# How long do you soak your hay/haylage



## picolenicole (7 August 2011)

I have started soaking my ponies hay, I put it in fresh water on a Friday about 7.30pm then take it out on a Sat about 5pm- ish. So I soak it for about 24hours + or - a few hours. Now my mother in law thinks this is too long and it will ferment, I thought for it to ferment it would take at least a few days. So am I soaking my hay to long?


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## tinap (7 August 2011)

I usually soak it when I go to the yard at 9am & take it out when go back about 5pm. xx


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## MrsMozart (7 August 2011)

I believe it depends on the weather (temperature) to an extent.

I tend to soak for twelve hours. We've done that when Little Lad was on box rest due to laminitis. He had ad lib hay (soaked) whilst on three months box rest and still lost weight (he came to us well overweight), so twelve hours must have been enough to get the sugars out. I haven't heard of anyone soaking for longer than that.


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## SuperCoblet (7 August 2011)

I was told to never, ever soak hay for longer than 3 hours. At camp, someone was soaking their ponies hay over night and the instructors went skits at them! 
I soak gypsys for 30 mins max.
Nb: it was a BHSAI (or one of them qualifications!) that told me.


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## MrsMozart (7 August 2011)

Never heard of a three hour rule. Everyone that I know who soaks to reduce calories rather than just to dampen it, soaks day hay over night and night hay during the day, so roughly twelve hours.


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## scarymare (7 August 2011)

The longer you soak it the more nutrients will leach out.  As presumably you are soaking for dust then there is absolutely no point in soaking for 24 hours and yes, bacterial fermentation will defo have begun, as someone correctly has said depending on temperature.


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## Sprout (7 August 2011)

I am soaking hay for a potential laminitic, and vet wanted it done for 24 hours, so I change water morning and evening.


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## Miss L Toe (7 August 2011)

You might get a bit of fermentation if it was in warm water 24 hours,  tbh I would not worry if there is no smell and if he will eat it, mine won't eat 24 soaked stuff, but if he was hungry enough I am sure he would.


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## scarymare (7 August 2011)

Sprout said:



			I am soaking hay for a potential laminitic, and vet wanted it done for 24 hours, so I change water morning and evening.
		
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Then you will be fine.  Nutrients will leach by diffusion so keeping it in the same water makes no sense as suspect will soon become isotonic but changing the water will get a fresh wave of leaching.  Nightmare though!


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## Slinkyunicorn (7 August 2011)

No shorter then 30 minutes and no longer then an hour - that is the advice given by the Laminitis Clinic on soaking hay for a Laminitic and that is what I do


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## Jane_Lou (7 August 2011)

slinkyunicorn said:



			No shorter then 30 minutes and no longer then an hour - that is the advice given by the Laminitis Clinic on soaking hay for a Laminitic and that is what I do

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This is what I do for my tendency to be podgy connie - he has never had laminitis (touches wood) so I must be doing something right!


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## xRobyn (7 August 2011)

tinap555 said:



			I usually soak it when I go to the yard at 9am & take it out when go back about 5pm. xx
		
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That.


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## picolenicole (7 August 2011)

I'm soaking it to get rid of sugar, trying to lose some of his weight!


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## tinap (7 August 2011)

Yea, that's what I soak mine for too. Also got a grazing muzzle & ridden 6 times a week - weight is slowly coming off!! Good luck!! x


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## Lotty (7 August 2011)

tinap555 said:



			I usually soak it when I go to the yard at 9am & take it out when go back about 5pm. xx
		
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This is what I do. I rang the Laminitis Trust last year when my mare had an attack and this wa the advice they gave me, also my vet and farrier told me to do the same.


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## flintfootfilly (7 August 2011)

My understanding is that dust will be dampened with only a very short soak.

However, if you are looking to decrease the sugars in the hay, then a longer soak should leach more of them out.

At this time of year, I tend to do a 12 hour soak, so that if I start the soak at evening stables, it's ready to drain at morning stables.  If I leave it any longer, you can definitely smell the hay going "off".

However, over winter I can soak for 24 hours without getting that smell.

There are so many things that influence how much sugar you can leach out of the hay.  I think of it a bit like washing clothes in a washing machine (or brewing a pot of tea).  You can cram the machine packed tight with clothes, but they aren't going to lose much dirt (sugar).  If you opt for intensive wash and an extra rinse, then they'll lose more dirt (sugar).  And a longer wash cycle will get them cleaner too.  Then there's the temperature of the water.  Warmer water will dissolve sugars more quickly.

So at the end of the day, it comes down to how important it is to you to get as much sugar out as possible.

Sarah


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## shadowboy (7 August 2011)

Mine is in during the day so I soak it at 7pm and use it at 10th am the following day so approx 15 hours. Pony doesn't really like it though so doesn't really eat much. Not sure what to do as need him to eat something


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## blakesmum (7 August 2011)

Under advice I soak for 12 hours and then I give it a good rinse to get out any of the sugar infused water that gets trapped inside and can leech back into the hay. Never have any problem with it smelling if I do this, if I don't rinse then by the time it's drained a bit it starts to smell 'vinegary'.
Since doing this (and putting a muzzle on when out at night), I've kept son's highly lami prone pony free of it for two years.


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## lilaclomax (7 August 2011)

I soak for 12 hours and in the summer try and keep the bin in the shade... remember also to consider the amount of water you use... should be twice the volume of the hay if soaking to remove WSC.


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