Haylage: what am I missing?

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blackandwhite

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I own a horrible horse (hw cob completely spolit by his previous owner and Parellied to death. Please no helpful rope based suggestions!). We've taken a long time making him less horrible and in doing so have found out that he is better if not fed cereal grains, alfalfa or haylage. Still rude and bolshy, but much less so.

A couple of months ago we moved to a new yard. Great yard, well experienced yo, good facilities, ideal in pretty much every way. Apart from one. Haylage is the only forage on offer. It's great quality but it's totally unsuitable for my horrible horse. My pleas to feed hay are falling on deaf ears on my horrible horse is getting more horrible by the day.

What am I missing? YOs, what is the rationale behind not allowing me to feed hay? I genuinely don't understand why.
 
They probably get a good deal on it, I worked for someone who sold it to her liveries by the pound and made a huge mark up on it, I would ask if they can maybe source you some hay and buy from them, failing that I am afraid I would move yards as what is the point if your horse is not suited to the only feed that is on offer.
 
Without knowing the yard there could be any number of reasons including:

- no storage room for hay, especially is other liveries then want hay as well
- they buy/make their own haylage and make profit selling it on to liveries

Did you know about the haylage only rule before you moved to the yard? I haven't come across a horse that has a big behaviour change on haylage versus hay - including one of mine which is a bit of a nut job whether on hay or haylage.

Are you on part/full/DIY livery and is forage included in your livery cost? You could ask the yard to soak your haylage for a few hours to reduce the sugars in it. Other than that your only options are to either come to an agreement with the yard for you to buy your own hay in -although you might be charged for storage and not necessarily get a reduction in your livery) or move yards.
 
My problem as a YO is storage and delivery. I can get large haylage bales delivered and stacked for me. They can be kept outside. I don't have a barn, so if I have hay, I need to use one of my eight stables. My livery has been full until this summer when two people left and I decided not to replace them. I like having fewer horses to care for and it means that everyone can have more turnout in the winter. But now I have spare stables so could have hay. However, I can't find anyone to deliver and stack the bales. Also, I would have to buy in small bales so they could be stored in the stable and that is much more expensive. So maybe your YO does not have the undercover storage to provide everyone with room to store hay? Other than that, I can't think why they would object to it.
 
Well I think a good yard owner would allow you to feed hay. If she is knowledgeable she should know that hayledge isn't suitable for all horses. Ask her for a reason why. If you supply your own, why not?
 
I totally understand the storage issue and, like a few of you, she's bought in her haylage for the winter. We're part livery (everything but mucking out) and the haylage is included in the cost. I'm happy to buy it myself, I won't even ask for a livery reduction, I've got my own storage area I could easily keep a few small bales if there's no room for a big one. I'm really happy with the service in every other way but this is a real sticking point.
 
have you asked the YO outright what the problem is with feeding hay? I am baffled as to why you took a yard that only feeds haylage to be honest

I suppose it depends on the set up as to how you could make things better, if you all buy the forage from the YO then you may have more trouble than if its included in the livery and you offer to buy hay on top. If you are on DIY you may be able to soak the haylage where if the YO feeds the horses you cant necessarily expect them to soak haylage etc so you may be limited by some things
 
blackandwhite said:
I totally understand the storage issue and, like a few of you, she's bought in her haylage for the winter. We're part livery (everything but mucking out) and the haylage is included in the cost. I'm happy to buy it myself, I won't even ask for a livery reduction, I've got my own storage area I could easily keep a few small bales if there's no room for a big one. I'm really happy with the service in every other way but this is a real sticking point.
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Have you put that to her that you will not ask for a reduction in livery? Could it also be that it would mean extra work when haying up? My liveries are all on part livery but it also includes mucking out. They get hayed up several times a day including last thing at night and it would be a big hassle for me if I had to go somewhere else in the yard to dig out the forage for just one horse each time I do this job. Having said that, I would accommodate a livery wishing to feed hay so long as they sourced it and I didn't have to stack it.
 
I fill my own nets anyway, they just put them in so there'd be no extra work. I haven't said about not asking for a livery reduction, I'll give that a go and if she still says no I think we'll have to leave.
 
Try feeding half haylage, half straw- diluting it (less calories, more bulk) so to speak!- Ours get this all winter with no bad effects- obviously teeth must be good, plenty of water available and straw introduced gradually.
 
We had the haylage at our yard analysed and it was very high in sugar low fibre (apparently) so a nutritionist recommended feeding straw alongside it. It has worked a treat for my fatty, he comes in to straw which he eats but much more slowly than he would the haylage. He then has haylage at 9 pm to keep him going overnight. He looks really good on it and I think it means he has more to keep him busy. My other horse refuses to touch the straw and went on hunger strike so is back on the haylage.
 
blackandwhite said:
We've taken a long time making him less horrible and in doing so have found out that he is better if not fed cereal grains, alfalfa or haylage. Still rude and bolshy, but much less so.
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Lots of good responses as to why a YO may prefer haylage over hay, but the sentence above would suggest to me that rather than worrying over WHY a yard wouldn't let me feed hay, I'd rather know WHY my horse was made worse on cereals, alfalfa or haylage....

Have you had the horse scoped for ulcers?
 
Another thought, are you in American barn stabling or are there horses on the yard with RAO/COPD? Dust could be the reason they will only feed haylage (although I rather suspect it is because they have got it at a good price).
 
blackandwhite said:
I totally understand the storage issue and, like a few of you, she's bought in her haylage for the winter. We're part livery (everything but mucking out) and the haylage is included in the cost. I'm happy to buy it myself, I won't even ask for a livery reduction, I've got my own storage area I could easily keep a few small bales if there's no room for a big one. I'm really happy with the service in every other way but this is a real sticking point.
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As a YO I can see both sides here. From experience, I have found that once you change your 'usual practices', it can start a whole load of trouble. Ie if you change something for one, you can't say no to others!? It could put the YO in a bit of a tricky situation possibly this is why she is so reluctant to allow it? If you knew when you moved on to the yard that haylage was the only forage available, why did you move there as it is clearly a huge issue for you? On my yard, which is purely DIY, I give choice of haylage, coarse hay and soft hay, so it avoids this kind of problem, but as we make it ourselves and have a huge barn to store it in, this is easy for us! Sorry haven't been much help to you OP, but just want you to try and put yourself in your YO's shoes. I'm sure she not doing it just to be awkward and I'm sure she has a valid reason, whether you would understand it or not, for sticking to her guns.
 
When we were looking to move onto a new yard, the 'haylage' only provided scenario was the first point of call I addressed with the potential new yard (as well as making sure it was a yard with All Year Turnout!).

I found a yard and yard owners that were happy for me to provide my own hay (as I can't use haylage with my boy) and although I said I was happy to still pay for it (haylage being included in their livery rate), they very kindly said that they would off-set the cost of the haylage against me having a small trailer on-site that houses my hay.

It was so re-freshing to find them and that they understood 100% my reasons for not being able to make use of their haylage. My boy would LOVE to eat haylage LOL,.. but unfortunately it just does not agree with him,..the fermentation process the haylage goes through and the acidity of it is the reason.

I'm a happy Bunny!!

Can understand totally the some Yard Owners struggle for storage space in this respect.
 
If there was an underlying ulcer issues, hay would soak up the acid much better and maybe that is why your cob is better behaved on haylage. Alfalfa is generally good for ulcers I think, but I've heard of a number of horses who cant tolerate it. We've had one ourselves and he doesn't have ulcers. He also prefers hay to haylage, but I cant say it made him nasty.
 
If you run/own a livery yard surely you expect to have a variety of horses in. Haylage does not suit all horses, a box resting horse for instance probably would not want top quality haylage.

What happens if you have a pair of small ponies for instance. I would not keep a horse on a yard that deems all horses needs are the same. Ridiculous, there are plenty of ways to store big bales outside regardless of haylage or hay.
 
eggs said:
I haven't come across a horse that has a big behaviour change on haylage versus hay - including one of mine which is a bit of a nut job whether on hay or haylage.

.
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My horse is a different person on haylage. I would have to move yards if i couldn't feed him hay.
 
Bonkers2 said:
I would soak the haylage, there is no secret ingredient in hay. Some people feed some part straw, I am not experienced in this.
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This, I soak the yard provided haylage for 24 hours prior to feeding, reduces the sugar content dramatically and makes a huge difference to my horse.
 
Any decent livery yard should offer a choice of forage. The lack of storage space argument doesn't cut it for me, if you haven't got the space, don't have liveries.

Horses nutritional requirements can and do change whether they are in or out of work, sick, cushinoid, retired etc. It should always be possible to be flexible with their feed regime.

Nuts.
 
Tiddlypom said:
Any decent livery yard should offer a choice of forage. The lack of storage space argument doesn't cut it for me, if you haven't got the space, don't have liveries.

Horses nutritional requirements can and do change whether they are in or out of work, sick, cushinoid, retired etc. It should always be possible to be flexible with their feed regime.

Nuts.
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My website states clearly that the yard provides haylage only. I also tell people verbally when they look around. I have never had problems filling spaces. However, as I explained earlier, I would accommodate liveries if they wanted to source and stack their own hay. So far in running the yard for ten years, not one person has requested hay. When horses have had cushings or laminitis, or been on restricted diets, I have soaked the haylage for them. This works as well as soaking hay.
 
When I first moved to our yard 3 years ago, we weren't allowed hay. It wasn't a storage issue, it was an allergy issue with the YO and his son. These days the son has left for uni, so the rule has been lifted. Perhaps the YO suffers from a bad allergy to it? My two are on haylage because I'm so allergic to hay I can't touch it. So a haylage only yard has always suited me rather well! :D

As suggested, you can pad out the haylage with oat or barley straw - not wheat. I've also always been told never to soak haylage as it ferments far too quickly ... but how true that is I don't know. HTH.
 
claracanter said:
My horse is a different person on haylage. I would have to move yards if i couldn't feed him hay.
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i have a dope on a rope maxi cob, perfect in everyway and forward pleasure to ride. Give her haylage and it is like lighting the blue touch paper. All she needs is adlib coarse hay and 3 pony cubes.

On the soaking of haylage, something I have never done, how the heck to you lift it. I can barely lift the haylage nets now, they are weighing in at 20kgs ish a night for my big horses, that soaked would be impossible to lift.
 
Last yard I was on (was an excellent yard) was haylege only, not a problem for my horse. Knew before moving. Yard is full. Think your yard should have told you before moving!
Now at home and horse on haylege, pony hay and feed hay in paddock to both. I hate and detest hay - I'm really allergic, makes my nose and eyes run constantly, makes me sneeze and sets off my asthma. Feed hay though as pony is a good doer and worry she would balloon on haylege!
 
cant see the problem with haylage - provided its made correctly. All our horses have lived on it for the last 20 years. thats from foals,youngsters,horses working hard hunting to retired 'OAP s' - ad lib in ring feeders . They have never got too fat ,or any tum problems. We make the haylage ourselves , as dry as possible ,from good grass fields [ we keep cattle also and want them to do well] and everything has thrived onit. Hay is so dry for horses , so have always thought haylage nicr for horses to eat.
cant really think why your horse is 'horrible ' , unless theres something wrong eg ulcwers - or perhaps you and horse just dont get on? And a ps , a bolshy Parellied horse has not been trained properly. As N H trainers our horses have lovely manners - its often the case the N H students have less horse experience and think love is enough...
 
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