
I have just been sponsored by Haygain and as I understand theres is currently the only one on the market that actually steams the hay. The Happy Horse essentially just soaks it.


In order to properly sterilize the hay it needs to reach extrememly high temperatures. None of the home made DIY steamers can achieve this.

I have found the company fantastic to deal with and they have been really helpful in explain the benefits etc. The steamers are very easy to use and the horses certainly love the steamed hay.

The only point I would make is that it will not improve the quality of the raw product that goes in - In other words, although it has been shown to slightly increase the protein in the hay it will not suddenly improve the quantity of vitamins and minerals in your forage so you still want to be putting the best quality forage you can into it.
 
Hi, a few people on my yard have the hay hutch. It's a good alternative to hay-nets although the field was just as poached IMO, as they could only move it so much and it was a nightmare of a winter. The horses were regularly pulling the lid off and dragging hay out of the top. In one of the other fields, the lid stayed on permanently so depends if you have a horse that likes to investigate and has a cheeky side. I was impressed with the fact that they stayed upright and the horses didn't kick them over.

I will be investing in a couple of the small ones when I can afford them.
 
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