Soaking hay, does it really make a difference?

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NicoleS_007

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As title really :) Does soaking hay really make much of a difference? I have a good doer and atm she is on restricted haylage. The quality is very inconsistent, either very very good or very very bad (there is no in between). Yard supplies the haylage (they make it) but all there horses are turned out 24/7 so therefore there's a large bale of haylage to be used up by one horse (mine!!). There is no way it will be used before going moldy :eek: ... Anyway as I said atm she's on restricted haylage, one bucket for breakfast then shes turned out at lunch, comes back in about 6ish (so about 5ish hours in field) and has a haynet for tea. I would much prefer her to have ad-lib but being a good doer I'm not sure it is possible!! So if I was to soak hay for say 12+ hours would it make a big enough difference so I could feed ad-lib?
 
Yes it does. Although I don't have any that need weight watching, a friend has two hefty cobs. She soaks hay for half an hour then rinses. Vet has told her to never feed haylage and also, interestingly, that soaking hay for hours is unnecessary. 30 to 60 mins is enough.
As I say, the type of horses I keep do not present me with this problem, but I found my friends advice from her vet re: soaking times contrary to what fattie owners usually do.
 
I agree. It was always something we did at the yard, stick hay in a tough and leave it there all day to be used at night. But hay should only be soaked for about 1 hour.
I know you say your horse is a good doer, therefore not needing as much hay, but why are you worried about restricting her hay in take? Are you worried that she becomes bored as she's not eating? You could use 2 haylage nets, one inside the other, meaning it'll take her longer to eat the hay or what about those hay bags, with a small square of netting so the horse can only access the hay from one part of the bag?
 
This may be totally off the wall - and possibly very old fashioned. But I remember being told as a child never to soak haylage. Soak hay - but not haylage. The reason I recall being given that there is sometimes botulism bacteria in haylage and if you soak they can multiply to the extent that it becomes poisonous. I tried googling this but could only find reference to botulism bacteria in mouldy haylage.

Now this was over 40 years ago. It might have related to soaking for a day or more - we used to do that back then and now we know an hour or so if probably fine. It might have related to difficulties telling the difference between silage and haylage. It might just have been the price difference between hay and haylage. I honestly can't remember. (Although I do seem to recall the same woman told me that if I swallowed gum it would tie itself in knots in my stomach....)

But just in case there is something in this I thought I'd let you know. If you do soak your haylage I would suggest keeping the soak time short and giving it a jolly good sniff before you feed. If it smells rancid at all it might be better to err on the side of caution.

Could you get hold of some reasonable qualify oat straw? You can mix that half and half with haylage to increase the feed time without increasing calories.
 
I think it does, but not as big a difference as everyone thought. - or maybe still thinks. And there's a point between it beginning to 'rot' in the soaking water, and still being safely edible, more so in hot weather. The pour-off water is extremely toxic as a water-course pollutant also.
 
As far as I understand as long as there is more water than hay yes it does make a difference. But the hay should also be rinsed as much of the sugary water is still coating the hay. I've been told 8-12hours will reduce sugar content by 20% but that further soaking can actually be detrimental. Don't forget protein concent will also reduce as will vits and minerals as they leach out.
 
I also believed it dangerous to soak haylage, but can't remember the facts. Because I have this vague memory of being told never to do it, I wouldn't do it, just in case.
 
I can't see where anyone has suggested soaking haylage? The op is currently feeding haylage but has asked about soaking hay..........
 
Oh god, well mine has a nasty cough if his hay isn't soaked.

I soak his hay over night and don't take it out til late afternoon the next day so probably gets soaked in total for about 19 hours :confused:

When my old horse put on tonnes of weight though the vet told me that his hay MUST be soaked for at least 12 hours or there's no point in soaking it at all in terms of waistline as all the sugar etc will still be there?

Agree- not sure why people have gotten onto the subject of soaking haylage, OP has stated she feeds haylage now unsoaked and is considering switching to soaked hay.
 
I think its because most people feed soaked hay to fatties during warmer months of year and this encourages faster fermentation of the hay as the high sugar content effectively starts to pickle the hay if left for long in warm water. Also any bacteria end up multiplying as the warm water provides favourable conditions.
 
Lippyx - Tried double netting but when there's no food left she sometimes eats her haynets :( I think were on haynet number 4 this year lol ... Reason behind wanting to feed ad-lib is shes the only one stabled and when she gets bored she box walks. I experimented a while back with giving her ad-lib haylage which resulted in no box walking.

I'm feeding dry haylage atm not soaked :p I was under the impression that you soak hay for about 30mins to make it less dusty and soak for 12-ish hours to reduce sugar etc?
 
Can you get hold of some good quality oat straw and offer that either mixed with the hay or haylage? works a treat with my natives - they can have a nice net that keeps them occupied while being low in calories.
 
Why not try a trickle net? Don't listen to anyone who poopoos them because of the thirty quid price! It has been invaluable for my fatty mare. Firstly she was wrecking a net every two months or so and they were ten quid each, secondly she would eat three wedges out of a normal hay net within an hour and a half.

Now she has three slices in a trickle and it lasts about four hours, it is hard for her to get out so she will give up for ten minutes at a time and then go back to it and try again. I have used the tricks et everyday for about three months now no sign of wear and certainly no holes or rips. I can see this net lasting a good few years so I will have saved money over and over. Great for slowing them down and very, very heavy duty!
 
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