Haylage and sugars.

[ameeyal]

Just a quick question, my friend has a pony That has come down with laminitis, she feeds haylage that is low in suger ( tested at 8% by the farmer) the vet came out and said even is haylage is lower in sugars than hay, when it’s been eaten it produces more sugars in the gut , and hay doesnt, I’ve never heard of this before. Is this correct.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

That isn't something that I have heard of but if the pony were mine I would be feeding well soaked and drained hay rather than haylage, to get the sugars as low as possible.

 

[ycbm]

I'm pretty sure it's not, sugars are complex molecules the horse breaks down, not builds. Some big brand low sugar haylage is sold specifically for laminitics, I have some outside.

But some haylage can be too acidic for some horses and create a fizzy behaviour that people attribute to too much sugar/energy.

And your friend needs to know the total carbs, not just sugars.

From the Laminitis site:


Is haylage suitable to feed to a laminitic pony?

The fermentation process in correctly made haylage will significantly reduce the WSC levels from those in the freshly cut grass. Marksway Horsehage gives figures representing typical samples of <3% sugar and 1-2% starch for all their haylage products (the ACVIM consensus statement on EMS recommends feeding <10% combined WSC (sugar) and starch (all figures DM)).

In her book The Truth About Feeding Your Horse (2007), nutritionist Clare MacLeod says "Haylage can be a safe feed for laminitis-prone horses and ponies, but a high dry matter, high-fibre, low-protein haylage with low residual sugars should be selected."

 

[ameeyal]

Thankyou ycbm. Very informative. ?.