Haylege Weight

[Extreme247]

Hi all,

Can anyone provide me with a quick easy equation for working out how much haylege i should be feeding ? I've seen so many and all say something different

Thanks in advance

 

[asmp]

Haylage varies so much in weight depending on water content it’s difficult to answer your question. The bale we’re using at the moment is very dry compared to previous bales. I judge it by volume (one year I used a huge net and then realised pony was getting very fat so now I use just one medium sized net)

 

[SpeedyPony]

It's difficult to say without knowing what you're feeding for- I.e. weight loss/gain/maintenance. If I'm feeding haylage as the only forage (so no/limited grass available) and my horses need to maintain or gain weight, I just put out ad lib haylage by seeing how much is left in the morning/evening and giving more if it's all gone and less if there's a lot left (not very scientific I know!).
If you're feeding for weight loss there are a variety of % of bodyweight suggested- I suspect you'll have trouble getting a consistent answer as the dry matter % and nutritional profile of haylage varies enormously.

 

[Hackback]

It's difficult to say without knowing what you're feeding for- I.e. weight loss/gain/maintenance. If I'm feeding haylage as the only forage (so no/limited grass available) and my horses need to maintain or gain weight, I just put out ad lib haylage by seeing how much is left in the morning/evening and giving more if it's all gone and less if there's a lot left (not very scientific I know!).
If you're feeding for weight loss there are a variety of % of bodyweight suggested- I suspect you'll have trouble getting a consistent answer as the dry matter % and nutritional profile of haylage varies enormously.

I do this too. Mainly because I hate wasting it - hay you can recycle, but uneaten haylage is just a waste. And the amount they eat varies so much - the grass is eventually coming through, thank goodness! I can tell because last night they barely ate any of their haylage. In winter I was stuffing the nets to capacity.

 

[Extreme247]

I usually dont have an issue as i've always been able to work the weight off my horse as and when needed. Hes currently been on and off lame since January. More so lately hes looking wider. He's fed 7kg over night, in a double netted greedy feeder to make it last longer. He's out in a small pen with another during the day. Bald field and a haylege ball to pick at. Ive tried reducing him down more but he becomes very unhappy. I'm hoping once this lameness thing is sorted out we can get back to working.

 

[SpeedyPony]

Could you try swapping to soaked hay? Not the easiest thing to manage (particularly in this heat!) but it might allow him to have more bulk and still keep his weight down.

 

[criso]

Just to add I feed round bale haylage and even the same bale varies. Once opened the first layer dries out and a net filled from there weights a lot less than the same volume from further in the bale.

Given you know how much you are feeding now by weight and volume and horse is putting on weight, could you just try reducing the volume a little at a time and see where you go from there

 

[Lucky Snowball]

You could reduce haylage and mix with straw.

 

[PurBee]

Initially, i just match the volume of hay they’d have. As said already, haylage varies in water content so it’s not worth going by that and doing sums for water.

It also depends on the haylage grass type youre feeding. Early cut ryegrass haylage will have more calories, than later cut ryegrass haylage. A dry ryegrass haylage wont ferment fully and have higher sugars than a wetter haylage thats fermented fully.
If you match hay volume with a higher calorie haylage, you’ll likely find weight gain. Rather than reduce volume, as they do need a certain % of stemmy fibre, and will get grumpy with reduced fibre feed, change the haylage to a lower energy one - mixed meadow/timothy/ryegrass mix.

When haylage supplies near me were limited to ryegrass i battled with balancing their weight V their hunger. The answer was in giving mixed grass well-made haylage, and they could eat even more of that than hay volume, as sugars are fermented and reduced with haylage, which theyre not in hay.

(at least 40% moisture is needed for fermenting, ‘dry’ haylage isnt haylage, its basically wrapped hay and has higher calories than fully fermented haylage)

 

[Extreme247]

Could you try swapping to soaked hay? Not the easiest thing to manage (particularly in this heat!) but it might allow him to have more bulk and still keep his weight down.

I'm afraid I cant due to other diet issues

 

[SpeedyPony]

I'm afraid I cant due to other diet issues

Ah, that's a shame, I'd agree with Purbee then, lower calorie haylage is a good shout.
Some haylage producers will have theirs tested and can give you a rough idea of fibre/DE/crude protein, although if you're limited in where you can buy from/tied to using the yard's haylage that's not much help.

 

[criso]

If you can choose your haylage, then that could be helpful.

Small bale branded haylage is much more expensive but is a known quantity. The lowest calorie round here turned out to be an own brand high fibre ryegrass from a local feed store. The round bale meadow stuff from a local producer seems to be the highest, it's put loads of weight on my tb.

I've also heard of people soaking haylage but no experience of this myself.

 

[Extreme247]

Thankyou everyone