Soaking Hay to take calories / goodness out for fatties and lami ???

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treacle86

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what is the difference between Soaking hay on purpose to take calories etc out , and when you feed hay by the bale in the field in a feeder and it gets soaked continually for hours or like just now, days while its monsoon conditions ?????

Does the weather take the goodness out too ???

just wondering , maybe stupid question , but was pondering this as I have a friend who soaks her hay for her cob who is a very good doer and just isnt shedding any weight .

Yet my TBs obviously need the goodness in their hay , so ?????

any ideas people . thanks xxxx
 
Soaking does nothing to hay except make it wet. Laminitics and 'fatties' should recieve as much hay as any other, it's their hard feed and grass you should restrict.
 
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Soaking does nothing to hay except make it wet. Laminitics and 'fatties' should recieve as much hay as any other, it's their hard feed and grass you should restrict.

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Soaking does take calories from hay making it better for laminitics. But yes, hard feed and grazing should also be restricted and managed well.
 
I asked my vet about this recently as I have an oldie with Cushings. She told me that recent research has shown it makes little difference to the calorific content of hay whether it is soaked or not. If you are trying to feed less calories, then your hay should be tested for its nutritional value. In my case, this just isn't possible as I get my hay from several different suppliers. But late cut hay contains far less nutritional value than early cut hay.
 
Well to a laminitic 9% could be a life saver.

I soak hay for my laminitic and it has been a life saver. He was previously on box rest with his previous owner but with unsoked hay and kept getting laminitis and wouldn't shift the weight. I took him on, fed him almost ad lib soaked hay and his weight fell off and he hasn't had lami since.
I am currently feeding him soaked new hay from this years cut and he isn't gaining any weight at all. So I'd say it does make a difference.
OP, hay just getting wet in the field is not being soaked through, it's just wet. There is a huge difference.
 
The advice from the Laminitis Clinic is to soak your hay for a minimum of 30 mins and a maimum of 1 hour. This removes dust, mould and as much of the sugars as is going to go anywhere. They have found longer then this makes the hay soggy and slimy and less palatable to the horses.
 
Agree with slinkyunicorn my vet told me the same thing
My horse is chubby and has COPD so I soak it for about 40 mins. Also for those who soak it for hours on end the water that you throw away is toxic and rancid and really bad for the environment now I'm no bunny hugger, but if it makes no difference for calorie content and is bad for environment there no point soaking it for more than 1 hour
 
That is interesting as I thought 24 hours was the time you needed to soak but if 1 hour of soaking will do it that is much easier!

[ QUOTE ]
The advice from the Laminitis Clinic is to soak your hay for a minimum of 30 mins and a maimum of 1 hour. This removes dust, mould and as much of the sugars as is going to go anywhere. They have found longer then this makes the hay soggy and slimy and less palatable to the horses.

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Thanks guys , I was just pondering this recently as a friend was adamant that my wet, rained on hay would be empty of ALL goodness and calories etc .

So I think I am right , : )
although I am not an expert authority on soaking hay I know that most people reccomend soaking it for an hour or a few hours for some people , and i imagined that since my bale is not in constant water or submerged as some of you say , then it is very different to soaked hay as it is effectively stewing in the same water , for the entire period .

There are lots of different views on soaking hay and the nutritional value and especially for laminitics it can be very important .

Thanks everyone !!
xxxx
 
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