Soaking hay v steaming for older pony

[Orchardbeck]

Can anyone give me some advice? I have a 25 yo pony who has diastema and is either being ultra picky with her hay or is struggling to eat it. She is treated by a dental technician and has had the gap widened to stop food getting stuck. We've been offering ad lib meadow hay in a hay bar but find it on the floor most of the time, sifted carefully through. She does dunk it in her automatic drinker too.

I have been giving her decent helpings of HiFi molasses free chaff which she troughs down, but she's starting to lose a bit of condition. Her droppings seem ok, no long bits or anything, and she manages fine on fresh grass.

Do you think it's the hay itself she is objecting to (we have two different batches from two different pastures), or would she benefit from having it soaked/steamed?

I am trying to work out how to fit soaking in to my regime (I have two young children and although pony is kept at home I have to dash out to do stable jobs during nap times etc!).

Years ago I used to soak a net for 20 mins at each mealtime and hang it up ready for the next mealtime, but that was either reduce dust or to leach the sugars for laminitics, and they had kind of dried by the time they were needed which I guess defeats the object in this case. Any tips or ideas?

 

[Shay]

Soaking hay in this weather is a pain in the .... and the nets can freeze which I would have thought would make it harder not easier to eat. I have no personal experience of steamed hay - although I would love to have a steamer! - but I understand it can soften the texture. Hopefully someone else can help on that. From feeding our very elderly Sec A we did soak hay - but as much to reduce sugars as he was cushingoid.

Might a hay replacer help more? We used A&P fast fibre for a pony with dental problems unable to manage long stalk hay. Or what about chopping up a bit into chaff like lengths with a pair of scissors? If she eats that then it is the length or texture she can't cope with. If she doesn't it's the batch. Not a long term solution obviously - but it would at least show you if it is the batch or the texture.

 

[dollyanna]

Steaming has the advantage of making it smell much more appetising I think, so might help encourage eating as well as softening. My old girl used to dunk all her hay - she wouldn't eat it soaked, but she always had a huge bucket of water and would take each mouthful to it before eating. If you have automatic waterers then it might be worth giving her a big bucket to self-dunk if that's what she likes to do?

 

[Orchardbeck]

Shay - I might have a go at chopping it up and see if that helps - I don't relish the thought of heaving wet nets out of a bucket this time of year and as you say they probably would freeze anyway! Dollyanna - I should have thought of that - perhaps she would soak her own hay to order then I wonder! Will give the extra bucket a go in the first instance. Am thinking of having a go at making a DIY hay steamer, just need to buy a wallpaper steamer... Thanks for the ideas guys.