I would only be using it in the winter, when the ground is hard and frozen, plus we get craploads of snow, so the only time the ground gets wet and mucky is for a bit in the spring, and I would probably stop using it before then.
I would be VERY concerned about this. Have you ever heard of haylage for cows? They take plastic and wrap it around the bales. It creates a nice warm atomosphere for the hay to ferment.
This looks exactly like that and if you live in a slightly wet area, the rain plus the plastic and the heat it would create would be cause for mold.I know it says it repels moisture but not from the exposed bale which then would ferment due to the plastic and the warmth.
It is very stinky, too. I know someone that feeds her horses with respiratory problems haylige. Their breath smells fermented after they've been eating it.
Apparently they often wrap crappy hay up because horses/cows won't eat it dry but will eat it as haylage. Or if it has been rained on and they can't bale it for dry they wrap it up.
Yuck.
So if this product above is pre-wrapped hay, then no way would I do it.
If you're supposed to wrap that around the bale yourself, I wonder HOW YOU DO IT? And will it cause the hay to ferment?
It is a cover that you purchase to wrap the bale yourself. Even though they claim it is breatable, there will still be some moisture thatw ould be forced to be held against the bale(nothing is 100% breatheable) and would cause some fermentation. I'd rather have a little more wasted hay than have to worry about colic.
What happens after the horse has eaten a good amount of hay out of it? The bag sags? You have to roll it down? It appears the horse can only eat out of the top of the bag, and I know my pony wouldn't be able to reach that. It looks like a good idea that just needs a little more work to me.
The website says that the bad sort of collapses in on itself as they eat the hay down, and then you can dump the remains out and the horses will eat it up. It would be my 2 TB's eating on it, so they'd have no trouble reaching the top.
I know a bazillion people love feeding round bales because it's so much easier to keep the horses' weight up, and that for many horses it poses no problem, but...
This is subplot2's semi-annual reminder that that is how her horse developed COPD and now her horse has an expensive and irreversible respiratory condition. And while there's still not a scientific consensus on why some horses are affected and some aren't, you'd be doing subplot2 a favor and keep it in the back of your mind.
In many areas, hay is put into large round bales. These are very handy, especially if hay is the only ingredient in the diet and is fed free-choice. The problem with round bales, even if the hay is put up properly, is to prevent mold from developing during storage. If the round bales are placed on the ground, there usually is enough moisture on the bottom part of the bale to stimulate the development of mold. If round bales are to be fed to
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This looks exactly like that and if you live in a slightly wet area, the rain plus the plastic and the heat it would create would be cause for mold.I know it says it repels moisture but not from the exposed bale which then would ferment due to the plastic and the warmth.
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Apparently they often wrap crappy hay up because horses/cows won't eat it dry but will eat it as haylage. Or if it has been rained on and they can't bale it for dry they wrap it up.
Yuck.
So if this product above is pre-wrapped hay, then no way would I do it.
If you're supposed to wrap that around the bale yourself, I wonder HOW YOU DO IT? And will it cause the hay to ferment?
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This is subplot2's semi-annual reminder that that is how her horse developed COPD and now her horse has an expensive and irreversible respiratory condition. And while there's still not a scientific consensus on why some horses are affected and some aren't, you'd be doing subplot2 a favor and keep it in the back of your mind.
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=133
In many areas, hay is put into large round bales. These are very handy, especially if hay is the only ingredient in the diet and is fed free-choice. The problem with round bales, even if the hay is put up properly, is to prevent mold from developing during storage. If the round bales are placed on the ground, there usually is enough moisture on the bottom part of the bale to stimulate the development of mold. If round bales are to be fed to ( ... )
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