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Haylage question

jennifer
 

Before I waste more time considering a possibly not suitable option, I want to ask here. :)


We're feeding three mules, one of them IR, and a Mammoth donkey. Until now we have fed free choice hay out of a hay feeder, which contains a round bale of hay (under 10% s/s) covered with the net.


Now we have had problems on and off for years, because it is next to impossible to provide virtually dustfree hay here, due to weather/ humidity conditions. One of our girls now has developed a cough because of that. The IR john mule also is susceptible to that but doesn't cough so far.

I am now considering haylage as an option. We would be able to feed big round bales as we do now out of the hay feeder covered with net. 


Are there any problems considering haylage and IR? Any reason to rule it out?


Thank you!


Jennifer in Germany

Laramie July 2011
lars_a_swe
 

---In EquineCushings@..., <jennifermandy@...> wrote :

> Are there any problems considering haylage and IR? Any reason to rule it out?



Short answer: No, there is no reason to rule it out.


Whether haylage is a problem or not for IR horses or mules depends on the sugar and starch content. The sugar and starch content in haylage can be lower or higher than in hay so you need an analysis to determine whether the haylage you are buying is appropriate to feed your IR mule.


Lars

Sweden, July 2008 
jennifer
 

Thank you, Lars! That was my take on it too. :)

Jennifer in Germany
Laramie July 2011


---In EquineCushings@..., <spottythehorse@...> wrote :





Whether haylage is a problem or not for IR horses or mules depends on the sugar and starch content.
Holli
 

They use a lot of haylage here in The Netherlands and it is something I never had experienced before.  Some of the packages are incredibly sweet smelling while others don't have much of this oder at all.  I have wondered if this sweet smell indicates a high sugar level.  This has kept me away from the haylage because it seems most of them have a sweet smell.

Holli
The Netherlands
jennifer
 

No, no correlation. :) 
Here is an interesting article:
Hay or haylage for horses: a comparison | My Land

I am hoping the better microbiological quality of the haylage also has a good effect on our IR boy. He has also started coughing from the hay, and always had problems with fungal infections, intestinal flora etc.

Jennifer in Germany
Laramie July 2011

---In EquineCushings@..., <hrbacchini@...> wrote :
  Some of the packages are incredibly sweet smelling while others don't have much of this oder at all.  I have wondered if this sweet smell indicates a high sugar level.
lars_a_swe
 

---In EquineCushings@..., <hrbacchini@...> wrote :

> They use a lot of haylage here in The Netherlands and it is something I never had experienced before.  Some of the packages are incredibly sweet smelling . . .

- - - - -
Hi Holly,

Haylage is commonly fed to horses in Sweden too. We are actually feeding haylage to our horses for the first time now. We have small 50 kg bales which are very easy to handle. Our horses love it and the sugar content is reasonably low, 7.8% DM (starch is 0.7% DM). 

I don’t know about the “sweet smell” but generally speaking haylage should be lower in sugar than hay since bacteria in the haylage consume sugar during the fermentation process. However, the way haylage is produced nowadays very little fermentation takes place and consequently very little sugar is consumed. The only way to know the sugar content is to test. Don’t trust producers so called “typical values”. There are no “typical values” in haylage. Horsehage is a common haylage product in Sweden. According to the analysis on the company’s web site the “typical value” for sugar is given as less than 5%.

http://www.horsehageforage.co.uk/WP/?page_id=108

However, when a customer tested Horsehage produced in Sweden the sugar content came out as 17%!!!!

Lars
Sweden, July 2008 
gentpony
 

Hi Lars,

Haylage is not commonly fed to horses here in Canada, but we may need to explore this in the future.

When we perform a hay analysis, we take core samples of several bales (at least 25) for more accurate results.

 

From what I understand about bales of haylage, the plastic bags should not be punctured, since this allows

oxygen to enter, and once opened, bags need to be consumed over a short period.

 

How did you perform the analysis on your haylage? 

Can unwanted weeds be easily identified and removed, as in regular hay, or is this generally a chopped product?

 

Thanks,

Eva

SW Ontario, March 2005
jennifer
 

Not Lars, but you use a probe. Afterwards you seal the hole you created. :) It's the same you would do if small holes/ punctures occur in the course of the year. It's not a problem if you catch them early. 


Jennifer in Germany
Laramie July 2011


---In EquineCushings@..., <gentpony@...> wrote :

Hi Lars,

Haylage is not commonly fed to horses here in Canada, but we may need to explore this in the future.

When we perform a hay analysis, we take core samples of several bales (at least 25) for more accurate results.

 
lars_a_swe
 

---In EquineCushings@..., <gentpony@...> wrote :

> How did you perform the analysis on your haylage? 

Can unwanted weeds be easily identified and removed, as in regular hay, or is this generally a chopped product?

 

- - - - -

Hi Eva,


I took samples from four different bales. 3 small samples from each bale (at the top, in the middle and at the bottom of the bale). I kept the samples in the freezer until I had all twelve samples. Then I mixed the samples well and took out one sample which I sent to Equi-analytical.


I also have an analysis from the grower. She took out samples on the field before baling. She went diagonally over the field and picked up several small samples which she mixed into one sample. However, she only tested for protein and energy.


Crude protein is 10.0% according to her analysis and in the analysis from Equi-analytical it is 10.8%. So I’m quite confident that the sample I took out is reasonably representative.


Some haylage are chopped but the majority in our country is not. Our haylage is not chopped. It’s very dry to be haylage, 76.2% DM, it’s reasonably green and it doesn’t look very different from hay.


This is the first time we are feeding haylage to our horses. The reason for choosing haylage instead of hay this year is that it’s almost impossible to find hay with a sufficient amount of protein. Due to the weather situation last year all hay was cut very late which resulted in an extremely low protein content.


I can only say that we are very happy with this haylage product. The grower is anxious to produce good quality haylage and we will probably be buying haylage from her again.


Lars

Sweden, July 2008
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