Spoke to soon...

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pottamus

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Well I thought I had sussed things with the boys cough by feeding his hay on the floor, but we have been coughing again in the morning for 2 days now. Could be a rogue bale of hay but need to take measures anyway.
Could anyone advise me on steaming hay...how to do it and how much water I would need for 2/3 pads of hay?
I have no water or elec at my stable so will have to boil a kettle at home and bring it in flask(s)....
Thanks
 
I don't know about steaming hay but if it really means "steam" then you won't keep the water hot enough in flasks. Sorry
 
If it does mean steam then there are two "lazy" options I can think of. Firstly get and old twin tub and make up a rack that fits inside the tub about 6 inches from the bottom, put water in, pile hay on and switch to max, wait for steam to appear out of top - good if you already have a twin tub lying around.,

Second would be to get a wallpaper stripper - Earlex do one cheaply - and a metal dustbin, again make a rack for the hay and also a hole for the wall paper stripper hose at the bottom of the dustbin. Remember that it will get very very hot!
 
To steam hay you need to give the hay a good shake up outside and then put it in a plastic dustbin. Boil the kettle and pour boiling water onto the hay and put the lid on. TBH, if you haven't got water or electric at your yard, your best bet would be to use a high fibre haylage.
 
Would soaking not be easier? Just subm,erge the hay for 20 mins in water and place something heavy on top, you could do this at home and then place the soggy haynet in a binbag and tub in the car. It would be easier to buy a few bales of horsehage or similar though.

EC
 
I've been told that there is no evidence that steaming the hay makes it any better than soaking it.

Shouldn't soak the hay for more than 15 mins but it made a real difference to my boy!
 
My boy had a slight allergy cough. I used to soak his hay in a large container for 10 mins but have found that literally just throwing a couple of buckets of water over it damps it enough to stop the cough and it is a lot easier.
 
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