Haylage is a feed for horses, which is halfway between hay and silage. Horses require a high percentage of fibre in their diet in order for their digestive system to work correctly. Traditionally this has been provided by hay throughout the winter. Good hay of a consistent quality is not always easy to find. Feeding poor quality hay, apart from being less palatable for the horse, can cause respiratory and digestive problems. Haylage overcomes these problems.

Haylage is made from selected grasses. The grass is cut but only left to dry for 3 to 4 days. It is then baled and wrapped in polythene, so the bales are air right, thus restricting fermentation.

 

Feeding Haylage

After a bale is opened it should be used as quickly as possible, as once the haylage is exposed to the air, moulds may develop. Sometimes on opening a bale whitish round colonies may be found on the surface. They have a creamy consistency to the touch; they are not powdery or fluffy. These are yeasts, not moulds. They are not harmful to horses, as they do not produce spores. Many horse probiotics contain yeast.

The large intestine contains bacteria to help digest the fibre in feeds. Care should be taken when introducing Haylage into the diet. We recommend this to allow the bacteria in the large intestine time to adapt and thus prevent metabolic problems. When feeding Haylage remember that the same weight of fresh hay is not equivalent in terms- of nutritional value.

An average 500Kg horse (e.g. 16hh riding horse) requires a minimum daily input of 1 1/2% body weight, i.e. 7.5kg. Due to the wetter nature of Haylage this should be increased to 2% .

Haylage dry matter has approximately 10% higher nutrient value, so feeding an equivalent amount of dry matter as Haylage means that less supplementary feed will be require to meet energy requirements. A 7.5Kg pile of wet solid Haylage will appear much smaller in volume than 5Kg of light fluffy hay. Therefore take care not to overfeed.