Please tell me all about haylage!

[Princess P]

Hi There

I am just about to change my 7/8 TB onto haylage. He has been very fussy with hay all winter, I have tried about 6 different suppliers and different fields / first cut / second cut etc but he is just not really interested in hay. He will eat a small amount of rye / timothy mix hay but won't entertain the thought of meadow hay.

He is losing weight and enough is enough so I want to try haylage. His old owner fed it to him and he likes it, but I have never used it before so I know nothing!

So... what should I look for?
How should it look / smell, and what kind of things should I ask the farmer / look for in the nutritional analysis?
I'm after small bales as will just have one horse on it.

And.... Baileys said he ought to have about 9kg of hay in the stable at night, so would I feed more than 9kg of haylage to get the fibre but maybe reduce his hard feed as he will get more energy and nutrients from forage?


Just to add, horse is 5 years old in light work (up to 1 hr per day baby schooling / lessons) and he had his teeth done in January, the dentist said at the time there were no sharp bits that would discourage him from eating, and he has lost most of his caps now.

Birthday cup cakes for anyone that can help!

 

[meesha]

I feed ad lib haylage to my 2 - if you are going for small bales - either get the mass produced ones from feed merchant so you dont have to worry or if buying locally you need to check that they smell "nice" you dont want a vinegar smell or any signs of black mould of any type and never buy if the wrapping is damaged - you will also need to use it within a fairly short time period - my big bales last 10 days once opened but they are very dry and I have had small bale haylage this time of year which went feisty fairly quickly after opening.

I would definately mix haylage 50/50 with existing hay for a few days to introduce gradually. If your chap is under weight and still loosing then I wouldnt be worrying about weight you are giving but would feed ad lib alongside maybe a balancer (for vits/mins) - if you are feeding alot of hard feed gradually cut it back if need be.

Have fun, you will now join the rest of us who constantly smell of haylage ... not a good smell on your coat after a few days !!

....can I have my cupcake now please as my cup of tea is still warm to go with it ... ta !

 

[Princess P]

Thanks Meesha... I'm going to meet a recommended farmer tomorrow, I'm hoping he can open some for me to smell etc, and I will try and get drier stuff.

Would you like vanilla cupcakes or lemon with a blob of lemon curd in the top?

 

[meesha]

oooh vanilla !! will go and put kettle on for a fresh cuppa to go with it !! yum

ps. if he wont open one - buy one from him and try it first !!

pps I really must learn how to bake !!

 

[Princess P]

Me too, I didn't bake these - got someone else to make them! ;-)

 

[coffeeandabagel]

Have fun, you will now join the rest of us who constantly smell of haylage ... not a good smell on your coat after a few days !!

!

I left my smart coat in the 4x 4 with 2 nets of haylage in the boot overnight - then wore it to the estate agents the next day - I wondered why he ushered me out quite quickly until I got a whiff!

 

[creamcake]

Haylage is great for horses that find hay too much or that need some extra condition. Little TB in particular often struggle with too much dry bulk.
My main advise would be; only use haylage that has been produced for horses, big bale farm haylage can be inconsistent and contain grasses etc that you dont want. It can also go off very quickly in summer. Bad or mouldy haylage can be disastrous for horses. www.easypackhaylage.com these guys produce really nice consistent haylage and they have different varieties, so if your horse is dropping off you can use meadow or rye, if he is doing well then you can always move on to the timothy. Fibre is so important for horses, if you can find a product that encourages your horse to eat more high quality fibre I guarantee you will see the benefits in his condition, as well as his physical and mental health.