which is better hay or haylage?

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PoppyG

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My horse was diagnosed with laminitis on Monday, the vet and farrier think it might be due to trama to her foot. She kicks the door and has had compression/seedy toe in her foot and my farrier cut the last of it out last week, since then she has been slightly lame and at first we just thought she was uncomfortable due to her foot being cut back abit too much. But the vet was out on monday and said she had laminitis. I have owned her for 11 years and she has never had it before. Im confused about what to feed her, she is usually fed haylage (which im now soaking) but im getting conficting advice and don't know whether she would be better on hay or haylage and how long to soak it for? Any help with feeding etc would be much appreciated.
 
It depends on the forage, you need to feed fibre, so hay would often be lower in sugars, but late cut haylage is OK, also depends on the grass species, ryegrass is more sugary, in general.
Soak as much as you can, feeds lots of little nets, a deep bed is essential, and if you can get her out in a grass free pen, that would be ideal.
 
I couldnt be there when the vet came unfortuntely, i know as low as possible sugar and high fibre diet is best, she is getting soak haylage nets split out through the day, but 1 person with a lamanitic says dont feed haylage and another person with a laminitic says dont feed hay, so i thought i would ask. She has thick rubber matting and plenty of bedding.
 
PoppyG said:
My horse was diagnosed with laminitis on Monday, .
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Has he done xray to confirm?????



SNAP!!!!



My mare was diagnosed with laminitis on MOnday :( i have had her 21 years never had it before

she has been on box rest 3 weeks now and 2 bute a day



had special shoe put on her on tuesday continued box rest and deep bed and just fibergy for food and soaked hay for at least 1/2hr so sugars come out, i was told not to give her , her haylage

AND I WILL HAVE TO WATCH IT WHEN GROUND IS ICY / FROSTY

I am keeping her in stable feeding nothing but soak hay 2 sec in morning 1 lunch time 2 sections evening
 
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sorry to hear about your horse :( no she hasnt had any xrays done. She is currently on bute and sedalin 2x a day 4 one week then down to once a day 4 another week. She is turned out 4 a maximum of 1 hour with a grazin muzzle in a small pen, vets advice as she wont stand in without kicking the door wen the others go out, he doesn't want her to damage her foot even more. Im going to put a pad on her door at the weekend to see if it helps.

Thank u for the replies
 
What about a stall guard or chain instead of her door shut? Or as an extreme measure a line of electric fence a foot or so back from the door? Just to stop her damaging herself.
 
What about bars across her stable she wouldnt able to kick it ..

I am amazed he didn't xray you need to find out whether the pedal bone has moved or whether it is def laminitus.

Its like the vet saying Yes it is without proof. How can you treat for a disease when you haven't had it confirmed:confused:


Get a 2nd opinion I would not be happy knowing now what we found. If the pedal bone has moved you need surgery shoes.

We found my mares pedal bone moved so she has special shoes on. sorry about the size



Here is mine with just one bar then two he wouldnt be able to kick we also just put the bottom bars on in the winter even with the doors closed as horses
a) cant kick the door
b) gets them out the habit as hit hurts cannon bone. We have had some all but stop kicking the door.


 
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I am a little confused regarding this too. My mare came dowm with Lami in April, x rays show a small amount of rotation. Vet suggested haylage is more suitable than hay, my farrier says other way round.
 
Hi I have a mare & gelding who suffers from laminitis.

Vet told me not to feed haylage, but to feed soaked hay. Both vet and several feed companies I contacted advised to soak hay for approx 12 hours. So I soak overnight and put a fresh lot on in the morning for the evening.

Feed everything hi-fibre, lo-starch, lo-protein, lo-sugar and she is fine.

Soaked Hay, Bailey's lo-cal or Allen & Page Fast Fibre and Dengie Hi-fi lite.

Feed about 1.5%-2% bodyweight.

I also feed them hay throughout the year even when fresh spring grass around with a good probiotic to keep the stomach settled. I actually give them a scoop of magic which has probiotic and magenesium which is good for lamnitics.

So far haven't had a case for 2 years. I do keep them off the frosty grass.
 
Hi my laminitic pony also made one of his fore feet a lot worse by kicking the door. I made a pen with electric tape outside his stable and kept door open as much as possible and also bought a Quitkick box to stop him kicking when he had to stay in.

It was quite expensive but IMO has been a life saver for him. It sprays water over the door at him when he kicks....he only kicked it a couple of times and it stopped him completely. I know it seems a bit mean but I had exhausted all other options eg. carpet inside door, webbing stall guard etc and none of it worked.

I don't even need to charge the battery now, just seeing it on the door is enough to stop him kicking and has meant his bad foot has been able to recover.
 
Charlir666 said:
I got told to stop feeding hifi as it contains molasses and happy hoof is packed with molasses ern though it's approved by the lami society! I feed hifi molasses free now.
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you can buy hifi light

happy hoof is designed for lami-s

# A unique blend of oat straw, alfalfa, grass, mint, garlic and soya oil with added vitamins and minerals.
# Extends eating time due to its short chopped form
# SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF® can be used as a complete feed or a replacement for compound feed.



I feed Fibergy smells nicer and is good for laminitus


Fibergy is a versatile chaff that can be fed to leisure, competition and racehorses, horses on box rest or convalescing, veterans that are maintaining condition, and laminitics. It can also be fed as a partial or total forage replacer. Fibergy is a complementary feedingstuff for horses and ponies and is comprised of Chopped Cereal Straw, Alfalfa, Cane Molasses, Vegetable Oil (6%) and Mint (2%).

* With added oil
* With added mint
* Can be fed as a chaff or hay replacer
* Suitable for horses and ponies at risk from laminitis

Analytical Constituents:

* Est. Digestible Energy 9.5 MJ/Kg
* Crude Protein 8.0%
* Crude Oils and Fats 7.5%
* Crude Fibre 35.0%
* Crude Ash 5.0%
* Sodium 0.1%
* Lysine 2.5 g/kg

Must admit I think 12 hrs soaking is too long the water starts to smell bad.

My vet told me 1/2 hr is enough for the sugars to come out . So thats what I have done for 4 days now and her pulse in the hoof has almost gone since I took her off the haylage and put her on soaked hay
 
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I have also found a farrier who was recommended by my vet. I only found out afterward that he has been 5 Time World Champion and to shoe my horse now she has laminitis . And after many problems with farriers he has agree to take us on waaaaa:D
 
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