Forgotten your password? Reset here

Free Delivery on all orders over £95+VAT

VAT Included on all prices

Next Day Delivery on orders before 5pm

Rewards4more Earn reward points to redeem

Feeding Hay and Haylage

Feeding Hay and Haylage

Feeding hay and haylage to horses outside in winter can be a costly exercise. Horses outwintered consume 2 to 2.5% of their body weight in hay per day. This means a 500kg horse will consume around 12.5kg of hay daily.

How much Hay gets wasted in feeding?

It is important to feed forage in an equine hay feeder or horse hay saver of some kind. Studies can show that between 10 and 20% of hay can be lost in spoilage when fed loose on the ground, rather than in round bale hay feeders or some other kind of field hay feeder.

The main issues with loose feeding occur because horses may bed down on it, causing spoiling from faeces and treading it into the ground, contaminating the hay with dirt or sand that can lead to sand colic when ingested. In windy conditions, hay may be blown into the hedgerows and lost.

How best to save hay wastage?

Large bale feeders vary in quality and design and steel livestock cattle bale feeders are risky to be used for horses- they aren’t designed for animals like horses that kick, where they may catch their legs on the metal sides and bars, liable to cause severe damage to themselves. Plastic round bale feeders such as the durabale are a much safer options for feeding horses and ponies. The durabale plastic hay feeder is designed especially for safety and long-lasting use.

Take a look at the cost of hay waste on a round bale costing appx. £50.00 including transport.... 40 horses would consume about 15 of these bales over the winter. With a loss of 10-15% of forage, £75.00 to £150.00 would be lost through natural waste.

Meanwhile back in the stable……

Slow Feeding hay has been proven a big benefit to horse health by slowing the pace at cross-contamination, reducing the risk of colic, gastric ulcers, obesity and laminitis.

Encouraging the horse to imitate grazing behaviour and slow the pace of eating ensures there is always a protective mat of forage in the stomach which helps to prevent stomach acid splashing and potentially causing gastric ulcers.

Other benefits of slow feeding hay are a reduction in cross contamination of forage and bedding, less stable boredom and less potential to develop stable vices for the horse.

 

Related articles:

The Farm & Stable durabale: All your questions about this horse hay feeder answered!

Reduce hay waste and save money!

Excellent equine equipment: The dura range



Related Products