# Rules of feeding Haylage



## CPW (23 December 2008)

I have always fed soaked hay to my horse but due to lack of access to good quality hay I am thinking of introducing him to haylage.  Can anyone tell me a bit more about it in terms of best make to buy, what quantity to feed in and do's and don'ts?  Also my horse has had laminitis for the first time this year, would it still be ok for him to have it?  
All info welcome, thanks very much!


----------



## Flicker (23 December 2008)

Hi, my horse has had a couple of bouts of stress lami in the past and I feed hayledge, as did his previous owner and it seems to be fine.
As with any new feed, introduce it gradually, mixing in with hay.  I personally prefer it a bit 'drier' as you sometimes get bales that are really wet and sticky.
Under no circumstances should you ever feed mouldy hayledge - it will make your horse sick as a pig!
Weights etc, I'm afraid I'm useless - I just copied what his previous owner did.  I mix half hayledge half hay for my lad, who is stabled 24/7 and worked every day.
The other nice thing to feed is the horse hage in the bag but that's expensive.


----------



## scotsmare (23 December 2008)

I think you'd need to be careful if he's had laminitis - haylage is generally richer than hay and the intake of haylage compared to hay is higher.


----------



## BigRed (23 December 2008)

There are different type of hay - ie meadow hay and seed hay.  Haylage is the same in that respect.  What type of grass it is made from will depend on what feed value it has.  A lot of of haylage is made by farmers these days, and the quality varies tremedously, unless you buy small bales that are branded like Marksway Horshage.  

The Horsehage people make a product that they say can be fed to laminitic horses, but be careful because not all haylage is suitable. 

Look at the Horshage website it will give you a lot of information about haylage in general, like how much to feed.

and no, I am nothing to do with them, but there is a lot of nonsense talked about haylage.


----------



## MistletoeMegan (23 December 2008)

If you buy the right type of haylage, it may actually be better for a laminitic horse than hay. Haylage has become known as a rich, sugary forage but this is generally not the case; the reason horses seem to do better on it is often not because of an increase in protein or sugars, but because haylage has a higher level of vitamins and minerals than hay.

For a laminitic horse, a high-fibre haylage such as HorseHage HighFibre (the main haylage brand, they do various types and this one is known as 'the blue one'!) or EH Haylage HighFibre would be the best choice.

When you start feeding it, keep a bit of your current hay and mix the two for a few days


----------



## Bay_Beasty (23 December 2008)

Do you have the latest issue of HORSE mag with a lady riding a lovely Bay on the front wearing a nice red Gilet??? big article in there about it. and covers wieghts etc. Main thing to realise is Haylage has got more water in it than hay so you shouldnt feed less than hay even though is got higher protein in it as a lot of the weight is just water. if you get my drift. Well that was what I got from the article any way!!!! I maybe wrong!!!!

I thought the Purple Horsehage was the lammy one but I only ever feed hay as I don't own enough horses to make haylage viable and the hay in my area is good.


----------



## MistletoeMegan (23 December 2008)

[ QUOTE ]
I thought the Purple Horsehage was the lammy one but I only ever feed hay as I don't own enough horses to make haylage viable and the hay in my area is good. 

[/ QUOTE ]

Both are suitable; the blue one has a slightly lower energy and protein levels, but sugar and starch wise they are both lower than hay, so either option is a good choice


----------



## Bay_Beasty (23 December 2008)

oo thanks! I love it when I get to learn new stuff!!! and always good to know of my i ever get a lammy horse!!!


----------



## kellyeaton (23 December 2008)

if you by hayledge from the farmer i would say no to buying because of his lammi it will be to rich for him. but you can by lammi haylede from marksway there are two kinds that are safe for lammi prone ponys but it is quite exspensive!


----------



## hellybelly6 (23 December 2008)

Marksway horsage does a good range of haylage including ones suitable for laminitics.

Your pony should have 2% of his body weight of feed per day 80% or more of it should be forage (fibre based)

My horse has Fast fibre, mollichaf and high fibre haylage and does very well on this.


----------



## lauraanddolly (23 December 2008)

If you buy big bale haylage instead of horsehage I'd try and get an analyse done on it first for a lammi pony, a lady on our yard did this for hers and he is fine on farmers haylage. (big bale)


----------



## y03mylers (23 December 2008)

My pony has lami and he has 3 huge haylage nets at night. He usually leaves one anyway. 
He's out on grass, and has a hard feed and he is fine *touches wood* and has been for a while.


----------

