Ways of preserving hay
INTRODUCTION
Preserving hay is a delicate art and, like any art, there are several techniques to consider. Dry or wet? Ventilated or dehydrated hay? Ensiled or wrapped? There are many options available, and a breeder concerned about the welfare of his horses will need to choose the methods best suited to his objectives and the needs of his horses. In this article, we take a look at the different ways of conserving hay, their specific features and their benefits.
THE DRY WAY
Haymaking
Haymaking is the most traditional way of preserving hay. Historically, the term “haymaking” covered only tedding, the action of turning over the cut grass. Today, however, the word encompasses a complete process consisting of four main stages.
- Mowing: it’s as simple as that! Depending on the nutritional values required, the grass will be cut at a more or less advanced stage of maturity. Young shoots tend to be richer in nutrients and may be suitable for horses with high nutritional requirements (such as young foals or competition horses).
- Tedding: as mentioned above, tedding involves turning the mown grass over one or more times to aerate it and allow it to dry evenly. Initially, the grass is left in the open air, dried by the wind and sun. This crucial stage ensures that a minimum percentage of dry matter (80%) is reached, guaranteeing that the hay keeps well.
- Windrowing: Windrowing is the name given to the process of spreading the dried grass into long strips called windrows. This operation facilitates the following stage.
- Baling and storage: To preserve hay, it is stored in bales or bundles. The hay takes on this shape during pressing, which consists of compressing the hay to give it the desired shape, depending on the farmer’s storage facilities.
Ventilation
Some farmers are looking to achieve a higher level of dry matter in their hay. While haymaking can already achieve a high level of dry matter, there are certain ways of preserving hay that can increase this level even further. This is particularly true of ventilation. This technique is particularly popular with dairy farmers and in regions where maize is not widely grown or available.
This method uses the same steps as haymaking, but includes drying the hay by ventilation. The principle involves placing the hay in a barn and heating the ambient air. A system of fans then circulates the air under and over the hay, ensuring even drying. Because of these special installations, ventilation drying requires additional investment on the part of the farmer.
THE WET ROAD
As opposed to the dry method, the wet method is one of the ways of preserving hay that exploits lactic fermentation. This biological phenomenon involves exploiting the presence in the hay of bacteria that are harmless to horses to encourage the production of lactic acid. This particular molecule enriches the hay with digestible proteins while preventing the development of other micro-organisms that are potentially dangerous for horses.
Silage
Ensiling, as the name suggests, involves storing hay in a silo. Beforehand, the hay is finely chopped into particles of around one centimetre before being tightly packed in a silo (or sometimes in a trench): this stage prevents air circulation and creates anaerobic conditions (without oxygen) conducive to the development of natural lactic bacteria. The hay ferments in this way for several weeks, making it more digestible and nutritionally richer.
Wrapping
Another dry technique, wrapping, involves wrapping the cut grass in several layers of special plastic film to give the characteristic bale shape of wrapped hay. This special wrapping creates a hermetic barrier that isolates the hay from the air and prevents the infiltration of water and oxygen.
Anaerobic fermentation then takes place within the hay bale, ensuring that the nutritional qualities of the hay are preserved and protecting against the development of pathogens and moulds.
What’s more, wrapped hay offers significant advantages in terms of storage and handling. This is what motivated Herbalux to adopt this 20 kilo bale format, particularly for breeders who are frequently on the move or who want to feed their horses with high nutritional value hay. To find out more, please visit our dedicated page!
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