problems with haylage

[madhector]

changed my guys over to haylage from hay as my Tb kept coughing however much i soaked it steamed it etc... did it really gradually was ultra careful, and now him and my WB both have dirroeha(no idea how you spell that!) and it doesnt seem to be improving! although his cough is gone

they have both been fed haylege before and were fine, any sugestions?

 

[TGM]

What sort of haylage are you feeding - Horsehage, small bale, big bale? Is it a very wet haylage? I've fed haylage for years with no diarrhoea problems, but it has always been quite dry haylage - I wonder if it is the ones with a higher water content that cause horses to become 'loose'?

 

[madhector]

is big bale, quite dry, they have been having it about a week now, so maybe will start to settle soon i hope

 

[vicm2509]

Have you tried upping the fibre in their normal feed? I believe haylage has less fibre than hay so upping their fibre may help them to digest it more easily, maybe some alfa or fibrebeet? As there is more nutrients in haylage it maybe that a lot of it is going staight through the horses, adding more fibre will slow down the rate it passes through the system

I also agree that wetter haylage does seem to have more of a laxative effect, for what reasons im not sure.

Last year I had to put Baron on haylage for a week or so as the hay ran out and he was not tollerating it at all. This year however I put him on it 2 weeks ago and his poo is no different to when he was on hay.

 

[madhector]

will try that they both have hi fi anyway so will add a bit more to their feeds and see, thanks