Haylage turning horse mad

[emmanash]

Hi all,
Has anyone else noticed a change in their horses since feeding haylage this year?
My mare was a complete fool to ride today and i'm convinced it's the haylage doing it.

 

[Welshie Squisher]

I asked the same question a while ago because my daughters pony went suddenly daft and full of it. Many said yes and he went back to normal once I switched back to hay

 

[emmanash]

I think i'm going to have to do something! She was like a kid who'd eaten too many sweets today! Bloomin nuts

 

[Chestnuttymare]

when I start my mare on it I introduce it gradually. she is usually a bit more uppity for a few days but once it is in her system she calms down again.

 

[capall na hÉireann]

While I totally respect you asking the question as this is how people learn, I find it hard to imagine how it would create that behavour. It is only hay really that is saved before normal time and wrapped. That is not to say that I am wrong though.

 

[Fourlegsgood]

Are you feeding any hard feed? The haylage is more than enough for our horses even in quite hard work.

 

[**Vanner**]

I've known several horses who have found the haylage too much. i think for some it's like spring grass!

 

[Foxhunter49]

While I totally respect you asking the question as this is how people learn, I find it hard to imagine how it would create that behavour. It is only hay really that is saved before normal time and wrapped. That is not to say that I am wrong though.

As it is baled a day or two early it contains far more fructans and it can and will hype horses up!
The wetter the haylage the higher buzz it will give. The grasses will also make a different with Italian Rye being the highest buzz factor.

The answer is to drop the hard feed, especially the mixes and feed just a balancer.

 

[Pocket_Rocket]

My horse has gone on to haylage a few weeks ago having changed to his winter field and being stabled at night. He has also started to misbehave which i'm convinced is due to the haylage. Unfortunately i'm not allowed to bring hay on the yard so i just have to put up with it or soak it. Just wondering does soaking it really make any difference?

 

[Maisy]

I stupidly didn't check what kind of haylage I bought earlier this year, and was feeding half and half with hay, but my 4 year old was being a complete ar5e.....When I checked, it is ryegrass haylage, so he has had to go back to plain old hay, and his behaviour is much improved!!

He was fine last year on a different type.....

 

[amandap]

Haylage has a very precise moisture content and any moisture outside this, usually higher, means it's actually silage. My belief is many farmers don't test the moisture content. http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/dairy/as1252w.htm

It can affect horses dramatically. Trying to introduce it precipitated laminitis in one of my ponies. I would switch to hay if my horse was affected in any way.

 

[Tammytoo]

While I totally respect you asking the question as this is how people learn, I find it hard to imagine how it would create that behavour. It is only hay really that is saved before normal time and wrapped. That is not to say that I am wrong though.

I beg to differ! Haylage is much higher in sugars and protein and definitely has a bad effect of some horses. When feeding it you need to reduce the hard feed to counteract the extra protein. If you absolutely have to feed it, then second cut Timothy haylage, as dry as possible, is better.

Like soaking hay, soaking haylage will reduce the sugar content.

 

[Miss L Toe]

While I totally respect you asking the question as this is how people learn, I find it hard to imagine how it would create that behavour. It is only hay really that is saved before normal time and wrapped. That is not to say that I am wrong though.

Cattle Silage is lower in fibre and higher in sugars, and often higher in protein too, it is a fermented product and often has acid additives, it is no use for horses, but, farmers who are used to making silage for cows may use the same grass ie cultivated and fertilised ryegrass and the only difference is that they let it dry out a bit before baling and wrapping, and don't used additives, in my experience you will not get the best sort of forage for your horse from a cattle farmer because it will be higher in sugars and lower in fibres than ideal, and will also ferment more than you want.
Some big suppliers and growers specialise in Haylage for racehorses, and the perennial ryegrass species is specially selected for this product, it can be a dry product only very lightly fermented, and will look dry, free of weeds, and will smell sweet not acid.
A mixed type of [old meadow] grass species including Meadow Fescue and Timothy grass species are more likely to produce a good product for leisure horses and great if you can get it baled, wrapped and delivered.
Hay is produced from a grass field which has been identified as suited to hay making rather than Haylage, it should be clean and dry [relative to haylage]. It is only recently hay has been baled, and wrapped, this is to produce a standard quality product as is is quicker to bale and store. The downside is that it does lightly ferment inside the bale and as there is no escape route for moisture, it can spoil if the wrapping is punctured.
Grass grows steadily over a season, and by the 22nd of June [give or take] the digestibility reduces and the bulk increases, however this is fine for horses as we are looking for a fibre based forage.
Sorry if this is a lecture which comes under the heading of "too much information", but the fact is that the majority of farmers don't really know what horses need, and "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" we have two old guys round here who specialise in horse haylage, they obviously know what the customer wants, and thy provide it, but to most farmers it is just a cash in hand product which they don't put much thought into.