Steamed Hay: Benefits Beyond Easy Breathing

Learn about the benefits of steaming your horse's hay and why Haygain's Hay Steamers are a barn essential!

Equine respiratory health has been an increasingly hot topic of late as owners, riders and veterinarians recognize its critical role in performance and well-being. COVID-19 is a heartbreaking example of the damage an invisible, microscopic enemy can cause in people and the horse's respiratory system is, in some ways, even more vulnerable.

If it could be stretched out flat, the super-thin lining of the lungs would span half a football field. That whole expanse is subject to irritants that trigger inflammation -- a core symptom of all conditions on the Equine Asthma Spectrum. Conditions on the milder end of this spectrum affect over 80% of active sport horses, often without obvious symptoms.

Haygain high-temperature steaming was developed 11 years ago to address these irritants and improve respiratory function. It reduces by 98% the dust, mold and bacteria found in even top-quality hay. That's why so many people, from Olympians to regular horse owners and veterinarians, consider steamed hay a must-have.

Lesser known is the fact that steamed hay has benefits well beyond respiratory function.

Unlike soaking hay, steaming retains hay's nutrients and it's no hassle or mess to incorporate for stables of any size. As a result of the one-hour steaming process, Haygain hay delivers extra water for better digestion, colic prevention and hydration. It's more palatable, too. Even picky eaters get the nutrients they need to perform and maintain weight, and there's less wasted hay.

Plus, it smells divine.

In this video, veterinarians Chad and Stephanie Davis, DVM, explain how high-temperature hay steaming goes beyond easy breathing in helping all horses. Learn more at www.haygain.com.

Haygain manufactures Hay Steamers and ComfortStall Orthopedic Sealed Flooring. Learn more about and shop Haygain's different products on Equivont!