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kalli
27 Jan 2009 06:15
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Our TB cross has put on weight since my daughter is now at uni' and can only ride at weekends. I have cut her feeds right down to a small scoop of good doer and half a scoop of high fibre cubes twice a day. She has a large hay net at night which I have been soaking for about 5 hours to get the protein out. Anyone any other suggestions and is it ok to soak a couple of days hay in advance?
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Nikki C
27 Jan 2009 10:31
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Soaking hay takes out many things, but not protein.
There are several published research papers on the benefits of soaking hay, but many of these have been undertaken in the US with alfalfa hay which has little similarity to hay used in the UK.
There are two reasons to soak hay
Soaking hay makes dust/mould spores swell and stick to the hay so they are swallowed rather than inhaled – this takes about 10 minutes. It is important to realise that when the hay dries out the spores are just as active as before they were soaked, so if this is your aim you must feed little and often so the hay is eaten before it dries out.
Loss of potassium, sodium and phosphorus, magnesium and copper occurs almost immediately hay is put in water and soaking for more than 20 minutes dissolves out sugars, soluble carbohydrates and some other nutrients (not protein) which means that the hay can provide fibre needs without nutrients. The rate of loss becomes minimal after about six hours.
There are probably as many ideas about how long hay should be soaked as there are horse owners, so do what suits you and your horse.
There is one other thing to consider – the water used to soak your hay contains nitrates so can contaminate waterways.
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kalli
01 Feb 2009 15:23
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Thanks for such an informative answer, but I now am even more confused. Am I depriving her of much needed nutrients and is it bringing down the calorie content enough to make it worth soaking the hay overnight? She never seems to have a problem with dust. Also if I need to soak the hay is it okay to do enough for a couple of days at a time. Thanks.
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Horse Hero Guru
01 Feb 2009 19:29
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Hi Kalli
Sorry if I confused you. Another long answer coming up, but the simple answer is, if your mare is putting on weight she is getting too much food for the work she is doing. That means that what you should be doing is cutting down her food intake (or you could ride her yourself during the week!). As a general rule a horse should eat 2.5% of its bodyweight each day. If you are trying to slim her down, cut that to 2%. It is probably not wise to go much below that.
Please note that what I say below is based on averages and so must only be a guide. If you need more/better advice weigh your horse or use a weighband, get your hay analysed and contact the feed adviser of the company that makes the feed you are using, They are usually very helpful.
I presume that your horse is at grass during the day, so you have little control on how much she eats then, but you can cut down the hay she has at night. Try cutting the amount from a large hay net to a smaller one. I find it helps to use a haylage net with small holes (or two haynets one inside the other), then she will take smaller amounts at a time and it will still last to the morning.
I would always feed by weight, not scoops, so I have no idea how much hard feed you are giving. Most feed will have been balanced by the manufacturer and it will say on the bag how much you need to feed a horse of a specific type to provide all the nutrients she requires. These will be topped up by the amount she gets from hay and grass.
With regard to loss of minerals I wouldn’t worry too much. A 450kg horse needs about 25g potassium, 18g calcium, 12.5g phosphorus, 7.5g sodium and 6g magnesium a day, but unless you analyse your hay you will not know how much of these are present in what you are feeding. Good meadow hay (unsoaked) will have about 18g potassium, 11g calcium, 2g phosphorous, 3g magnesium, 0.2g sodium per kg. Since this horse should be feeding about 6.5kg (1.5% of bodyweight) of hay only sodium might be short and a salt lick will sort out that problem. If you soak the hay for 12 hours you will cut the mineral levels to about 1/3 of the original levels so the only other mineral that would be short would be magnesium and, although magnesium supplements can be pricy, Epsom salts aren’t!
Many horses doing little work can live happily on hay and grass alone, possibly with the addition of a vitamin supplement. I do know that you can feel mean not giving a feed, so you must decide what is best for you and your horse.
As for soaking the hay, personally I would soak it for about 20 minutes and never for more than 12 hours (the time from one stable visit to the next). However, you need to decide what is best for you.
I would also suggest that you condition score her about every two weeks. That way you can see whether she is losing, gaining or maintaining weight which will happen as the grass/hay quality changes.
If you want me to explain anything I have said above just ask - I'm one of those know-it-alls who love to help (every yard has at least one!)
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Fiona Price
02 Feb 2009 23:01
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Know-it-all, I think not! A priceless oracle! Thanks for you fabulous responses throughout our forums, Nikki.
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kalli
15 Feb 2009 20:56
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Sorry I haven't thanked you before for your input, which has been most helpful and the horse seems to be carrying less weight!
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Francesca
04 Mar 2009 16:47
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I noticed you asked if it was OK to soak hay a couple of days in advance, I didn't see a reply to this question but if it was answered then I'm really sorry. I'm no expert but just from my own experience soaking hay one day then using it even just the next day doesn't seem to work. My horses won't eat it and it seems to get "musty". So if the idea was to save time, it won't as you will only have to do it again fresh and it will waste your hay.
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Horse Hero Guru
04 Mar 2009 18:31
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I agree Francesca. In one of my replies I said that I would personally soak hay for 20 minutes and never more than 12 hours. If you do soak it for longer it comes out of the tub smelly and slimy. I love the smell of good hay and I am sure horses do too!
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