Soaking hay

[teasle]

For the past umteen years I have soaked hay. With my last horsde I had to as he had a dust alllergy and with my new young horse I carried on soaking hay in the winter to preserve his respiratory health. But doing it is a real pain, the water has to be carried by bucket to my soaking bin and there is a lot of waste water once the hay has been soaked. Disposing of it is hard work especially when the weather freezes and I have to be so careful where the water goes or we will all be sliding about on ice. How many of you soak hay for a horse that does not have a dust allergy. I must admit that most people on my yard do.

 

[eatonbraynat]

I do all the time i think tyour are much better of to prevent a prob rather than try and deal with it after. I put mine into soak in the am and empty out pm, firstly to get rid of dust and secondly to get rid of some of the sugars as i have a cob and am very paranoid about excess weight!! So IMO keep soaking it no matter how awkward!!

 

[HollyB66]

I soak hay because she is 18 and I don't want to risk dust/spores affecting her respiratory system. Luckily it's not too much of a faff for us as the hose pipe is close to the soaking bucket and we can tip it directly out from there.

 

[eggs]

I would think about steaming the hay if I were you. Put the haynet in a dustbin, pour over a kettle of boiling water, put lid on, leave for 20 minutes. Alternatively you could feed haylage.

 

[ruscara]

Could you steam it instead?
I put my full haynet into a large bin and pour a kettle full of boiling water over it and cover it to prevent the steam escaping. I take it out once it's cooled, and it smells gorgeous and isn't dusty any more. My horse loves it, and there's no water to dispose of or carry about.

 

[teasle]

I have read that the only sure way to make the hay safe is to totally immerse it in water. How can just a kettle of water be as effective ? Am puzzled.

 

[eggs]

I have read that the only sure way to make the hay safe is to totally immerse it in water. How can just a kettle of water be as effective ? Am puzzled.

It is a kettle of BOILING water that is poured over which will then steam the hay.

 

[tallyho!]

Removing dust spores only requires a wash with the hose/bucket surely?

I'm pretty much anti-soaking. I think it leaches everything BUT the fibre leaving cardboard essentially.

Steaming is the way to go I think for COPD sufferers. Not only does it kill harmful fungi for these stricken souls but keeps essential nutrients.

A study has been done about it, try googling the subject... interesting read!

 

[polopony]

I always soak my hay nets, as we have a 32yo mare and a tb who is susceptible to just about any illness :L But I just put a bucket of water on each hay net, which works fine .. its better to be safe than sorry xx

 

[NOISYGIRL]

I soak my hay because my horse has COPD and has had lami a few years back he is 31

I use a water but I got from local diy, its really wide not like the narrow ones, with a tap at the bottom. I only steam as a last resort like in winter and there's no water, I don't think its as effective, and for the reasons I soak hay, I WANT the nutrients out.

To get rid of spores you need to soak for at least 20 mins totally imersed and should be done fresh, don't do it in the morning for the evening cos then it starts to dry out and the spores return

Personally, I think you no matter how good quality hay you have there will ALWAYS be dust, to prevent future problems I'd always soak

 

[Ludi-doodi]

I recently started steaming my 17 year old's hay -he's been diagnosed with a respiratory problem which has so far been treated with steriods. The vet didn't tell me to steam but reading what people do here struck me as a good idea. HOwever, I don't believe a kettle full of boiling water will be enough to remove the spores because as soon as the kettle is taken away from the heat the water cannot remain at boiling point and further one kettle just doesn't seem enough.

I have built my own steamer using a large rigid plastic water butt - large enough to take a big night net - drilled a hole in the bottom and taking my mother-in-law's unused wallpaper steamer put the hose into the hole in the bottom of the water butt. Half a breeze block brick inthe bottom to make sure the haynet sits off the bottom of the butt and the steam can circulate, and hey presto one steamer for the grand total of £7!! (thanks to MIL for the steamer and I had the water but anyway) - the cost was for an adaptor and a timer. This way the steam heat remains constantly hot and unlike soaking the waste water/mess is tiny - I empty the water out of the waterbut about every 7-10 days and it can't be more than about 200ml! Having it on a timer also means that when I get to the yard in the morning the steamed hay is ready to eat and neither Ludo nor I have to wait for it! It's timed to go on in the afternoon for his net when he comes in from the field and another for his night net. I've been using it for about 3 weeks now and its been brilliant and Ludo loves his hot steamy hay! I steam breakfast/lunch nets for about 45 mins and the night net for about an hour, purely because the steamer takes about 15-20 mins to get up to temperature but with the timer, it's all taken care of.

Sorry that went on a bit, hope it helps!

 

[treacle_beastie]

I just chuck my water from the night before water bucket over the haynet which is tied up on a fence above a grassy bit then muck out. after mucking out I spin round with my haynet and centrifuge the water out and hang up - I look silly but it works well and quickly! I dont soak mine to get the nutrients out though - this method would not be suitable! I would steam if I had a spare bin.

 

[cumbriamax]

prevention is better than cure! I soak my hay and yeah its a pain I carry water accross road to yard and soak it, getting rid of it is problem tho! I have a hay steamer which is quite good but i have 7 horses so can't get enough in steamer. in deepest, coldest winter I feed the ones that can be fed haylage so I dnt have freezing water hay and hands lol.

 

[Lotty]

I did some research on hay soaking not so long ago. I read that steaming was great for COPD sufferers and keeping the nutrients in. If you need to soak hay to get rid of the sugars then it needs to be soaked for as long as possible.

I have a laminitic and she has to have cardboard hay I have just bought a Y connector and attached a bit of hose to it so it reaches my buckets, hoping now there will be no water leakage in the winter.

 

[LucyPriory]

I have to soak hay to reduce the sugar content to no more than 8%. Difficult when it starts off at nearer 30%.

It is important to use a lot of water, to change it every time and to thoroughly wash off the hay with more clean water before you drain/feed it.

This process has literally saved my horse's life because she has two (that I know of) sugar/starch related challenges.

But I think the challenge for many is what to do with the water when its been used. I am lucky - I soak my hay right next to an enormous drain. The problem is the water supply freezing overnight. For this we do two things. Store water and keep a full kettle handy - to boil in the morning to use to defreeze taps and pipes. Not so easy if there is no electric where you keep your horses though ........

 

[cumbriamax]

I spin round with my haynet and centrifuge the water out and hang up - I look silly but it works well and quickly!

i do same thing, am bit arms ache after doing seven haynets! just to get dust out not nutrients or sugars!

 

[Coffee_Bean]

We have to soak at work, some horses in the block do have problems, so they all soaked. I hate doing it though, makes my fingers freeze in winter, and the water smells absoloutely foul.

 

[NOISYGIRL]

If I know its going to be cold, I fill the butt the night before for the next day

 

[NOISYGIRL]

We have to soak at work, some horses in the block do have problems, so they all soaked. I hate doing it though, makes my fingers freeze in winter, and the water smells absoloutely foul.

Sealskinz waterproof gloves with the pimple palms are great for this

 

[Rose Folly]

Hay-soaking was why I've put my RAO/COPD mare onto haylage. Because our hores are fed communally I was soaking endless haynets every day, and it was doubly annoying as we feed off the ground so I was then having to empty the dar things out again anyway - and the horses tended to waste more.

Like Treacle_Beastie I felt really stupid in my method of soaking. The local stream runs through our field and about 10 yards from the stable yard, so for 2 winters I could be seen down in the brook dunking the haynets (and losing them downstream when the brook was in spate). Haylage has answered all my problems, and because it's not 'rich' haylage has not led to any weight gain.

Having read these answers with great interest, I think I would go down the wallpaper steamer route if I HAD to soak hay again. A really clever idea.

 

[tallyho!]

Ooh what great ideas!!!

Just had a thought, if COPD or laminitis tendencies, why not use good haylage? It has MUCH less sugar, more water and less starch and no dust. A bit expensive though I'll give you that.

I had haylage and hay tested for £25 a few years ago by Dodson & Horrell. The results blew all my expectations out of the water.