Soaked hay

[Baytor Sampson]

I would like to start soaking my horses hay, purely to get rid of the dust content.

If I soak the hay in the morning in a hay net, is it ok then for my horse to eat this soaked hay over night in his stable.

Is there a time limit to how long hay can be soak to been fed to the horse.

The reason I ask is that I look after my friends horse in the morning and she will look after my horse in the morning so do not want to bother her with soaking hay.

 

[Kylara]

If it's just to get rid of dust then rinsed is better than soaked as it doesn't leach the nutrients out. You shouldn't really soak hay for too long as it can start to ferment. One of mine gets rinsed hay to get rid of dust and it takes about 5 minutes but his is tubbed and not in a net. Much quicker with a net - big bucket, stick net in, turn tap on over the hay, tub is full of water, ensure net covered and then wiggle it about and lift out to drain out excess water, feed to horse.

 

[PorkChop]

You won't have to soak it for too long if it is just to remove the dust.

Depends on your set up but your net would be best put into a barrel of water with something heavy on top, then lift out the net and rinse with clean water.

It is alright to soak in the morning and feed in the evening, however if the net has been left to dry throughout the day then you might not get the full benefit of freshly soaked hay, if that makes sense.

 

[Micky]

Pull hay apart before netting it and spray it with water for dust removal..unless you want to soak of course! Soaking hay in winter/colder temperatures, you can soak in morning,and pull out rinse and drain about 3/4 pm ready for night feed in stable...in warmer temps, you don't have to soak for as long..saying that, I've been soaking hay for 4/5 years now, I've never managed to ferment a hay net yet..that comes from leaving it to drain and then not using it within 8 hours...it will go off ! Good luck

 

[Baytor Sampson]

Thanks for your replies