# Difference between HorseHage and Haylage?



## lisab (28 August 2010)

I've been feeding HorseHage for about 5 years to my horse who has COPD.
It's really expensive to feed (£7 per bale, 1 bale does 2 and a half nets) but I buy it because it's really moist and so keeps him well and not puffing and/or coughing.

However.  I bought 5 bales last week and the 3 that I've used have been really, really dry and the haylage is all stuck together, almost matted.

He was really lazy when I rode him yesterday and was puffing like a train.

The unbranded farmer's haylage that the feed merchant sells is £7.50 and does 5 nets.  It smells really nice and he loves it, but it is a bit drier than HorseHage, so I don't know if I would be causing problems for myself if I put him back on that.

Does anyone know what the difference is between the 2 and am I just paying through the nose for a brand name when the unbranded stuff is just as good?


----------



## brighteyes (28 August 2010)

In a word, yes.  HH is quality guaranteed but for the most part it's a dear way to buy haylage.  A 3/4 round bale off the farm costs me £23 and it does 5 for about as many days. And it is beautiful.  Any haylage should be moist enough not to be dusty, even if it seems dry to you.  Mine is much drier this year, but still 'sticky'.


----------



## Kokopelli (28 August 2010)

I could be wrong here but I think Horsehage is Rye grass which is bagged and stuff whereas normal haylage is like normal but has been bagged to keep the moisture in. I'm not great with feeding and stuff


----------



## criso (28 August 2010)

Horsehage is just a brand name ((when they develloped it then they registered horsehage so noone else can use it but haylage was the name used by other people using the same fermentation process but for that as brighteyes said you get guaranteed quality and content. The ryegrass one will bw ryegrass , timothy will be timothy etc.
However a lot of farmers do produce.very nice haylage too but you would need to ask if they have a forage analysis for it to get more details of what it contain. 

They are all different in the same way that hay from diffeerent suppliers will vary.


----------



## lisab (28 August 2010)

Ok thanks.  I've been having a bit of a look and haylage is meant to be 30-50% moisture content and HH is meant to be 35-50, so not much in it really.

And it's all right for the bag to say that it's guaranteed, but you try taking it bag to the feed merchant and see the rolly eyes and sighs you get.  "Tut phew, another neurotic female who thinks her horse is a dolly" you can hear them think grrr!  I took some back once because the bags were full of small holes and the cheeky git implied that I'd done it myself.  Like I would hump heavy lumps of haylage in my jeep and cart it 10 miles each way, just for the fun of it.  After I'd stabbed a load of holes in the wrappers of course.

Anyway, rambling now.

I'll just go and get some normal stuff.

Thanks for your replies.


----------



## Rose Folly (29 August 2010)

Thanks for asking the question as I was interested to know the answer too. I also have a COPD (RAO) mare so am in the same situation. Last year I fed her haylage, some made by a local farmer and some from a firm called Fosseway. Both were excellent and her breathing has been perfect.

In view of the famine winter we're all anticipating I spoke to a large feed merchant yesterday about haylage versus Horsehage and I bought a bale if HH (not that we'll be feeding anything until November time). But I was a bit horrified at its price, though I see the advice on the bag says one bag will feed a 500lb horse for 3 days. My farmer friend hasn't been able to make any haylage this year, so I guess I'll end up with the Fosseway. My vet is also looking into whether or not I could feed barley straw to the COPD. I asked the question on the Stableyard forum a few weeks ago, and the consensus there was that it probably wouldn't be a good idea, but vet says he'll triple check it.

I like the farmer's haylage better as though it was a tad drier than the Fosseway haylage it was not so nutritious, which suited Madam well!


----------



## lisab (29 August 2010)

I wouldn't put any sort of straw anywhere near her to lie on let alone to eat.  NO NO NO!

I now think my horse is swinging the lead anyway, little big monkey.  Escaped from the stable yesterday and pranced round the paddock refusing to be caught.  Then I turned him out this morning and he went off with a toss of his head and went tearing round the field.  So I took him for a hack this afternoon and tried a canter in a disused rugby pitch and, because my friend's horse dared to get in front of him, he took off like a rocket and buck buck bucked.  I bought some Propell for him yesterday.  Must be good as it appears to have worked overnight!

And as for the horsehage feeding a horse for 3 days, that's a load of tosh.  They don't specify how long the horse is stabled for or what quantity they should have.  When it snowed for ever last winter, I was getting through a bale of horsehage a day.  That's over £200 a month on horsehage 

He's scoffed the normal haylage and seemed fine today, so I will stick with it and keep my fingers, toes and eyes crossed that it will work out.  Save me a fortune if it does.


----------

