haylage/ tying up

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UKa

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Hi, just want to know really is it ok to feed haylage to a horse that is prone to tying up? When mine had her first severe episode I was advised to put her on a low sugar, low starch diet and I have been careful over the last 6 years to implement this. When stabled she has always been on ad lib hay and I have not made any adjustments to grazing management (even though one would think that grass too is high n sugar). new yard has haylage all-in in the winter rather than hay could this run us into problems? thanks. horse has had three or so mild episodes of tying up since first one and tended to be related to muscles getting a chill...
 
Personally I would never feed hayledge to a horse that ties up...its too high in sugar.

My girl only has soaked hay now.
 
Yet I have come across so many contrasting viewpoints on this - thanks. So hard to do the right thing isn't it.

Dengie for instance state this interesting bit...

"So far in 2007, the forage analysed by us for our customers showed that the average sugar content of hay was 10.5% whereas haylage is 9.8%. It would normally be expected to see haylage with a significantly lower sugar content than hay as the sugar should be fermented during the ensiling process...."

and I found other articles on the connection of haylage and tying up that said there was no reason to believe they are connected... only problem tends to be owners not feeding enough haylage as weight by weight comparison you feed less haylage as it is wetter and weighs more so need to feed more haylage. It is so confusing..
 
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Yes I agree.

Thats why she only has soaked hay now...to get as much of the richness/nutrients out as possible.

I've always been told you need to feed more hayledge than hay as it has a higher water content...

After 4 tying up episodes, I'm just not willing to risk anything that *might* set her off again....ultra careful management is the key.
 
It would be interesting to hear what you do with your horse and what type etc it is? Might be able to offer some management tips or gain some from you! Managing a horse that ties up is such trial and error to find out what works for it. One of my horses colics and ties up on haylage. He also can't be fed Canadian hay as it's too rich and he ties up on it.
 
Hello, just back to this after a bit of a break... still haven't decided what to do although tending to just stick with hay as I kind of know she has been ok on it even if this means paying out more for it but if it means she won't have an episode... My horse is a fine built TB of just under 500kg body weight and now around 15 years old. She had a very bad attack of azoturia about 6 years ago (I got her 7 years ago) and since then suffered a few mild episodes of tying up, usually directly related to getting a chill during exercise (in very cold weather, cold winds etc), it has just been impossible to avoid these mild episodes although I am always very careful and use warm exercise sheets all through the winter and take care rugging her up when it gets chilly, also taking care with warm-ups and cooling off. Cold seems to be the main trigger but she is on low starch, low sugar feeds, but turned out onto grass as normal. I also add Selenavite to her feeds and salt. I would be very interested to hear other peoples experiences and maybe more views on haylage in this connection.
 
Why not send off a sample of your yard's haylage off to Dodson and Horrell and get the sugar levels analysed, to see if it is suitable for your horse? Only costs about a tenner.

Sugar levels in haylage vary considerably, as does the levels in hay, according to the type of grasses used and the time of cutting. I think when haylage was first introduced it tended to be made from high sugar ryegrasses as tended to be aimed at hard working horses, hence the high sugar reputation. These days, however, it is made from a range of different grasses etc., so sugar levels are often relatively low.
 
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