I have searched the old posts for information on Haygain steamers, and the comments have been overwhelmingly positive. I would assume, though, that most of the owners posting have horses that are more symptomatic in the winter months, since that is more common. I’m just wondering if anyone has experience with steaming hay for a horse that is symptomatic during late summer/early fall. Anyone?
Steaming is steaming, and if they are having a problem with hay dust, then the time of year wouldn’t matter. There are lots of Heaves horses on hay year-round, either full or part time, who need their hay steamed.
I agree. My horses actually are on hay year round - although less hay during the summer months. That was part of why I asked the question. Since hay is a smaller part of the diet for my horses during the summer, would the steamer make a significant difference in management. I suspect the answer is yes, but would be interested to see if anyone has actually tried it with a horse that is symptomatic during the warmer months.
It’s a big outlay of cash for the half bale steamer I am considering. I just want to make sure it is worth the expense for my situation.
What about just hosing the hay, in a hay net? Wet it down thoroughly, rinse off dust matter, soften it so it is a bit more like grass in texture.
What is the difference between that and steaming?
If the issue is mold spores (which aren’t automatically dangerous, there are often very low levels even in “clean” hay) then you need a steamer.
If the issue is just dust, then like OverandOnward said, hosing down may be all you need
You need a real steamer to effectively kill bacteria and mold. Even a lot of DIY steamers don’t get hot enough, for long enough, to do that effectively.
Meaning - it really depends on what the actual issue is
Hay is not a trigger for my horse, and his asthma is worse when it’s warm. I did steam his hay last spring/early summer when he only ate hay at night in his stall and was out on pasture otherwise. I can’t say if it helped specifically, because his symptoms were much more mild anyway due to change in location. Because of boarding barn constraints, i wasn’t allowed to use my steamer when we got back home and it was very hot, very dry, very smoky, and very dusty. On a couple of really bad air quality days, i did wind up steaming for his night meal just in hopes it would help with his overall inflammation. Not enough of an experiment to really tell, but if I could have used my steamer, he would have eaten primarily hay this summer as we don’t have access to good pasture and the pastures that were here died pretty early on due to drought.
Long story short… it is worth it if hay and hay dust are primary triggers for your horse. It MAY be worth it if the pasture and heat and other things you can’t control are triggers and you are looking to try to help overall impact by reducing any allergens you can control, like those found in hay or bedding or other stable management things.
I think the moisture from steaming also helps physically with horses who are coughing because of their airway issues, again just reducing some of the irritant from dry hay.
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I bought a hay gain this fall and I would shout my appreciation from the rooftops if I could. My only regret is not getting the half bale steamer. I got the smallest one because I was nervous it wouldn’t solve our issues and didn’t want to spend that much money on something I might not be able to re-sell.
It is AMAZING. End of story. We went from a chronic cough and exercise intolerance to 10 years younger with moves like jagger (not really, but that’s what it felt like).
It also finally confirmed that the hay IS the problem. I was trying all the management changes, supplements, etc with minimal/no improvement but kept telling myself it couldn’t be the hay because why don’t all horses cough then? I don’t know why he has a particular problem with hay, but the haygain did in two days what two years of soaking and boiling water “steaming” (homemade version) and vaccuming the barn and feeding the spirulina and on and on didn’t do. Literally 2 days.
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Thanks for this post. I bought one for an IR horse. I called the company and spoke WC them at length. It will help remove sugar and starch w additional water poured over the top. It’s cold here and very hard to soak hay and dispose of the water when it’s freezing.
I have one, not Haygain but the UK version. I lucked out and the person I got my horse trailer from threw it in with the trailer! I love love love it. One of my girls has summer allergies and the difference in her is huge after changing to steamed hay. She still gets round bales outside (good quality).
Just changing her indoor hay has made a difference. Now I steam all the hay for everyone.
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Thanks, everyone, for the steamer stories. I am strongly leaning towards ordering a steamer. It’s a lot of money to spend without knowing for sure that it will help, but all of the positive reviews make me think it might be worth taking the chance.
While I don’t have the HayGain (I have UK brand that they made compatible for me in the US), I will say it has been incredible for me (the UK version was MUCH cheaper at the time than the haygain). I bought it 3 years ago for my gelding with heaves (he was heave-y before I bought him) and it was a lifesaver for him (he used it with medication during bad times). I used it year-round for a year until I lost him to colic. It sat in my garage until I pulled it out 2 months ago for my mini who has a seasonal cough. Once again, it’s been amazing. While his cough isn’t gone completely, it’s 90% better which is amazing considering he only gets steamed hay in his stall.
I’m probably going to keep steaming all year know that I’ve put the steamer back in use as he seems to love steamed hay. I’m curious to see if it’ll stop the cough from coming back if we keep him on steamed hay year-round. The hay is clean but any particle seems to cause coughing across all hays. And as a mini, it’s not like he gets much… Anyway, that’s going to be our experiment. But, I love my steamer!
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