Soaking Haylage-Colour of water

[Laura2184]

Ive just started soaking my boys haylage as he is a good doer and I need to get some weight off before spring.

I noticed last night that the colour of the water was a dark brown which smelt quite sweet, sorry if Im being dumb but is this the sugars etc?

I smelt the haylage that had been soaked and some that hadn't, the soaked haylage smelt less sweet which obviously is good!

So just wondering what causes the water to go dark brown?

Thanks!

[Laura2184]

Does anyone soak their haylage?.... :)

[speedqueen]

Never heard of anybody soaking haylage before but I thought you may be interested in the following that was in one of the horsey mags a couple of years ago and I came across whilst browsing the other day.....

If you soak hay for :-

5 MINUTES 96% of the dust and mould particles are removed with virtually no nutrient loss.

12 HOURS 96-99% of particles of dust and mould removed with significant loss of nutrient value, carbohydrates and proteins with an accumulation of pollutants in water...UPTO 10X STRONGER THAN RAW SEWAGE..:eek::eek:

24 HOURS 99% of dust and mould particles removed with vast nutrient, carbohydrate and protein loss. HIGHLY POLLUTANT WATER with only 3% more dust and mould removed than from a 5 MINUTE soak.

This was from a TOP feed manufacturer.
Hope it helps !!

[Laura2184]

:eek: Thanks for that speedqueen, could anyone else throw some light on this subject for me?!!

[xloopylozzax]

if you are soaking hayledge to mainly lose sugars etc then you would be better feeding hay (obv if possible i understand some people cant access it)

the water will go brown because of the chloropyll out of the grass- the stuff that makes it green. when the grass is dried it goes brown because it is dehydrated (i think) so it loses its green colour because the chlorophyll die.

hayledge is not recommended for overweight or ponies prone to laminitis because of the sugars and the way it is stored- if it is stored incorrectly it decomposes and produces bacteria (similar to silage) cant remember name of bacteria but soemone on here will :D

we feed hayledge in the summer and autumn for condition but it is a gradual change over a few weeks either way otherwise it will cause the runs ;)

[Laura2184]

Thanks for that Loopylozza - I know I'd be better feeding hay but the whole yard is on haylage so it makes it quite difficult.. :rolleyes:

Are the nutritional values between hay and haylage very different?

[xloopylozzax]

i couldnt honestly say- the only reason i know that stuff about the chlorophyll is from science at gcse :o

i think the sugars are different (?)

[flintybaby]

Whats the reason for soaking your haylage? I've soaked hay before but not haylage.

[xloopylozzax]

Whats the reason for soaking your haylage? I've soaked hay before but not haylage.

i think its to lose sugars :confused:

(says in first post i think)

[Laura2184]

Its to lose the sugars, he only needs the fibre as he's overweight.

[Laura2184]

Can anyone tell me whether I should or shouldnt be doing this? Has no-one experience of soaking haylage?...:confused:

Thanks!

[xloopylozzax]

i have never known anyone soak hayledge- the only reason to soak hay is to lose the dust i think.

[zippytys]

i have never known anyone soak hayledge- the only reason to soak hay is to lose the dust i think.

I've heard that people also soak hay to feed to lamanitics as it lowers the nutrient level so that the pony can eat more and not have to be starved but not get so fat etc from it? Anyone else hear this?

[Laura2184]

I've heard that people also soak hay to feed to lamanitics as it lowers the nutrient level so that the pony can eat more and not have to be starved but not get so fat etc from it? Anyone else hear this?

This is what I am soaking his haylage for, he is at risk from Laminitis and I need to shift some weight so am soaking it to reduce the nutritional value.

[horsesforever]

I *think" haylage is naturally more nutritional than hay though, so you might be best of swapping to hay if you can and then soaking that.

[Laura2184]

Yes Haylage does have a higher sugar content than hay, but at the moment the whole yard is on haylage so its quite dificult to switch to hay.

[martini55]

If you are soaking haylage soak it for no more than 30 minutes. If it starts to smell funny then it could have gone through a 2nd fermentation process, which isn't so good. I've done it before though when I had no option but I much prefer hay.

[puzzles]

There is no point in soaking haylage as:

a) it gets rid of all the nuitrients
b) haylage is already dust-free anyway, and
c) You may as well feed hay to save you money, and just soak it for 30 minutes (the optinum time according to TOP feed company research). :p

You could always switch to a lower energy haylage, and not soak it.

:-)

x

[artemis]

Why not get your haylage checked for sugar content. They do vary widely. The larger bales seem to have less sugar . D & H will do it for a fiver. I get my hay tested every year. I have had haylage tested & it was not much different.
Why not just feed less if he is too portly.
I have heard that haylage goes off quite quickly when soaked.

[Portia]

The water changes colour as nutrients are leached out via osmosis, the longer soaked, the greater the nutrient loss, as after a day soak pretty much all that's left is fibre.

I'm honestly not sure about soaking haylage. Given that it generally has a short shelf life and ferments after this time, soaking may speed the fermentation process. (truly not sure though, sorry)

You would be best advised to swap to hay, see if this has any effect on weight loss first, then go to soaking if needed.

eta these links - it would appear there might be a risk of botulism from soil-contaminated haylage. Having read these, and given the high sugar content of haylage, my inclination is to say NO, you should not soak haylage. It might be worth contacting either a haylage supplier, your vet or feed manufacturer for advice too.
http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135385
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horsecare/1370/38773.html

[Sexy Sietske]

Could you not mix the haylage with hay/straw? That way he will spend longer picking out the nice bits :)

[Laura2184]

Thanks for all your replies, had a word with the farmer tonight and he said that the haylage will be running out shortly anyway so we will all be swopped to hay. I think I'm going to stick to haylage (without the soaking) and try and ride more to get the weight off!