Mixing hay and haylage

[Hormonal Filly]

Does anyone feed hay and haylage together?

I’m moving yards soon, where hay is provided. However she’s been on Country Haylage for a month and looks the best she ever has.

It isn’t affordable long term to be fed on its own, but thought about mixing in 50% hay could be an option.

 

[Dexter]

yes, I had one who got a mixture. Ad lib hay but 4kgs of haylage a day as well as he loved it so much.

 

[TGM]

There is actually research that shows that horses eat more forage if they have two or more types available. So a mix of hay and haylage might work well as long as the hay is good quality.

 

[splashgirl45]

I used to give haylage for breakfast and any that was left was given at night with her hay. It just meant I didn’t have to faff around soaking hay in the mornings

 

[criso]

I do where the yard gives the option. It encourages eating more with current horse who needs weight.

I put the haylage in first, about a third of s net and fill the rest with hay. Tb sometimes has fun picking out the haylage first but he does empty the net

 

[millitiger]

Mine are buggers and won't eat hay at all if they know haylage is on the property so mixing has never worked for me.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I've mixed it if I feel they need something a bit better if they are working hard.

 

[Yeomans]

I put one ordinary soaked hay and one haylage. Works well.

 

[MissTyc]

I put one ordinary soaked hay and one haylage. Works well.

Same for mine!

 

[Suby2]

I feed small bale haylage plus hay in separate crates. I used to share the field with a friend and we would buy large bale haylage but unfortunately her mare can’t eat hay or haylage any more so I started adding the hay to reduce costs. My cob tends to alternate which he eats. He looks very well on the mix.

 

[Smooshy]

Mine has a net of each squashed in his haybar. Will pick between the two. Some days he eats more of one than the other. Sometimes I will add a small net of straw if in all day for him to also pick at.

He looks and feels better on haylage, but he likes hay so has a small amount to keep him happy.

 

[deicinmerlyn]

My Gelding would eat all the haylage and leave the hay! Then refuse to eat any hay thereafter!

 

[claracanter]

Unfortunately the hay i bought for this winter is quite dusty now so I’m giving my ridden two haylage as well. I find it works best if I put the haylage on top of the soaked hay and then they work their way down rather than chucking all the hay around to get to the haylage. This is the first year I’ve added haylage but they look better on it so I am going to continue to give them half and half in the future.

 

[PurBee]

If hay is very good quality, not musty and doesnt need soaking, ive mixed dry hay and haylage together.
They eat it fine. Especially if i want to gradually decrease expensive haylage, they dont notice the slow daily decrease when mixed
When i fed it separately theyd gobble the haylage and then the hay, or even leave the hay and ask for more haylage!

So a good mixing of it together forced them to eat the hay and haylage.

If hay was a bit less than ideal, i’d soak it seperately, and give haylage in another net.
They’d usually gobble the haylage and then the soaked hay net.

Years ago i experimented with soaking haylage, a very rich type, and it doesnt soak/store well, unless soaked and immediately fed. It soon goes rank if hung up to drain for a few hours. Slimy and a weird pong.
Thankfully there’s many more suppliers for better less sugar haylage now so we can feed it straight from the bag.

 

[Hormonal Filly]

Mine are buggers and won't eat hay at all if they know haylage is on the property so mixing has never worked for me.

To be honest she’s so fussy.. so she might possibly do this

If hay is very good quality, not musty and doesnt need soaking, ive mixed dry hay and haylage together.
They eat it fine. Especially if i want to gradually decrease expensive haylage, they dont notice the slow daily decrease when mixed
When i fed it separately theyd gobble the haylage and then the hay, or even leave the hay and ask for more haylage!

So a good mixing of it together forced them to eat the hay and haylage.

If hay was a bit less than ideal, i’d soak it seperately, and give haylage in another net.
They’d usually gobble the haylage and then the soaked hay net.

Years ago i experimented with soaking haylage, a very rich type, and it doesnt soak/store well, unless soaked and immediately fed. It soon goes rank if hung up to drain for a few hours. Slimy and a weird pong.
Thankfully there’s many more suppliers for better less sugar haylage now so we can feed it straight from the bag.

I noticed a lot at the new yard soak it, or steam it, and one of the liveries did say it can be dusty. Saw quite a few small bales of haylage in the barn, so a bit worried about the quality.

There is no option to buy my own hay in, as of storage but I could fit some bagged haylage (in my trailer)

If anything she’s lost weight on the bagged haylage, while in no work surprisingly and definitely looks better muscle wise. If finances allowed (and it didn’t work out over £200 a month) I’d keep her on it.

 

[Surbie]

I quite often give a slice of haylage (small bag timothy) alongside my horse's haynet. He's very enthusiastic about it, but with only a slice a day I can make a bag last a week.

 

[skint1]

I give my mare ad lib hay (which I have to buy in) and a smaller amount of (yard supplied) haylage. Luckily both are good quality. For me, I choose majority hay because she's been prone to ulcers, isn't in work and could prob do without the extra energy and calorie content- but she does enjoy it so I like to provide her with a variety

 

[SilverLinings]

I've fed both whenever I've been able to get hold of good quality hay and have had storage space. I always soak hay before feeding, some horses seemed to like both hay and haylage equally and some would eat the haylage first, but most have moved between the two (in separate piles in the field or stable). I also feed chopped straw and they seem to enjoy the choice. If what you are feeding is good quality and you aren't over-feeding then I would expect the horses to eat both the haylage and the hay that you put out.

As @TGM says, there is research promoting forage choice. There has also been research showing that giving captive mammals any choice over their environment (including food type) creates a feeling of self agency, increases contentment and lowers stress, which is why environmental enrichment of zoo and farm animals is seen as an indicator of good welfare. Slightly off-topic, but this is why even when I have a horse in a field on their own I put the hay/haylage out in multiples to give the horse a choice of where they eat and in what order, and to mimic natural grazing behaviour (plus it makes the food last longer with the greedy ones!).

 

[PurBee]

To be honest she’s so fussy.. so she might possibly do this



I noticed a lot at the new yard soak it, or steam it, and one of the liveries did say it can be dusty. Saw quite a few small bales of haylage in the barn, so a bit worried about the quality.

There is no option to buy my own hay in, as of storage but I could fit some bagged haylage (in my trailer)

If anything she’s lost weight on the bagged haylage, while in no work surprisingly and definitely looks better muscle wise. If finances allowed (and it didn’t work out over £200 a month) I’d keep her on it.

You might find you could go up a size with the commercial made haylage. *some* suppliers offer 80kg+ bales - usually the price difference compared to the 15-20kg bales is significantly cheaper when you buy bigger bales.
Maybe you could go halves with another livery when you get settled in on your new yeard, on 1 big bale a week feeding 2 horses for about 30 quid?

Im currently paying 59p per kilo including delivery of marksway haylage. I cry at my monthly winter costs!
Im trialling a more local supplier who has improved their haylage over the years which is 33p per kilo. They’re on trial due to lack of consistency in previous years, but fingers crossed this time they remain good.

Here’s a haylage supplier offering ALL sizes of either timothy/ryegrass/meadow haylage on pallets for great pallet delivery savings. You may suit the medium bale haylage they offer if shared with another livery (they also offer meadow grass or ryegrass haylage aswell as timothy. They likely would make a mixed pallet for you to trial each type they do):

Medium Bale Haylage - Ryegrass

Medium Bale Haylage - Ryegrass. We offer great cost savings over small bales and is suitable for people with 2-3 big eaters or 3-4 ponies.

www.writtlehayandstraw.com

 

[Birker2020]

I did for a short while when i first had Lari and he was on haylage at his previous home. So i bought some Marksway ryegrass haylage, the first couple of bales he ate but then the next one i bought was really wet and molassy, so was the next one so I mixed it with hay and over a 2 week period transferred him over to just hay.

Sometimes there's haylage on the barn floor thats been left in a bit of wrapper and a new one started or a bit that's been spilt that will only get trodden in so i grab a handful and put at the top of his haynet and he likes that but its a treat only.