# Laminitis - hay or haylage?



## Gooby (3 June 2008)

Hi, my 16.2 ID X came in from the field on saturday lame, the vet diagnosed it as laminitis yesterday and asked about the grass he was on but nothing about his nets. He is now on box rest and is being fed haylage but a friend said today that haylage can also cause it. Is this true? If it is then what should he be fed on? He also gets a scoop of herbal chop morn and even to give him his bute in. Is this ok for him? Thanks.


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## RachelB (3 June 2008)

I would give him hay that you've soaked for 24 hours if I were you. That was you can soak everything out of it so the hay is literally just fibre for him to chew on. Make sure he is getting all his vits and mins though either through a feed balancer or a GP supplement 
	
	
		
		
	


	




Careful the chaff doesn't have too much sugar in it either.


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## SilverSkye (3 June 2008)

I am no laminitus expert but understood soaked hay is the way forward , The hay should be soaked for 24 hours to remove all the sugars .  I think your friend is right and that either good quality hay or hayledge can bring on laminitus, i would also check your feed as it is best to feed something that is approved by the laminitus trust ( happy hoof or safe and sound or anything with the approved stamp on the bag)
Edited to add could you call your vet and have a chat with him about it??


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## bensababy (3 June 2008)

i would def advise against feeding Haylage.far too rich. i feed my ex Lami a small amount of hay soaked for 24 hours. Also i would recommend looking into a low fat/no sugar feed - either Happy Hoof.. or have a look on the Simple Systems website or alternatively Laminitis Trust


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## Eaglestone (3 June 2008)

Another opinion here sorry  
	
	
		
		
	


	





I would soak the hay so that you remove all the sugars etc however 24 hours is just too long and it risks the water being contaminated and turning into sewage, especially if it is in sunlight.

I would soak it for a maximum of 12 hours out of direct sunlight, so basically soak one overnight and one during the day.

Haylage should be fine I believe, but it would have to be one that has less goodness in it.  I think that would be one with Timothy Grass in it.

If you have £1 per minute to spend then you could call the Laminitis Trust and they are excellent  .... here we go Laminitis Trust 

Hope he is ok as it is a horrid condition to bear for human and horse


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## rforsyth1984 (3 June 2008)

My lammy horse has a mix, but only to keep him entertained otherwise he'd just have haylage.

I believe (but could be wrong!) that the in patients at Robert Eustace's yard are all fed haylage.


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## Thistle (3 June 2008)

Blue or Purple Horsehage are lami safe.

When haylage is made the sugars ferment to 'cook' the haylage so there is less sugar.

I still tend to feed 12 hour soaked hay to laminitics though as then they can have more.

I do feed haylage to lami risk ponies that do not have it though.


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## landyandy (6 June 2008)

my horse is prone to lami, i also get confused as which to feed. some people tell me not to feed haylage, i rang my vet last year and asked if she would be ok to have haylage, they said yes, i now feed her only a small amount of haylage and a small amount of soaked hay,along with hi fi lite and top spec antilam.


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## carys220 (6 June 2008)

Blue horsehage is the best thing, it is approved by the laminitus trust and is made for this kind of thing. From HorseHage site:
''High Fibre HorseHage is made from selected ryegrasses, which have been allowed to mature before harvesting to attain higher fibre, lower protein and lower energy levels. Because it is low in energy, High Fibre HorseHage is generally suitable for Riding and Pony Club horses, native ponies, veterans and those that are resting, convalescing or are laminitic.''

I would never give hay to any horse, soaked or not, especially not a stabled one.


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## Gooby (25 June 2008)

Thanks for all the advise! He's still on haylage but I've reduced them amount he's on. Had the vet up yesterday to have a look at him and his foot soreness is gone and is sound apart from on a tight circle so think this is due to his damaged tendon and not the lami. Think it must have been from the grass he was on. Thanks again!


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## kellyeaton (25 June 2008)

i soak hay to get sugars and etc out. you can feed haylage anf food as long as it is by the lammi trust you are looking for low sugar strach fructans and protin and striped grazing!


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## flyingfeet (26 June 2008)

With the hay versus haylage this is my two pennies: 

Haylage is generally always made earlier, as you only need a 3 - 4 day window to make it. 

However June hay will also by high protein and sugars than a later cut. 

So for your laminitic you would want either late made haylage or hay. In fact 2007 crop hay is ideal as it was late, and ours was over 50% timothy.

However haylage is generally more calorific than hay. 
If the sugars were 'cooked' out of the haylage it would be totally unpalatable to the horse, so I don't think there is any scientific evidence to say haylage is lower in sugar than hay.
In fact quite the opposite as haylage always has a higher protein value, which is why diary farmers feed silage (think about it!!!) 

If you really want to reduce the protein intake, feed good quality wheat straw.

Soaking definitely removes goodness, but is a pain in the butt to do!


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## amberleystar (26 July 2008)

I have recently spoken to the nutritionist at HorseHage and she assured me that the timothy haylage is lower in sugar and it is tested scientifically and shows around 3% sugars compared to hay which averages at 10%.  When the horsehage is bagged the sugars breakdown during the fermentation process. Every batch is analysised and every bag carries a code number so that you can contact them for the exact analysis of the forage.

I personally don't recommend feeding wheat straw as it is very high in lignin which can't be digested by the equine and can cause impacted colic.

Never soak hay for more than 1 hour to reduce sugars, soaking for longer doesn't make sense as you are soaking the hay in the sugared water!


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## kerilli (26 July 2008)

this is an interesting thread... one of my horses had her first and only attack of laminitis while being fed on blue horsehage (and a little Hi-Fi lite). my vet told me categorically to stop feeding both and give her long-soaked hay only... vet was adamant about the "no haylage" part.


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## ISHmad (28 July 2008)

[ QUOTE ]
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Never soak hay for more than 1 hour to reduce sugars, soaking for longer doesn't make sense as you are soaking the hay in the sugared water! 

[/ QUOTE ]

That's the reason why soaked hay should ALWAYS be rinsed when you take it out of the water, as otherwise it will be reabsorbing all the sugary water.  Plus it freshens it up before the horse eats it.

You can soak haylage in exactly the same way, it still loses the sugars.  We soak overnight and then rinse off in the morning and hang to dry through the day.


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