help!!! what to do with my boy

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LadyRascasse

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right i have a 17yr old tb gelding who gets stable cough, and is stabled at night. i spoke to my vet in july about it and basically there is nothing they can do and i have to keep his life style as dust free as possible, so he is on paper bedding and i have been soaking his hay, but he won't eat it. it is fantastic quality (i won't except anything that is slightly borderline) and as dust free as hay can be. her comes the problem, he is allergic to haylage so thats not an option.

what should i do? i have as a one off given him dry hay so that he doesn't go hungry as for the last few nights i have had to throw 99% of it away the next day which isn't only a waste but means he isn't getting enough fibre a day. will it harm him to have it unsoaked for the sake if his weight over winter?

sorry to waffle i over think everything them get myself into a panic. any advice appreciated even if you think i'm being cruel just say so
 
How about gicing him half soaked hay and half dry and put the soaked hay on top of the dry hay so then it will sort of drain through a little bit.
 
being left out over night isn't possible at the moment because he would be on his own, i am working on that one.

haylage as above he is allergic, comes out his bum fast that it goes in!!!!!!!

his cough is a dry one, like he is clearing his throat, never any mucus he has been endoscoped because he has a lump in his throat and they said there is nothing unusual just a little bit of everyday mucus, they gave him ventrapulmin last year and that didn't make any difference.
 
what part of the hayledge is he allerigic to??

can you look at the alternitives such as pur ryegrass, canadian hay etc? it may not seem the cheaper option but in the long run i would think so.

if you have a look on marksway horsehage site theres verious alternitives

just an afterthought.. have u tried steaming his hay?
 
What about steamed hay, if your just trying to remove the dust not the nutrients. To do this either buy a hay steamer (expensive!) or just get a dusbin put hay in with 2-3 kettle fulls of water and then leave for half an hour
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make him up a big tubtrug of high fibre nuts,dengie good doer and redigrass/grazeon soak it with loads of water and let him munch - lasts ages and didn't fizz mine up at all when he decided that hay was food of the peasents
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It may sound simple but have you tried any other batches of hay. Maybe he just doesn't like that batch when it is soaked. If there is someone about who has hay from another field it might be worth trying that. Cheaper than haylage or chaff.

Also how long are you soaking your hay for, if you are soaking it for a long time it can take on a nasty taste from the water, so maybe try shortening the amount of time you soak it for. We tend to dunk ours for a couple of minutes in the morning, then leave them out (but not somewhere they will dry out) until the evening. The damp in the hay swells any dust during the day, but the hay is still fresh like unsoaked hay. Without that washed out soggy look.
 
yes we have tried several different bales from several different fields etc. it is soaked for a few minutes if that just to soak the dust out. doesn't make a difference if its been dried out after soaking etc, he is just a fussy git.

surely readigrass would be just as dusty as hay (my hay is never very dusty)

i will try steaming tomorrow (though it will take an hour as he has 2 binfuls now)
 
my ready grass has never been dusty (have to be careful as horse as had a hobday) but I water mine because it is mixed in with nuts - alot more palatable than hay and most horses love it
 
he has fast fibre in his feed and i have just remember he won't eat readi grass, as we did try that with him when he was on box rest.

right i'll give the steaming a try

thank you for all your help
 
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