Soaking hay in winter, how do you do it?

[ba]

I've started soaking my horse's hay this year so this is my first winter with the chore! How do you do it when conditions are freezing??? I use one normal plastic bin and one hay soaker bin and soak 3 haynets morning and evening, I'm worried about how to manage this in the depths of winter........

[mjcssjw2]

with great difficulty, this was last year lol

[Hannah]

If you are soaking to reduce dust, the best way is steaming. Use a dustbin with a well fitting lid and pour in a kettle full of water, stick the lid on and leave for 10 mins. Some people are using wall-paper strippers with good results too.

[ba]

Fab pic! That's what I'm worried about lol

Not soaking for dust, although a quick rinse through will be better than nothing I would prefer the hay soaked if possible, to increase my horses fluid intake - he can't have haylage. How do others manage? There must be a way???

[portiabuzz]

Woah that's frozen!!

[amber]

I seem to manage OK to be honest. On the days i know it's going to be freezing temps, i dunk/temporarily soack the nets for a few minutes when i arrive at the yard and then hose them off for a few minutes which is better than nothing. Even in this short amount of time, the water that drains off is still a 'dandelion & burdock' colour! I do generally soak overnight, but it's damn near impossible in the depths of winter and temps in the minus's.

I always make sure i have last year's hay (what i've got at the moment is over 18 months old), so it will not be as 'sugary' as this years, so at least if on the days i have to do a 'quick fix', he's not getting too rich a fibre source.

This method works for us and up til now, we're still soaking overnight, which is a bonus at this time of year.

[kafee]

I put an old bath outside my back door, fill with water either from the outside tap, or with buckets from indoors. I soak a days supply of hay in nets (10 - 15 mins each), every evening, then lift out and leave them to drain. Once drained I put them in old dengi hi-fi sacks so they don't dribble in my Land Rover. I only feed hay when there's snow on the ground as I have a lot of 'foggage'. I feel for those who have to feed hay every day.

[marychick]

So far this year I've got away with just soaking for a couple of hours but last year I was soaking over night  (my girly was a bit porky)!! Tbh I didn't have many issues with the water freezing. There would sometimes be a layer of ice on top but that would either melt when I drained the hay or on occassions I would give it a quick hose off. The worst issues I had were trying to make sure I got the water straight in the drain to avoid turning the yard into an ice rink and very cold hands an knees (i use my knees to lift the haynets up when hanging them to dry. lol)!!! I'm contempating a bit of DIY this year and making a wheely bin with a tap on the bottom to rectify the wet knee situation but I'm not sure how effective it will be!

[Deleted]

I've got a wheelie bin with a tap on the bottom - it's brilliant most of the year but not in freezing weather.

The tap on mine froze pretty much at the first sign of ice and I couldn't unfreeze it and due to the height of the bin I then couldn't lift the wet nets out. I also foud the water at the sides of the bin froze so last year I ended up with 2 neats of hay frozen in there for about a week!

When the tap was frozen I went back to large trugs as they're easier to break the ice on and easier to lift the nets out of. I reduced soaking time to 20 mins as a little ice on the top isn't really an issue, but if it freezes down the edges of the container/ trug it's a right pain to get out.

I also found if I put the containers in a sheltered area, right up against the wall of the stables/ in a corner/ under a hedge etc it can reduce the amount of ice you get on them. I've also found an old rug wrapped around the containers can help reduce the ice a bit.

Do consider where you tip the water though, I ditched mine into some rough scrubby land next to the yard to prevent it freezing on the concrete.

[amber]

I find that empty cattle lick containers (the huge ones!) are ideal for soaking. I just pop my nets in and put a couple of stones on top and they're done. All i need to do is grab hold of the net's tying up rope and drag the whole outfit about 3 yards over to the drain and tip it out. Then i hang my net up and rinse it off over the drain, so all the waste water is quite contained over a small area, so alot less danger of water all over the place.

[laddiesmum]

Don't have to worry about soaking at the moment, just leaving it out in this *bleep bleep* rain!

[jill]

Dec 22, 2013 23:38:42 GMT 1 ba said:

Fab pic! That's what I'm worried about lol

Not soaking for dust, although a quick rinse through will be better than nothing I would prefer the hay soaked if possible, to increase my horses fluid intake - he can't have haylage. How do others manage? There must be a way???

Soaked beet pulp (unmollassed) access to a good supply of water and a decent amount of salt in his feed (or another electrolyte)- most of the water in soaked hay will have drained out by the time he eats it. What makes you think he needs to increase his fluid intake?

[specialized]

Hay actually contains quite a high percentage of water and the difference between the water in hay and haylage is minimal - probably less than a cupful - so soaking for water intake is probably futile. As has been suggested a feed of sugarbeet will contain far more water than a net of soaked hay.

[rosemaryhannah]

No I would not worry over water intake as long as he has constant access to water - however I too have a wheelie bin with a tap affair at the bottom. I fill it, and wheel in to where it is going to be fed. Simples. In really really freezing weather, I go for the kettle of water/steam, but I find it is less effective at laying the dust.

[portiabuzz]

Oh yes the rain... !!! Loads of it here !