Haylage

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SueWade

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Help, does anyone know how long you have to leave haylage before it can be safely fed. I have been told anything from 6 weeks to 6 months. Sorry I am new to this, so any help would be appreciated.
 
Why are you feeding it? Are you growing it?
Just curious because i would always recommend hay as apposed to haylage as its better for them. Hay is lower in sugar and doesnt ferment in the stomach same as haylage does. Haylage is a big problem for a lot of horses with lameness issues and laminitis, and for those with gastric ulcers.
 
Jennyharvey said:
Why are you feeding it? Are you growing it?
Just curious because i would always recommend hay as apposed to haylage as its better for them. Hay is lower in sugar and doesnt ferment in the stomach same as haylage does. Haylage is a big problem for a lot of horses with lameness issues and laminitis, and for those with gastric ulcers.
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I think you may have got your facts wrong JH, as well made haylage is fully fermented before the horse eats it, and is very low in sugars, as they have all been fermented to preserve the product. There are several high fibre haylages which are promoted as ideal for laminitics and similar, as they have lower sugars levels than hay; and haylage, being a fibre feed does not cause gastric ulcers - the feeding factor for these is high grain diets, alongside many other (non feed related) things.
 
Actualy haylage can still contain a lot of sugars. Fermentation/bacterial action takes place until the increasing level of acidity stops it. This may well be before all the sugars have been converted.
 
Aspiring said:
I think you may have got your facts wrong JH, as well made haylage is fully fermented before the horse eats it, and is very low in sugars, as they have all been fermented to preserve the product. There are several high fibre haylages which are promoted as ideal for laminitics and similar, as they have lower sugars levels than hay; and haylage, being a fibre feed does not cause gastric ulcers - the feeding factor for these is high grain diets, alongside many other (non feed related) things.
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I didnt say haylage causes ulcers, but from my experience it doesnt help it.
I think a few brands of haylage made specifically for lamis may indeed contain less sugar than other haylage, the most used haylage is stuff that comes in big black covers. When you open the bags, you can even smell the sweetness. I think that a healthy horse who doesnt have any insulin resistance, isnt overweight and has great feet then haylage doesnt tend to be too much of a problem. But with a horse with bad feet, everweight then haylage isnt suitable, in my opinion.
 
Thanks for all your answers, there seems to be a bit of a difference of opinion here. We have got 17 acres of meadow land that has not been grazed for 4 years (only hayed) we are having half made into haylage and the other half hay. I have asked that the haylage be nearly dry as I want it to be more like clean hay, if that makes sense. My boy had laminitis last year which is why I am being sooo cautious. On just hay he gets a cough and I am soaking 2 large hay nets per day at the moment, that is why I am looking for an easier option.
 
I wondered the same thing myself about this time last year as the haylage supplier I use only had new haylage and none left from the previous years cut- I looked into it and many people say to leave it a couple of months at least and some said ok to feed straight away.

I gave mine 3 week old Ryegrass Haylage of a nice and dry consistency and they were absolutely fine on it ( but they are not laminitis prone or anything), I was just very careful about the amount they were fed, and also made sure the bale was completely unwrapped so couldn't overheat. (My next lot of Haylage I get in, in a few weeks time will be this years cut as well)
 
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