Hay Steamers

[Amy3996]

Does anyone use the Haygain or Happy Horse steamers?

My horse is showing mild symptoms of RAO - vet appointment soon to determine if that’s actually the diagnosis. I’ve been researching options for forage management as 24/7/365 pasture is not an option in northwest NY, especially since my finicky horse has made his opinion re: 24/7 turnout very clear. Barn is meticulously cleaned and arena has oiled fiber dust-free footing. Horse is bedded on dampened wood pellets, so minimal dust there. I suspect that hay dust/allergens/spores are the root of his coughing. Steaming seems like the way to go, but very pricey. I’m looking into the Haygain HG-One steamer, since I’d only be providing steamed hay for my one horse.

Are the Haygain steamers worth the price? Are they easy to use/clean/maintain?

[pluvinel]

Soak the hay in water. Philip Dutton had a horrible barn fire that started in a hay steamer.

[Amy3996]

@pluvinel Soaking the hay is not sufficient for removing mold spores/allergens/etc. We’ve tried soaking with no success. Fire risk is of course a very valid concern, and it’s the reason I’m not looking into the DIY versions.

[MyKindaFlower]

Hi OP. I have the Haygain steamer and love it. Takes a bit of time and management but not terribly inconvenient. In my opinion, it’s much easier than soaking hay. I just purchased the half bale size to replace my full bale steamer. Actually, if you were closer, or don’t mind the drive, I’d give you the old one as I’m looking to ‘rehome’ it since I don’t have a use for it. Still works well after 7 years but the older models were not as easy to clean and maintain and the half bale size is a lot easier for me to manage.

As far as safety goes, I used to use timers on my steamer but one malfunctioned and partially melted one of the cords (which I had repaired). After that experience, I won’t use a timer on anything. Now I just plug it in and turn it on twice a day. If you can only steam once per day, that’s fine too as the hay is good for 24 hours.

Just be sure to follow the recommended cleaning and use instructions and you should be very happy with it. As an aside, I haven’t used the descaler that Haygain makes. I’ve always just run a cycle of vinegar water through my boilers on occasion but I don’t have very hard water.

[Amy3996]

@MyKindaFlower Thank you for the insight! I appreciate the offer, but I think a full bale steamer would be too big for my purposes. My gelding is a 16.3hh, 1300lb warmblood, so he does eat a lot of hay, but I don’t mind steaming two nets consecutively in the winter time when he’ll go through ~30lbs a day.

[MyKindaFlower]

The full bale one is pretty cumbersome if you don’t need one that big, OP. There have been some design changes to them to make them a bit easier to clean as well.

Best of luck and please let us know what you decide to go with!

[Ghazzu]

@Amy3996

@pluvinel Soaking the hay is not sufficient for removing mold spores/allergens/etc. We’ve tried soaking with no success. Fire risk is of course a very valid concern, and it’s the reason I’m not looking into the DIY versions.

Steaming does not “remove” the spores.