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Hay vs haylage

  • 28-12-2020 10:40am
    #1
    isaos
    Registered Users Posts: 193 ✭✭


    Happy New Year 2021 everybody!

    It seems more and more difficult to find quality hay / haylage, am I the only one to think that? living in Kerry I have to go further and further to find good hay, the three last times I got hay in since 2019 I got a mix of good and bad, small stems, dusty and musty bales..

    Having only 2 horses including a greedy Connemara pony and 2 donkeys I was reluctant to get haylage, and have actually managed to find some small bales that were ok and not over strong, but what a struggle! Even at that I still got some bad ones.

    What do you do yourselves? And what counties do you get it from? not looking for advertising, of course.
    Tagged:


Comments

  • #2
    _Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 18,468 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    We have a cob pony here.
    If the days are any way decent it gets turned out for a few hours nibbling round a field. Today she will be out in the field for two hours even though it’s quite snowy. She’s so much more content getting even an hour out.

    Getting decent hay in Monaghan, only abkut 20mins away. We get hay and good barley straw so the pony gets 50/50 hay and straw in greedy feeder nets.

    She was overweight when we got her, but she’s a lovely weight now and we want to keep her that way.


  • #3
    isaos
    Registered Users Posts: 193 ✭✭isaos


    The fields are really bare in some areas, and I'm trying to avoid the rest of it from being destroyed.. They are out with good shelters all year round, their stables are open on an acre that won't survive probably and will need to be totally reseeded., but I hate leaving them in.
    At times I wish I were closer to Monaghan (or another good area) !!! Kerry is drop-dead gorgeous, but probably not the best place to have horses in the winter.
    Non stop storms and rain and hail these last few days... tiring!!!


  • #4
    _Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 18,468 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    isaos wrote: »
    The fields are really bare in some areas, and I'm trying to avoid the rest of it from being destroyed.. They are out with good shelters all year round, their stables are open on an acre that won't survive probably and will need to be totally reseeded., but I hate leaving them in.
    At times I wish I were closer to Monaghan (or another good area) !!! Kerry is drop-dead gorgeous, but probably not the best place to have horses in the winter.
    Non stop storms and rain and hail these last few days... tiring!!!


    Land in cavan here is heavy and if I need to run a harrow on the worst bith I will..


  • #5
    finbarrk
    Registered Users Posts: 5,411 ✭✭✭finbarrk


    Just give them silage. It's fine. I use it, no problem.


  • #6
    isaos
    Registered Users Posts: 193 ✭✭isaos


    finbarrk wrote: »
    Just give them silage. It's fine. I use it, no problem.


    too wet and too risky in my view, (botulism is more common in silage than in haylage) - unless of course you bale it yourself and know it's quality. Anyway they wouldn't go fast enough in a large bale so some would be wasted.


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  • #7
    finbarrk
    Registered Users Posts: 5,411 ✭✭✭finbarrk


    Plenty good for your bloodstock. €20 a bale, and it lasts at least 2 weeks.


  • #8
    _Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 18,468 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    isaos wrote: »
    too wet and too risky in my view, (botulism is more common in silage than in haylage) - unless of course you bale it yourself and know it's quality. Anyway they wouldn't go fast enough in a large bale so some would be wasted.

    Are horses more susceptible to botulism?

    It’s exceptionally rare for cattle to be affected by botulism from silage, thing is when they are it’s bad. But it’s exceptionally rare.


  • #9
    isaos
    Registered Users Posts: 193 ✭✭isaos


    _Brian wrote: »
    Are horses more susceptible to botulism?

    It’s exceptionally rare for cattle to be affected by botulism from silage, thing is when they are it’s bad. But it’s exceptionally rare.

    It doesn't happen very often I suppose, but like for cattle the effects can be very serious.
    Horses are fragile, costly, and expected to live old.. :D And they don't have the same digestive system than cattle.

    Musty hay / haylage, dust, have also bad consequences on the lungs and cause respiratory diseases that can be serious, especially for sport horses. Not even talkiing about colics when feed changes too often, even from one batch to another. And we won't talk about ragworts, that they would eat when dry in a bale of hay... a death sentence as it accumulates over the time until they die (painful death).

    Horses are meant to live over 30 years, in normal circonstances, anything that reduce their lifespam needs to be avoided. (and vet bills too!) :pac:


  • #10
    eastie17
    Registered Users Posts: 442 ✭✭eastie17


    haylage.ie, can be pricy but top quality and comes in half pallets or pallets. Alot of packaging waste though as they are all individually wrapped


  • #11
    isaos
    Registered Users Posts: 193 ✭✭isaos


    I have used it - unfortunately had a bad batch last year, coming with holes from the delivery pallets and some bad bags rotten inside (even found a rope in one bag). That's why I get traumatised :D I know it was just a bad batch. They are great people to deal with. I still get some lovely bagged hay from them for specific needs as their haylage is too strong for some ponies, especially those prone to laminatis.


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