OK so my supplier tells me that black haylage is OK .

[Bob notacob]

Not my supplier ,but my friends. The haylage was rank! I took a look ,having made a few hundred tonnes of the stuff in the past. The moisture content was through the roof and the lower surface of the bale had soil contamination . Clearly the stuff had been baled and then caught in a thunderstorm before it could be wrapped (probably 2/3 days) I described it to her as Botulism in a bale!I cannot believe the attitude and ignorance of the "farmer"who had the nerve to have a go at my friend for rejecting the stuff . I am angry ,this sort of stuff kills horses! I would love to publicly denounce the rather large maker of haylage in surrey ,but suspect I might get a ban for doing so. Feel free to pm me though.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Eeuuuwww that is totally Gross!

How anybody has the flippin' cheek to say it is OK to feed shate like that to horses beggars belief!

I don't see why there should be any objections from the Powers That Be on here to name and shame??

 

[Shay]

Becuase its potentially defamatory and the site would be liable. Have PM'd you though!

 

[ester]

Only if it isn't true

I think you summed it up quite well, the soil contamination being the biggest concern.

 

[Pinkvboots]

That's bad I stopped using haylage last year as it was covered in a black residue, gone back to hay and soaking it now.

 

[tristar]

i do not like haylage, i think its gross, no comparison to decent hay

its not good for their teeth either

 

[MotherOfChickens]

i do not like haylage, i think its gross, no comparison to decent hay

its not good for their teeth either

I'll not feed it either-too often ime its used to try and disguise bad hay making and harvesting.

 

[Steerpike]

I have a great haylage supplier, never had a bad bale from him in the last 5 years. I'm interested to think why tristar thinks it's bad for their teeth, as my horses have their teeth done yearly and have never had a problem with their teeth.

 

[whiteflower]

I have a great haylage supplier, never had a bad bale from him in the last 5 years. I'm interested to think why tristar thinks it's bad for their teeth, as my horses have their teeth done yearly and have never had a problem with their teeth.

This. Also it depends on the type of hayledge. I feed Timothy hayledge to some of mine, it looks more like wrapped hay, is relatively dry and it's very very rare we get a bad bale and if we do it's generally because the wrapper has been pierced by a nail in the pallet or something. I've used the same supplier for the last 6 years as his hay and hayledge are good quality. Sounds like your friend needs to change supplier

 

[tristar]

I have a great haylage supplier, never had a bad bale from him in the last 5 years. I'm interested to think why tristar thinks it's bad for their teeth, as my horses have their teeth done yearly and have never had a problem with their teeth.

more acidic

 

[Rowreach]

Where I live you're lucky if you get the weather for hay more than once every ten years! I used to make my own, so knew exactly what was (and wasn't) in it, and how it had been made. Farmers round here are getting better at making horse-suitable haylage, having not really understood that they were different to cows for a long time ...

I did use a bit of black wrap one year when I made more than expected and ran out of green. I think we baled about ten in black, and I used them first. They were perfectly fine.

From what the OP says, it wouldn't have mattered what their haylage was wrapped in, if it was wet and muddy to start off with.

 

[cobgoblin]

I thought it was the haylage that was black, not the wrap.

 

[Rowreach]

I thought it was the haylage that was black, not the wrap.

Correct, read in haste, posted in hastier

 

[rowan666]

Slightly off topic but 2 of my last bales were full of black and mold, I told my supplier and they aren't keen to refund even part of the money (both bales completely unusable and need burning) am I being unreasonable asking for a refund?

 

[Nicnac]

You should definitely push for a refund Rowan. That's appalling and if people don't kick up a stink there's no incentive for proper production.

Personally I don't feed haylage as with only two horses and one being a fatty I can't get through it quick enough.

 

[Velcrobum]

OP do the vendors of said rank haylege also have a XC course on thier land??