noticable weight difference feeding haylage?

R

redfoxylady

Member
Jan 12, 2008
357
0
16
Hants bordering Surrey
I am thinking of changing from hay to haylage for weight gain, my boy is fit but just a bit too ribby,
apologies as sure this has been done on her many times.
Has anyone seen a real difference from just swapping? keeping all other feeds the same?
would I feed the same amount? seem to get conflicting advice, some saying feed less as richer and others saying feed more as higher water content?
has anyone had a horse go colicky on it?
I am looking at a large bale which does seem drier than the individual smaller bales. thank u, :smile:
 
Last edited:
From my experience I would say that haylage keeps weight on a horse more than hay. If you are buying for just one horse then you would need to buy smaller bales, not the very large round ones. Once haylage is opened it has to be used within quite a short time. There is a lot of difference between some haylages. Some is very moist and other is more like hay. As for how much to feed compared to hay I would just keep a check on your horse. If putting on excess weight then cut it down and vice versa. I like my horses to be covered but still like to be able to feel their ribs. Hope this helps.
 
Yes haylage does seem to put weight on more than hay,I spend all summer getting my boy slim so that in the winter when we have to have haylage he can put it on again aaaarrgh!!!
 
From my limited experience hayledge definitely piles on the pounds as opposed to hay. Our pair were on a mixture and retained weight (much to my dismay!!!) so now they're just on hay alone. I would say that you need to feed more hayledge weight wise because of the water content. That is always what I was told anyways. We've invested in spring balancer thingy for the feed-room - best thing we've done I can tell you! (We are monitoring carefully our fatties diets).
 
haylage

sounds good, I will try him on it for a month and see what difference we get,gradually mix in with the hay, I am hoping that I can reduce his hard feeds as someone has suggested.
he will think yummy I am sure
 
I'm getting a delivery of haylage tomorrow. Partly because hay is scarce here and also because like you my boy is a bit too ribby atm .....so I'll let you know shortly! :smile:
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back