I have a 12yr Irish cob who is fat, he was a companion with his previous owner for about a year, i bought him in Jan and now been steadily bought back to work and i now ride him regually. Last winter our yard only offered hay but this year they are offering both, i am unsure as to what the difference is and weather to stick to hay or not. please help xx

Once again i have to laugh when i read some answers,notably from Gemma F.she says not to soak hay for 12 hours as this ruins the feed content and to just dampen it down a bit!-the truth is that anything less than a 24 hour soak is just messing.the spores that need eradicating only swell to the size that stops them being passed into the lungs after 24 hours.once again so called experts talking tripe.
anyway,to answer your question,haylage is just the same as hay with the only difference it was baled a bit earlier and wrapped in plastic to allow fermentation.it smells sweeter and horses love it,however if you have a fatty then stick to the normal hay as the haylage tends to put on weight real fast owing to the higher nutritional components it holds(sugar mostly).Haylage is usually more expensive than hay so as the saying goes -you pays yer money and you takes yer choice.

Filed under: hay

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