testing hay for sugar content - anyone know?

0ldmare

0ldmare

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I've got a laminitic horse and am now worried that the beautiful June cut hay I bought before all this happened might be too high in sugar. At the moment I'm feeding last years August cut hay which I'm reaonably confident doesn't have much feed value, but I'm running out and would like to test the new hay to see if I've got a problem looming. Anyone know where you can get it tested and how much it might cost? Thanks :)
 
There are numerous labs throughout the UK who will test it for you, try info@afbini.co.uk.

We also have a horse prone to laminitis through insulin resistance. We do not test our hay/ hayage as we buy from different sources and hay values may be different from field to field. It is for us to costly to test every batch therefore we soak all our hay and haylage for at least an hour before feeding. I hour soaking in cold water removes 60% of soluble sugars from the hay/ haylage which brings it down to a manageable level.
 
Oh great thanks. I will call D&H tomorrow, I buy their food so that's good

Trouble is horse thinks soaked hay is the work of satan so am hoping to be able to feed it dry if I can!
 
Mine wouldn't eat soaked hay at first, but I persevered and she tucks straight in now! I think it is a bit of a shock to them when you cut out all the tasty sugar, same as it is for us when we are used to it, but once you've had sugar free tea or coffee for a while it tastes awful with it!

I honestly wouldn't feed unsoaked hay, especially when still in the throes of laminitis, it can still vary from bale to bale and a sensitive horse can be tipped over the edge so easily.

The Timothy Horsehage is supposed to be safe to feed and very palatable and I know some laminitic owners feed it successfully, but it would need to be introduced gradually. The downside is that it is expensive too.
 
AndySpooner said:
I take it this horse is the sme that recently had the laminitus attack and was really ill?
Click to expand...

Hi, yes, the very one. I am feeding the old hay soaked but she's not eating enough of it and is losing weight. I've tried soaking the new hay and she hates that too. I thought I would get the new hay tested just in case its suitable for her un-soaked.

I will get horsehage if I have to, but just hoping I might be able to feed what I've already purchased at ludicrously high cost (fat hope I know!)
 
NB She is *slightly* better than she was. Still a very long way to go, she can only shuffle, but its better than not being able to move at all!
 
Bless her, well a shuffle is an improvement and hopefully she'll continue to improve. I hope you manage to get her eating happily (the pergolide is probably partly responsible too, so I wouldn't be surprised if her appetite improves after a week or two)

Hang on in there, and hopefully things will look a lot better soon.
 
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