HELP! - All about the Hay

Denzil Penwerthy

Denzil Penwerthy

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Hey Guys

I am hoping to pick your brains on a subject that I know relatively nothing about......

Hay.

My horse shares a field with 6 others, they have a shletered barn area and 6 acres to skip about in (maybe not so much at this time of year) and in the barn there are a couple of metal hay racks...........

Some people in the past have expressed that feeding hay in nets or in racks can be bad for some horses breathing and they should be fed hay from the floor.....

There are now a couple of horses in the field with snotty noses / coughs / generally not feeling right and I wondered if you guys had encountered anything the same. None on them have a temperature and anti biotics doesnt seem to have cured it.

Any ideas or any views on hay feeding??

Thanks x
 
Feeding from the floor does help any mucous to drain from the nose and sinuses and is also better for the neck muscles and teeth. Hay racks that are high up also risk seeds and dust falling into the horses eyes.
I think the problem might be feeding dry hay as much as feeding from racks though, it is much better soaked for 20 minutes or so before feeding or feeding haylage as an alternative for horses with respiratory issues.
 
Its better fed from the floor but is often fed from haynets or racks because it can be very wasteful to feed from the floor,as they can tread it into the mud,pass droppings onto it,roll in it. One of my weanlings paws it everywhere. In theory, in a perfect world it would be great to feed from the floor but I gave up a month ago and put it in nets. I am going through 1\3 less hay now due to less waste.
 
Thanks Guys. I guess with 7 horses in the field the yard are not able to soak 3 - 4 bales a day.... it is a little too much to expect them too and as for the waste my boy has the manners of a pig and yanks it out the top of the rack and dumps it on the floor anyway!! But there are a few others that have "manners!" when eating!!

Any other views on this would be most welcome.

Isnt wet Hay less nutrious for some reasons?
 
First question: is the hay dusty/dry? GOOD hay should not be - and should not cause problems unless a horse has an allergy. When you shake a bit out, can you SEE dust? How does it smell?

The horses MAY have a virus - and viruses don't respond to antibiotics. How long have the horses been snotty/coughing for?

And yes, soaking hay does remove some nutrients.
 
I don't think any hay even if extremely good quality should be fed dry, in my opinion, I always soak mine as he has COPD and wouldn't appreciate people putting hay out that my horse could eat dry. This happened YEARS ago and I was told that my horse ALWAYS coughed, I said he does because he's eating your bloody dry hay ! It was for ponies that lived out, which ok they need hay but it should have been fed in a different field or only enough put out for them to eat it ALL and not leave any for those turned out in the day.
 
NOISYGIRL said:
I don't think any hay even if extremely good quality should be fed dry, in my opinion, I always soak mine as he has COPD and wouldn't appreciate people putting hay out that my horse could eat dry. This happened YEARS ago and I was told that my horse ALWAYS coughed, I said he does because he's eating your bloody dry hay ! It was for ponies that lived out, which ok they need hay but it should have been fed in a different field or only enough put out for them to eat it ALL and not leave any for those turned out in the day.
Click to expand...

Hi there

My horse is fine with it and isnt coughing at all, it is my friends and a few others. One defo had a virus as he was just out of sorts and very lethargic, one is just coughing and the other is snotty and coughing.

Oh the dilemas!!

Forgive me but what is COPD?
 
JanetGeorge said:
First question: is the hay dusty/dry? GOOD hay should not be - and should not cause problems unless a horse has an allergy. When you shake a bit out, can you SEE dust? How does it smell?

The horses MAY have a virus - and viruses don't respond to antibiotics. How long have the horses been snotty/coughing for?

And yes, soaking hay does remove some nutrients.
Click to expand...


I will check the hay tonight, that for that.

15 days on antibiotics reduced dose after 10. One of them defo had a virus and I wonder if the other one caught that virus and then that has weakened him therefore got a chest related / hay realted illness??

I am no vet!
 
JanetGeorge said:
First question: is the hay dusty/dry? GOOD hay should not be - and should not cause problems unless a horse has an allergy. When you shake a bit out, can you SEE dust? How does it smell?

The horses MAY have a virus - and viruses don't respond to antibiotics. How long have the horses been snotty/coughing for?

And yes, soaking hay does remove some nutrients.
Click to expand...

Ditto

I would talk to the other owners and organise getting your hay in a big round bale, put into a ring feeder. This would eliminate the waste problem and the worry about developing the wrong neck musculature. However as it could be an allergy to hay dust which is causing the snotty noses, it also might be worth considering using haylage.
 
Hey all, thank you so much for your input. The horse has now been separated and is being fed hay on the ground so hopefully it should get better!! I have also sourced a tombstone feeder to borrow for the winter months, great stuff :O)
 
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