Old Manor Farm Haylage

Some horses are unable to eat hay due to COPD or competition horses requiring a higher protein and energy forage will be able to use our haylage.

Our haylage is made from a 100% Italian ryegrass mix grown specifically for haylage, thus providing the best quality raw material to produce a top quality product. Our haylage is tested in batches to provide customers with nutritional information.

Our typical haylage analysis:

Analysis	Result
Crude Protein (%)	8-10
Dry Matter (%)	65-70
Crude Fibre	28-32
Digestibility	60-70
Energy (Mj/Kg)	9-11

Why use Haylage

The low moisture content of hay ( about 10% ) means the mould spores become airborne and may cause an allergic respiratory disease called 'Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease' ( COPD ) - commonly known as 'broken wind', 'dust cough' or 'dust allergy'. Up to a fifth of horses suffer from sub-clinical dust allergies.

Once a horse has been affected it will never recover and will always need special attention to minimize exposure to 'dust' in order to control the disease.

Haylage is a feed made from grass that is dried as quickly as possible after mowing. It is then baled and wrapped with 10 / 12 layers of top quality stretch film.

Ecobale innoculant is applied to help the fermentation process take place quicker and reduce the risk of waste.

Feeding Haylage

Once a bale has been opened it should be used within a week in warm weather or longer when cold, as exposing it to air means there is now the potential for moulds to develop.

Our square bales are much more practical than round bales as the haylage comes off in slices leaving the rest of the bale intact, and when the conditions are suitable the bale can be left wrapped so that it lasts longer. With slices it is also easier to judge the quantity to feed. Our 200kg approx bales will feed four 16hh horses for 7 days.

Round bales must have the plastic wrap completely removed to use. The haylage must be unwound from the bale creating more mess and is less easy to judge quantities.

Changing from hay to haylage

The large intestine contains bacteria to help digest the fibre in feeds. They are very sensitive to changes in the diet so make the switch gradually, say over a week, to allow the bacteria time to adapt. This should prevent stomach upsets. Haylage contains higher quality nutrients than hay but because of its higher moisture content the nutrients are more diluted. Remember that the same weight of fresh hay and haylage are not equivalent in term of nutrient value. An average 500 kg horse ( eg. 16hh riding horse) requires a minimum daily fibre input of 1% bodyweight, i.e. 5 kg, but due to the wetter nature of haylage this should be increased to 1.5% or 7.5 kg fresh weight to give a similar dry matter intake. Haylage dry matter has an approx. 10% higher nutrient value so feeding an equivalent amount of dry matter as haylage means that less supplementary feed will be required to meet its energy requirements. A 7.5 kg pile of wet, solid haylage will appear much smaller in volume than 5 kg of light, fluffy hay. Take care not to overfeed. Weigh the haylage until you get used to judging it