Hay soaking advice?

[yanny]

With winter coming I'm starting to feed the lads more hay than usual, our grass isn't great!
My problem is; Cal is such a good doer that just one net of hay alongside a tiny bit of chaff and balancer morning and night is making him a right chubster! He seems to be putting more weight on because I have to feed him more hay due to the rubbish grass.
I can't just give him none as he gets bored and starts to wind suck or pace up and down one side of his paddock.
I was wondering if it'd be a good idea to soak his hay so he could have more...I've heard soaking removes some of the calories, is this true?
If you do soak hay how long does it take to soak properly? And would you put it in the net first and soak it while it's in the net or soak it then put it in the net and give it to him?
I know in an ideal world he'd just get more exercise but due to his not so good leg he can't do much fast work so is just doing short hacks in walk.

[harveydales]

Mmm you've discovered the ability many of our ponies have to live on fresh air! I've never soaked to reduce sugars but it does work so long as you soak for long enough. Proper experiments have been done. I think they found that soaking for 20 minutes only reduced water soluble sugars by 5% and it was something like 50% reduction on soaking for 16 hours.

I would think it is easier to soak the whole net but it doesn't matter. That's been tested as well so do whatever is easiest for you. Trouble is, hay soaked like this is less palatable so some ponies won't touch it. I only soak mine very briefly, just to remove dust.

I've always read that true old fashioned meadow hay has less sugar than ryegrass hay but when I had our own ancient meadow hay tested, it had had very high sugar content. Some people on here mix their hay with straw which I did try one year. Still, winter is coming.........

[dalesnfellfan]

I have the same problem with Spud now he can't work properly, or indeed sometimes not at all, he piles on weight just looking at hay. I always soak his hay so he can have more and try to feed old hay e.g. last years hay where possible, or late cut hay as it has less sugars, yes meadow hay or seed hay made up of wide range of grass types more suited to ponies should contain less sugar than rye grass which is more ideally used for grazing cattle which need higher sugar content for milk or meat production.

I soak his hay for between 16 and 24 hrs, sometimes changing the water half way through if the hay is good as once the SC in the water and hay have reached equilibrium, there will be no more sugars released from the hay until the water has been changed (osmosis).

I soak in the net, much easier than loose and use a small holed net to make it last a bit longer, if feeding in the field I have some feeders made from big blue plastic barrels cut in half lengthways with a small holed net opened out and attached over the top, or it also works if not shod to fill nets and secure the strings well to make hay pillows, I'd be wary of doing this though if he's shod in case he gets a shoe caught in it.

I don't have any problems with mine eating soaked hay, Spud will gobble up anything, I do try to feed it soon after it's soaked and drained though, especially if the weather is on the warm side.

[DalesLady]

I soaked hay for 12 hours last year, ie overnight, then drain all day to feed in the evening, or during the day, then drain all night to feed next morning. What actually surprised me was that they did eat it; reluctantly at first, but then Dales ponies don't like to be hungry for long and were soon tucking in. I found it good practice to do it this way, it fitted in with our working routine. The other thing I noted was that although the sugars were probably only reduced by less than 50% it was bulkier for them to eat and they therefore consumed less hay because they felt fuller.
I started a couple of months into winter with this routine, and if they come in this winter I will begin straightaway so from the outset they have no other choice.
I am hoping, possibly stupidly, that we ay have a drier and frostier winter and I will be able to allow my girls to live out all Winter this time. That is the best diet of all IMHO!!!

[yanny]

Thanks for your help everyone!
I'll start doing this; it sounds like a good idea. I'm also hoping for a drier winter this year...last year our field became a complete quagmire. I'd rather keep both the lads out 24/7 too; I'm just hoping it stays dry!