Horse not intrested in hay or silage?

finbarrk

Has anyone any experience of this in a horse. He just picks at the hay and only nibbles at it, leaving most of it in the rack. Much the same with the silage when I tried that. I don't have any haylage. He is not overfed on nuts either.

ell

Try the hay on the floor, he'll find it easier to eat. Not too sure silage is suitable for horses, could cause colic. Whats his current condition (fat / skinny / losing or gaining condition)? Is he out on grass much each day? Does he find it easy to eat grass? What age is he? Is this a new thing or did he always not eat much hay? If its new maybe its a sore/loose tooth issue.

finbarrk

His teeth are ok because I had them checked. He has no problem eating grass. He seems to get sick of the taste of the hay after about a month of coming in for the Winter. He is getting exercise and hunts once or twice a week. He was never too great to eat it but he seems to be getting worse every year.

skink

ell wrote: »

t. Not too sure silage is suitable for horses, could cause colic.

there is no fear of silage causing colic, i know many people who feed it and have never had any problems, iirc iris kellet fed nothing but silage in her yard, and never had a problem with it,

finbarrk have you tried using one of the haylage brands like robinsons or kingsfield? they are much sweeter and a much more pleasant aroma, maybe that will entice him to eat more?

ell

Does silage not lead to a greater risk of botulism in horses? (I could be wrong)

From here: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/dairy/as1252w.htm

"Forage silages can be separated into three groups on the basis of harvest moisture levels:

1. High moisture or direct cut silage at 70+ percent moisture.

2. Wilted silage at 60-70+ percent moisture.

3. Low-moisture haylage at 40 to 60 percent moisture."

From here : http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/horses/facts/info_botulism.htm

"Haylage or grass silage is the process where young respiring plants are cut, partially wilted and placed in a silo or container such as a plastic bag where exposure to air is eliminated. The hay is baled at about 45-50% moisture and immediately wrapped with plastic, or placed in a bag, which reduces the presence of oxygen. The plants use the remaining oxygen in the bag, fermentation lowers the pH and the forage goes into a suspended state when the pH=5. Should the bag become punctured, then secondary fermentation will occur and the haylage will become spoiled in those areas where oxygen is present. Large round bales, e.g., 4 by 5 feet in size, present a greater risk of botulism. The big bale often has insufficient water-soluble carbohydrates for adequate lactic acid fermentation to achieve a stable pH (1). A higher dry matter content can also lead to a higher pH. Clostridial multiplication is inhibited below pH 4.5. The smaller commercially bagged bales (50 lbs.) are probably less prone to botulism due to better quality control over fermentation and a faster drop in pH.

Horses are the most sensitive of the domesticated animals to botulism. Botulism is a disease that occurs when toxins produced by the bacterium, Clostridium botulinum, enter the horse's body causing weakness which may progress to paralysis. The botulism bacterium is a spore-forming, anaerobic bacteria (grows in the absence of oxygen) which is found world wide. It is commonly present in soil and in decaying animal carcasses. It occurs less often in decaying plant material. Hay, and especially haylage, can be contaminated with the botulism bacterium during the raking and baling process. The higher moisture levels (in comparison to dry hay), the anaerobic conditions and a pH above 4.5 in some haylage are ideal conditions for the growth of this bacterium."


.. so would silage which has higher moisture levels than haylege not be more likely to cause botulism, or maybe there are things you can do to limit this (check pHh, small bags, etc).

I heard from someone (not sure if it was true) that cos silage is chopped into shorter lengths than grass or haylege, there are more 'ends' so more potential for bacteria to live in and grow (again not sure how true that is).

So maybe its a case of making sure what you feed has a pH below 4.5.....

Do many others feed silage or have heard any 'for' or 'against's' regarding it use with horses? We make silage at home but only feed it to the cattle.

needadvice

Quite a few yards do you silage but I don't trust it myself due to colic causes but that is down to silage quality you could feed it without problems. My absolute favourite is well made haylage I don't know a horse who can resist it not feeding too much is the only problem great feed value. I'd try him on haylage on the ground only and feed course mix with molasses and linseed oil.

napoles

I would never feed sileage to horses as I always heard that it was unsuitable for them. It's designed for something with four stomachs!!! We always made our own sileage for the cattle, but also made hay or haylage for the horses.

FinbarrK I have had the same problem with some picky horses and it's so frustrating, because the roughage is the only way to get them to put on and keep on weight. You can feed conditioning mix etc til the cows come home, but if they aren't eating the bulk feed, it's hard to get the condition on.

With one horse I put her on a tonic rich in Vitamin B12 to increase her appetite. I believe Fenugreek is good for the appetite too although i haven't experience of it myself.
Maybe try alternating hay and haylage if possible. Sometimes they seem to like the different tastes. Also feeding a little at a time - i.e. so that they don't walk all over a big pile of hay/haylage and decide they don't like it. Just give them a little, let them eat it and then give more. Labour intensive though..

Try the B12 though - we used that among other methods, to get weight on this particular horse and we went on to win lots of tricolour rosettes in the RDS that year. Also, if you dilute some molasses in water and pour it over the hay, the smell and taste might encourage them to eat.

Good luck with it - there is nothing more frustrating..