Fixed or flexible chamber balers without or with knives can improve the silage ... (
Welger AP 730 and New Holland 575 ), when the bale weight exeeded 35 kg.
Production of high-quality silages for horses Per Lingvall Senior Research Leader, Kungsängens Research Centre, Department of Animal Nutrition and Management Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala
INTRODUCTION • The horse industry in the European Union The number of horses Production of horse feed Social importance
• Forage intake in relation to conservation systems – risks and possibilities Weather related problems Forage related problems Hay production Silage production
• Silage technology for horses Stage of maturity – nutrient concentration – DM content Ensiling in bales – density – costs – storage stability – stretch film quality – use of silage additives
• Feeding silage to horses Palatability Silage quality
• Future challenges
Populations of humans and horses in the EU
Country Austria
Number of
Inhabitants
Horses per
horses (n)
(n)
capita (n)
81,900
8,200,000
10.0
Denmark
150,000
5,300,000
28.3
Germany
1,000,000
82,000,000
12.2
France
452,000
59,100,000
7.7
Netherlands
400,000
15,800,000
25.3
Sweden
280,000
9,000,000
31.1
UK
965,000
58,800,000
16.4
4,676,000
375,331,000
12.5
Total
Final Report, EU Equus, 2001 - The horse industry in the EU
Relation between type of feed ration and land use for horses in the EU Diet A: Diet B: Assumptions:
Country
8 kg hay + 2 kg oats per horse and day 4 kg hay + 2 kg straw + 4 kg oats per horse and day 165 grazing days and 200 days indoor-feeding, 500 kg live weight
Proportion of total agricultural land used for horses (%) Diet A
Diet B
Austria
2.4
1.9
Denmark
5.4
4.1
Germany
4.2
3.5
France
1.2
1.1
14.0
11.4
Sweden
9.7
7.6
UK
4.1
3.3
Total
3.2
2.7
Netherlands
Final Report, EU Equus, 2001 - The horse industry in the EU
(2004)
Leisure riders and riding schools in the EU Country
Leisure
Number of
Members in
riders (n)
riding schools
riding schools
Austria
200,000
1,100
80,000
Denmark
100,000
500
70,000
Germany
>2,000,000
5,000
100,000
France
600,000
5,939
426,000
Netherlands
400,000
1,000
260,000
Sweden
500,000
600
215,000
UK
2,400,000
2,280
1,440,000
Total
6,460,000
19,592
2,657,700
Final Report, EU Equus, 2001 - The horse industry in the EU
In Sweden, there are 500,000 boys playing soccer and 65,000 licenced ice hockey players!
BUT 85 % (= 425,000) of the riders are girls! Horse industry is very important in keeping the landscape open and represents a significant source of income for the farmland economy. Also in the EU, this industry is of high priority.
Possibilities for education in the horse industry in the EU Country
Educational level Upper secondary Possibility
Graduates (n)
Higher Education Possibility
Graduates (n)
Austria
yes
-
Danmark
no
-
Germany
no
yes
France
yes
1,185
no
Netherland
yes
60
yes
10
Sweden
yes
300
yes
90
UK
yes
5,000
yes
12
600 - 1,000
Due to huge decrease in the interest in horses after the second world war, a lot of knowledge has disappeared. The increasing interest in horse activities both as a possibility of making a living but also in training and competition has put a new attention to the lack of feeding and training the horse. In Sweden the horse business is increasing, and the need for knowledge and information is great. A specific foundation for horse activities was also established to stimulate the youngsters interest and healthy sport activities. We look forward to collaborate in a larger program within EU.
Forage preservation - weather related problems Factors affecting forage value and choice of conservation system 1. harvest and conservation at optimal stage of maturity/nutritive value value can rapidly decrease from 200 to 100 €/t silage DM 2. secure good hygienic quality – clostridia spores in milk cause reduction in milk price in several European countries (Sweden, Danmark) 3. reduced nutritive loss from harvest to feeding bad weather conditions can cost up to 90 €/ha System
Hay
Year 1990
1998*
1999
2000*
2004*
30 %
5%
20 %
10 %
10-15 %
Bunker silo
20 %
20 %
20 %
20 %
25 %
Tower silo
20 %
20 %
20 %
20 %
20 %
Bale silage
30 %
55 %
40 %
50 %
50 %
6
9
8
10
11
Stretch film use (1,000 tons)
The new bale technology has increased because of its flexibility and heavy competion in relation to investments in permanent silos and machinery to avoid hygienic quality problems and to reduce losses.
* problematic weather conditions
Forage preservation - forage related problems Study on 2,817 horses distributed over a number of farms / riding schools in Stockholm / Uppsala area - most of them half blood riding horses Questionaire for feeding system and health problems 59 % fed hay only, 14 % fed silage / haylage only and 27 % fed both hay and silage 29 % of the managers had noticed health problems Mouldy hay was the main problem, but loose droppings often occurred after change from hay to silage.
Health disorder
Diarrhoea Fertility Respiratory disease
Number of observations
17 0 25
Laminitis
2
Reduced intake
9
Botulism
2
Allergic syndrome
4
other
10
Respiratory problems cost a significant amount of money, botulism is no problem (according to insurance companies).
Bale size Bale size is another promblem. A low number of horses on a farm cannot consume a big bale of 300 kg DM within a reasonable time period, therefore the silage will heat and get mouldy during a mild autumn. There is a demand for small bales - something that has to be developed. Silage additives can reduce the problem.
Hay or Silage - the horse´s preference Study at SLU first cut harvest from a pure grass sward was preserved as Barn dried hay – 86 % DM, Bale silage – 35 % DM, Bale silage – 55 % DM, Bale silage - 70 % DM and individually fed to four horses. All forages were fed in four separate boxes to each horse. The places of the boxes were changed before every feeding period during fourteen days experiment period after an one week adoption period.
Frequency of first choice of feed type (%) 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
hay
silage (70% DM)
silage (55% DM)
silage (35% DM)
Effect of crop and baling system Bale silage is mainly produced on an ordinary farm and transported to the horse stables. Bale silage is the base in this production chain. As ensiling is an anaerobic process, forage density / exclusion of oxygen within the bale is very important. Several factors are of importance in such a system. The crop. No baler can reduce the moisture content during baling. Crop DM has the strongest impact on bale density – r2 =0. 75 – 0.85. Crop maturity and crop structure cover 5 – 15 %. As early cut forage also gives higher nutritive value, this is a positive economic factor.
Parameter
Forage DM (g/kg) 200
350
500
100 - 105
135 - 160
200 - 240
Number of bales/t DM (n)
7.5
4.6
3.2
Stretch film (kg/t DM)
8.3
5.1
3.5
Bale density (kg DM/m3)
The bale systems also influence bale density. Fixed or flexible chamber balers without or with knives can improve the silage process and the packing capacity. Square bales are preferred for long transport distances. The bale corners are vulnerbale to film puncture, therefore the producer will use 12 – 16 film layers. Small high-density square bales are useful when few horses have to be fed. C. Müller (2005) got good results with small bales (Welger AP 730 and New Holland 575 ), when the bale weight exeeded 35 kg. Comparing 6, 8 and 10 layers of stretch film and using lactic acid bacteria and KOFASIL ® ULTRA, gas tightness was increased by increasing the number of layers. Silage quality and stability upon exposure to air was improved by use of additives. KOFASIL® ULTRA gave the most consistent results. Production of square bales is labour intensive !!
