soaking hay?

[AceyHorse]

Hi everyone,

I recently read elsewhere that some people soak hay overnight before giving it to their horses. They said this was to 'remove the sugars' from the hay, therefore making it better to give to overweight horses or horses that gain weight easily. I had never heard of this before and was wondering if anyone here practices this?

Thanks

 

[AceyHorse]

I would never try this without the approval of the experts here, just wondering if it is an option?

Thanks

 

[miniwhinny]

I asked my vet how to put Ozy on a diet without restricting his intake so he'd risk getting ulcers. She told me to soak his hay. He could still eat the same amount but the sugars would be reduced by soaking it. There was a full sized horse at the vets and he'd foundered. His owner soaked his hay daily to reduce his sugars too.

 

[HGFarm]

What kind of hay are you feeding? AZ is pretty much an alfalfa state, and I can tell you that it would be a nasty moldy mess if it was soaked. MOLD! Why would the natural sugars be removed from the hay, and what else is being removed as well? Nutrients or... ??

 

[Matt73]

Soaking hay is great. It gets rid of sugars and dust. I've soaked it for 30 mins. or so. But I'm sure overnight is fine, too.

What kind of hay are you feeding? AZ is pretty much an alfalfa state, and I can tell you that it would be a nasty moldy mess if it was soaked. MOLD! Why would the natural sugars be removed from the hay, and what else is being removed as well? Nutrients or... ??

If there's mold in the hay, there's mold in the hay. You shouldn't be feeding it to your horses in the first place. If there's no mold, soaking it for 30 mins. or even overnight and then feeding it, is not going to produce mold. If you let it sit around for a few days...yeah!

 

[AceyHorse]

Thats great, thanks everyone for their replies, I certainly wasn't going to try it without checking here. I do like the idea of soaking it for 30 mins rather than overnight, as it could maybe go a little yuck. Thanks again :aktion033: I love any ideas to keep my little horses happy and a good weight.

 

[HGFarm]

No, there is no mold in the alfalfa we feed- that would make horses ill, or worse. Alfalfa molds when it gets wet. If it was soaked for hours it would be a limp and nasty bunch of fermented goop. Alfalfa molds pretty easily and I dont think my horses would touch it wet.

 

[ThreeCFarm]

Soaking hay is common for those horses who are insulin resistant, however some IR horses can't even handle soaked hay. Yes HGFarm, it is a "limp" pile of "nasty" looking stuff, but trust me, those of us with IR horses do what we can to keep their diets as normal as possible. If that means they have to eat wet hay, so be it. As soon as you take it out of the water, you feed it. Unless you are feeding really large amounts, the horses will eat it before it gets moldy.

 

[Hosscrazy]

I almost always soak my hay, but I do not do it overnight, especially with the hot temperatures we've been having (you do not want it to ferment). I let the hay soak for 1/2 an hour before I feed, and I feed timothy hay. To answer your sugar/starch question, yes, it does remove quite a bit of the sugars/starch.

Liz R.