Hay vs haylage. What's the difference?

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jennie1000

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Ok..... So we have to buy all out forage from the yard as its in our contract. I've always had my mare on hay and soaking it to get rid of the calories so she can eat it ad lib. Also to get rid of the dust but mainly for. Calories. Last year I had her on the Normal soaked hay as well as half a net of haylage and she seemed to get so fizzed up.

Problem is this year yard owner is saying due to the weather they are only going to be able to make haylage and no hay will be available. He would probably buy it in if enough of us complained but by the time he had profit on top I'm suspected the cost would be horrific.

He's saying that because the haylage will be cut so late there will be no goodness in it so it will be the same as feeding hay in terms of its nutritional makeup? He's also said that I can soak it like the hay as well. Is this ok to do?
 
Yes it's fine to soak haylage.
The only way to know how much nutrition there is in forage is to analyse it hay could be higher in calories ( and sugars ) than haylage depending how and when each where made.
A friend had a case last year when their soft unfertilised meadow hay came in much higher nutritional terms but lower in fibre than a much harder looking seed hay so really you need to analyse to know where you are.
 
Get analysis done! You could have high calories but low digestibility, low sugars, very high adf and ndf
 
Sorry stupid phone - high ndf but low digestible ndf. All of these have massive contributory factors, if calories are high but digestibility low then your horse will get far less out of it than if digestibility and calories are both high. Haylage because it is greener and can be cut a bit younger usually has much better digestibility. If you are buying hay externally analyse it before purchase
 
Yes, late cut haylage is fine to feed to horses that would normally have soaked hay. I feed two laminitics on Marksway hi fibre haylage and Baillie high fibre late cut haylage. Since feeding it neither has had another laminitic attack.
 
Lol lula..... Interesting thought! Don't fancy a soaked cake though! Lol

Thanks for the information guys. I think the way to go is test the hay I've got now and when the situation arises in winter, get the haylage he makes tested, as its not even been made yet. They are just panicking because they havnt made any hay yet and we have rubbish weather.

Feel abit happier knowing I can still soak it to remove a chunk of the calories. Will have to research the forage analysis think so I understand it..... Sounds abit complicated at the moment as I've never really stopped to think about what I feed!!!
 
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