How is it best to store haylage?
As a horse owner, you know how important it is to provide your equine friend with the best possible nutrition. One of the most popular options for horse feed is haylage, which is a type of forage made by fermenting grass or other plants. Haylage is a great source of fibre, energy, and nutrients for horses, but it’s important to store it properly to ensure that it stays fresh and nutritious. In this blog post, we will discuss the best ways to store haylage to keep it fresh and healthy for your horse.
- Choose the Right Storage Location
The first step in storing haylage is to choose the right location. Ideally, you should store haylage in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated area, as this will help to prevent mould and other types of spoilage. If possible, store haylage in a barn or other covered area to protect it from the elements. Silvermoor Haylage comes in robust packaging so can be stored outside, as long as the packaging hasn’t been pierced and it’s kept out of direct sunlight.
- Store Haylage in Small Batches
It is best to store haylage in small batches rather than in large quantities, as this will help to prevent spoilage and ensure that the haylage stays fresh. If you have a large amount of haylage, divide it into smaller portions and store each portion separately. Horses need to eat 1.5-2.5% of their weight in forage every 24 hours. Every horse is different, but as a general rule of thumb you should be giving them 1.5% of their weight in forage if you want to help them lose weight, 2% to maintain their weight, and 2.5% if you need them to gain weight.
- Keep Haylage Away from Other Feed
Haylage should be stored separately from other types of feed, such as grain or pellets. This will help to prevent contamination and ensure that the haylage stays fresh. If possible, store haylage in a separate area from other types of feed.
- Check Haylage Regularly
Finally, it is important to check haylage regularly to ensure that it is still fresh and nutritious. Check for signs of mould or spoilage, and discard any haylage that appears to be spoiled. If you notice any changes in the colour, smell or temperature of the haylage, it may be time to replace it with fresh haylage. Your horse will usually simply not eat anything that it knows isn’t fresh, however it’s always advisable to be diligent.
The choice
There are five different types of haylage to choose from here at Silvermoor, each one is tailored for a specific type of horse. We have something for everyone.
Recreation – A ryegrass haylage suitable for all types of horses in all types of work.
Lite – A low sugar, high fibre ryegrass haylage that is suitable for good doers, laminitics and horses suffering from IR and EMS.
Timothy – Made from a UK pure timothy grass ley it is high in fibre and low in sugar making it suitable for fussy eaters, good doers, laminitics and IR and EMS sufferers.
Veteran – A soft ryegrass haylage which has been short chopped to ensure it can be easily chewed by horses and ponies with deteriorating teeth.
Unicorn – A low sugar, high fibre cocksfoot and timothy mix haylage that is suitable for good doers, laminitics and weight watchers with appetising minty unicorn haylage to tempt even the fussiest of horses.
