How do you feed ad lib haylage in the field?

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kit279

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We have large bale haylage stored in the field and I'm just wondering how best to feed it to the horses this winter. I plan to let them live out 24/7 as the land is really good and they can come in if the weather is awful or they start to drop condition.

We are likely to have 3 horses for winter, maximum of 4. They get on well as a herd but one is rather dominant and quite inclined to pick on the others. I'm just wondering what is going to be the safest but also least labour-intensive way of feeding them ad lib haylage.

Option 1 - put out small piles of haylage. Pros - less fighting. Cons - more hassle, I'd need to get a groom as this is a fair bit of extra work and wouldn't really work with my hours which are unreliable.

Option 2 - open up the large bales and let them eat down ad lib. Pros - proper ad lib! Less work. Cons - wastage, will they eat it or throw it about?! Possibly fighting although I think they would be ok.

Any other suggestions?
 
Old fashioned hay rack, lob as many sections as needed in, dominant horse will take one side but won't be able to bully the horses on the other side.
 
With large round bales of haylage, I just slice off the top end of plastic and let them get on with it. With 5 mares and foals shaing, they go through a big round bale in 2-3 days - I just pick up the plastic and wrap when i deliver the next. Two of the mares are bullies - but they don't fight over big bale (as they do if fed sections) because it's always there! They waste very little!!
 
In a ring/sheep feeder. :)

Horseshayfeeder.jpg
 
Ah, I had assumed you meant square baled haylage, not round baled. The round bales I whip the tops off and leave.
 
Hi

Mine live out all year and have round bale hayledge. I invested in a 7ft round ring feeder for long horned cattle as the horses don't have to put their heads into anything and risk getting caught. Cost me about £300 but the amount of wastage I have avoided by the horses trampling in hayledge that falls from the edge has about paid for the ring feeder just in one winter. Think its called a Tombestone ring feeder :-)

I wouldnt be without it as hayledge is just so expensive now adays you need to minimise wastage as much as you can!

javascript:popupWindow('http://www.bitlessbridle.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=457')

Also just a pointer, I went for 7ft as most bales are 5ft round, and when stood on end so horses can easily eat, the layers will fall off so the 7ft catches it and reduces even more wastage!!

Hope its of help!
 
One year I fed HAylage ad lib - 8 horses in the paddock.

Rolled it into the middle of the paddock, cut off the top and left them too it. Initially there was a little bit of pushing and shoving but once they had had their fill they all meandered off and came back to the bale as and when they felt like it so eventually there was never a mass feed in as when it was first opened.

It was a great way to feed and there was actually no wastage - they ate every last bit. Also did really well on it and I had no worries about them being hungry if I was held up at work.

When the bale was finished just collected up all the wrapper and netting and binned it.
 
We either put a whole bale in a ring feeder, of if it's slices, we pile them in a big tractor tyre.
 
juliette said:
Don't any of the people advocating leaving a whole haylage bale open in the field worry about the horses getting in a muddle with the netting that is wrapped around the bale?
Click to expand...

The netting worries me. I once saw what I thought was a worm hanging out of my horse's bottom, I pulled it and it was a piece of string about a foot long, we were very lucky that it hadn't wrapped round his gut! I mentioned this to someone who said they had a horse which went for emergency colic surgery, when he was opened up they found haylage netting wrapped in his intestines, and he couldn't be saved.
 
I use hay hutches for mine :)

http://www.hay-hutch.co.uk

Last winter my girls had a medium sized one each, which I would only top up once per day (Star would eat 16kg+ per day and hers was never empty). I bought the 'extreme' for each of mine and they still look as good as new each.

I think they are especially good as you can spread about a few of them, like you would feeding in piles, without the risk of fighting or wastage.

Have a look at some of my pics on FB to see them 'in action' ;)

I'm a big fan, and they certainly pay for themselves, not just in terms of saving haylage, but also less wrecking of the grazing :)
 
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