Please explain haylage ammounts??

charliesarmy

charliesarmy

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Right people say feed less haylage as its more nutricious than hay?? but is this based on ammount or weight?? Because if its on weight surely you would feed less as its wetter and therefore heavier?? My mare has a bale (small) of hay a night..guesstimating 20Kg so do I give her 20kg of haylage or still give 2 nets rammed??
 
Well I feed haylage ad-lib same as I used to hay. If your mare is in the stable surely she will only eat what she wants. In the morning I pick up whats left put it back in the net and leave him with that. Then I go back out about 9ish and top up water and haylage for the night. I suppose if your on a livery yard it's a bit trial and error but I would give the same as you did hay until you get used to it and see what she leaves. Why have you changed from hay?
 
TBH Flowerlady its really a hypothetical question!! as I am currently swopping my lot from Hay to haylage as my mare has developed a cough from hay...so this week I am mixing hay with haylage...BUT wheras nomally I always have a little hay left over since mixing I have none left in the morning!! so got me thinking wether its ammount or weight!! prob doesnt make sense but just one of my inane thoughts when doing nets
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ETA my mare would probably eat me if I laid down since having foalie she has a insatiable appetite....which I thought I'd got on top of but alas nooo!!
 
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I thought you had to feed more haylage as its water content is higher.

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Mmmmn my ???? as you would think more as its heavier due to water...but peeps say less as more nutrients present....my ponderings exactly!!
 
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I thought you had to feed more haylage as its water content is higher.

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Well I used to stuff two large hay nets for my lad, then changed to haylage and he probably has about one and a half large haylage nets and there is always some left but I worry if he has none
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I think with my mare the haylage has the *wow* factor..it is bloody good stuff so will probably have to mix for quite a while
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What sort are you using?
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Its big bale off a local manufacturer but he knows his stuff..has been making it for over 20 years and is the scorn of all local farmers
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well big girl certainly appreciates it..
 
I think the horses like the taste of haylage more and will eat it out of preference to hay. One horse I looked after had a haybar with haylage and a haynet overnight. She most definately ate the haybar first and if you put the haynet in first she was not impressed and waited for the haylage. The general vibe was she'd eat the haylage regardless but the hay only as she needed it.

That doesn't really help with amounts but I would also say that my share mare is wintering out in a field with 4 other hardy types and they are eating about a bale (large round bales) a week. Fed manually twice a day - not ad lib. But all looking in tip top condition and none of them getting any extra...
 
It's a common 'myth' that you should feed less haylage. Actually because the dry matter in haylage is lower than in hay, i.e. it has a higher water content, you should feed up to 1.5 times more haylage than hay to ensure that your horse receives enough fibre. So, for example, a typical 500 kg horse should receive 7kg forage (better ad lib) a day so 7 x 1.5 kg = 10.5 kg haylage per day.
 
I dont know about feeding more haylage than hay, but I was always taught that you should feed the same amount of haylage as you would feed hay as the amount of fibre going through the gut should remain the same.
Yes, it does have more nutrients than hay, as it is baled almost immediately its cut.
 
We used to feed ad lib, and then decided to weigh it and realised our horses were getting 10kilo's twice a day in the winter - far too much. Since then we have always weighed it, and they still look absolutely fine and maintain good condition, but thank goodness far fewer poo's.
Ours are all big horses, and depending on which ones the weight varies between 5 and 7kg per feed, fed in small nets to make it last and keep them busy, as yes, they do think it's the human equivalent of chocolate!!
 
I downloaded this chart hope it helps...... (it is a rough guide)

Body Weight Hay (KG) Haylege (KG)
400 6 12
450 6.75 13.50
500 7.50 15.00
550 8.25 16.50
600 9.00 18.00

etc
 
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