Haylage makes a horse pee!
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joallan
26 May 2010 00:01
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Why does a horse pee more when fed haylage?
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Horse Hero Guru
26 May 2010 20:29
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An interesting question Joallan, and one to which I am going to ask you some questions as well.
I have not heard too many people say that their horse pees more when fed haylage, although I can think of a couple of reasons why it might appear that they are doing so. One is that the haylage is wetter than hay, increasing the fluid in the diet. The other would be that the haylage may well be higher in protein than other feedstuffs, particularly if it was made for cattle or from fertilised grass, and the only way a horse can get rid of excess protein is as ammonia in its urine – meaning that it smells stronger.
Now the questions for you are – have you only just noticed your horse is peeing more or is this a gradual thing? Is he drinking more? How much is he drinking each day. Is your horse a mare – at this time of year a mare will come in to season every three weeks and will appear to pee more as she will wee a little every time she sees a male that she would like to attract.
Excess urine production can be an indicator of several problems that it might be worth thinking about including the early stages of Cushings or a kidney infection.
I would be surprised if there is a problem – horses are big animals and a 450 kg horse should drink 4 to 6 buckets of water a day – and that is a hell of a lot of pee! It also depends on their diet, the weather, how much they are working and many other things. The time to be concerned is if the quantities of water and pee (or its colour or consistency) change for no apparent reason.
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joallan
06 Jun 2010 23:27
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This is a feature of lots of horses in this yard, so I thought it was common, as some peeps mentioned it at the last yard i was at, though the haylage at the last yard was drier with no additives and was more like hay.
In fact my boy is on half stalky late cut hay and half haylage, the haylage could be drier and stalkier but it is a Timothy mixture which is good for horses and not cut early in the spring, I don't think it has a lot of fertiliser.
He is only six, and bursting with health, normal pee colour.
I feed no cereals and avoid molasses, low protein, low energy, plus a handful of plain chaff in the feed.
He drinks a normal amount of water, ad lib, not excessive.
Now he is out at grass, stabled for a few hours before exercise, he is holding back from peeing in his box and peeing on the grass during his hack!
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