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Post by waspblue on Jan 4, 2015 23:54:05 GMT
I'm not able to usually feed haylage as it can often make my horse very 'loose' dropping wise and can also make him a bit fizzy. The hay I am currently using has gone through a bit of a bad patch and he is coughing despite me soaking it to not only remove all the sugars, as he is overweight, but also to keep the dust down. He doesn't generally have respiratory issues and is otherwise well in himself. The haylage available is very nice and clean and almost like hay and I wondered if it would be possible to soak this and if so what the likely effects may be? Please can anyone help? I am getting vet to check him out this week too.
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Post by breeze on Jan 5, 2015 9:03:42 GMT
i have soaked haylage in the past to reduce its nutritional value (i can't use hay as am really allergic to it).
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Post by kilopappa on Jan 14, 2015 15:34:42 GMT
I have a pony that suffers a cough (mild COPD from eating dusty straw bedding years ago) and is a fatty so I always soak her hay. This winter the yard she is on provides haylage but not hay, so I was going to soak her haylage to reduce calories (as I have in the past). I just mentioned this is passing to my vet as I was getting some medication for her, and he told me under no circumstances can you soak haylage......(this came as a shock as I have previously) He told me the fermentation process involved in production can actually make the haylage POISONOUS when soaked. So on this basis I'm sticking to soaked hay !
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Post by waspblue on Jan 15, 2015 0:09:42 GMT
I have a pony that suffers a cough (mild COPD from eating dusty straw bedding years ago) and is a fatty so I always soak her hay. This winter the yard she is on provides haylage but not hay, so I was going to soak her haylage to reduce calories (as I have in the past). I just mentioned this is passing to my vet as I was getting some medication for her, and he told me under no circumstances can you soak haylage......(this came as a shock as I have previously) He told me the fermentation process involved in production can actually make the haylage POISONOUS when soaked. So on this basis I'm sticking to soaked hay ! Thankyou for your input, I had heard something similar many years ago, but was unsure as to what exactly it was. On this basis I too am sticking to hay only and will continue to soak it. I had vet out who said it was due to dust issues and after a short course of Ventipulmin, he is now absolutely fine again, thank goodness.
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Post by welshiegirl on Jan 15, 2015 22:14:05 GMT
Really interesting to read that! Randomly cross my mind the other day, and now I'm glad I know never to do it! x
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Jan 16, 2015 6:37:58 GMT
One thought occurred to me - I wonder how much difference if any the water content of the grass when harvested makes? Old fashioned cow silage is much wetter than the more modern haylage intended for horses.
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Post by welshiegirl on Jan 16, 2015 8:53:49 GMT
As you say, its to do with water content. That depends on how long you leave the grass to turn and generally what wrap you wrap the bales in. Hay will be tedded more and more to dry the grass out, it will usually be baled in a light colour so the grass within doesn't sweat as much. Haylage is wrapped in the same as hay, but can be tedded less. Silage is generally never tedded, or not tedded as much, and is wrapped in black and left wet to sweat, giving it the sweetness and wetness. Clamp silage is mowed straight with a forager, into trailers and tipped, then raked with a buck rake and rolled into air tight clamps to turn. xx
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Jan 16, 2015 10:17:28 GMT
Yes I know all that, I was wondering what difference it makes to it's ability to be safely soaked or not.
Silage has to be wrapped well enough to keep air out as it undergoes anaerobic fermentation, but in my experience hay has never needed wrapping as it should be dried out sufficiently so as not to ferment in storage. The chap who I buy from wraps haylage though, which will spoil if air gets to it.
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