Swapping a fatty from hay to haylage

poiuytrewq

poiuytrewq

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I'm a bit stuck!
I like to feed my horses ad-lib hay which I soak well as both have bit of a dust allergy. One however isn't handling soaked hay perfectly either but he's also the size of a small house. He's only just coming back into work so we hope to get back on top of that.
Hard feed wise he has next to nothing. Grazing is rubbish.
I've bought some haylage marketed for laminitis and horses in light work but he's wolfing it down!
I don't know weight wise how much hay he was given but knew myself how much meant a bit left over in the morning!
Can ad lib haylage be given to an over weight horse?! He's currently having a net (double netted) that's a bit heavier than his usual pre- wetted hay (to allow for the extra haylage moisture weight) but not a scrap left come morning.
How do owners of allergic fatties manage this situation? 😀
 
If I gave ad lib haylage to my fatties they'd be the size of houses in no time.

Work out how much he should have for his weight and condition, then feed that amount. If he's finished it by 2am it's no biggie, it's not much longer than he'd go without if you were to get him in from the field, groom and tack up slowly, hack him out for a couple or three hours and then wait for a bit whilst you untack and turn out.
 
I can't feed haylage at all to mine as my tbxcob mare gets laminitis if she us fed haylage even though she is not a fatty. She, like yours has a dust allergy but I have managed to find a hay supply that is really good and practically dust free. It has cost a little more but worth every penny.
 
respectedpony said:
I dont think that you can soak haylage as it starts off the fermentation again.Seek advise about this.
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I soak haylage daily for my fatty and never had a problem even in hot weather. Haylage varies significantly so one rule doesn't fit all. I did seek veterinary advice first of course.
 
Mine get 2% bodyweight of haylage with good quality barley straw in double nets- if they run out of the haylage there is straw to pick at- eg.they get their 'night-time' nets at 7pm, by 11pm there will still be some haylage but by morning the haylage is gone and so too is some straw. During the day I split the ration into 2 so that it lasts longer. If they had access to grass I would reduce the amount of haylage accordingly - ie about 1/3 of the daily ration.
Eg 17hh 650kg horse gets 13 kg haylage per day- 6kg at night, two lots of 3.5 kg during the day- with straw. If horse was on good grazing during the day-net would be approx 4kg haylage at night.
 
Hi, yes you can soak it ok, I used to have to soak for an old pony years ago. I'd forgotten that.
Realistically I'm not sure I can afford haylege long term at the moment as I've bought enough hay for winter already- suppose I could probably sell some?!
If I go with feeding the correct amount for his body weight do I deduct a bit as he's overvweight?
Tbh if he's as lively to ride as he was this morning the weight should drop off! Coblet on a bouncy mission ;)
 
You need to know the calorific value of your hay and haylage. Just swapping from soaked hay to 'laminitic' haylage won't necessarily mean he's getting fewer calories. The sugar content of the haylage is likely lower as the sugars have been fermented to acids but that doesn't mean the calorie content is less. As he's overweight I'd feed him 1.5% bodyweight per day from trickle nets and have clean straw available for nibbling should he run out.
 
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Have you tried using a tricklenet to slow consumption down? I use one for my good doer pony and her haylage lasts much longer in a tricklenet than it did when double netted. Overnight, she usually has some on the floor which she chomps down pretty sharpish, then the rest in her tricklenet which she can pick at throughout the night.
 
You may find he slows down a bit when he gets used to haylege and it's no longer exciting (mine gorges himself on anything new given half the chance and when I had to mix my haylage with equilage a bit due to supply problems he'd sort through it and eat the equilage first). You could also try a haylage from a different supplier to see if it takes him longer to chew. (If you go for a late cut meadow haylage, ideally from somewhere unfertilised so not as lush then you should be ok) Trickle nets are also v good for gooddoers or what I also have done in the past in placed a small haynet of hay containing about half of ration inside a larger one and surrounded it with the other half so he could get at some of it easily and had to work for the other bit.

Unfortunately my horse is no longer allowed haynets as he attacks them so violently that he causes issues with his neck and shoulders so I now have to feed from the floor. Luckily I've found a really stemmy haylage that's safe for him to eat (he's a good doer too) that takes him a bit longer to munch through than other varieties. Lasts him about 12hrs normally
 
My old mare with has never been able to have hay, even soaked it tends to make her cough (she has asthma). She would only have to look at a bale of haylage to get overweight - I swear by oat straw. She loves it and I can happily give her a much as she wants so I don't have to worry about ulcers. She also gets a HiFibre forage block and fast fibre, just for a bit of variety and is out on poor grazing during the day and she's been been quite happy with that diet for a number of years now.
 
A friend who qualified as a vet a few years ago was given half a day on nutrition for all species. I'm afraid I wouldn't bother asking a vet anything about feeding.
 
A greedy fatty will never lose weight eating ad-lib hay! Mine wouldn't stop until every strand was eaten.

For losing weight it is recommended that 1.5% of bodyweight in forage is fed per day and that includes grass. Feed any hay 12 hour soaked and in a small holed haynet.

With regard to those saying vet has only having half a day training - err they are professionals and are obliged to continue their professional development and continue to study throughout their career and just like GP's if they don't know something they will look it up and study it further! In addition they will have studied more than they get taught in a lesson otherwise none of them would ever pass an exam.

They may not be an expert in every field but this is basic nutrition.
 
Just as a thought have you tested for cushings - a ravenous appetite can be a sign! (The pituitary gland tells them they are preparing for Winter - so they pile on the weight, grow long coat, etc). Even if there are no other signs, worthwhile eliminating it.
 
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