Haygain Steamed Hay offers respiratory, digestive and overall benefits to your horse's health. Respiratory benefits come from reducing up to 99% of the respirable particles commonly found in hay. These are a main cause of respiratory disease. Haygain Steaming supports digestive health by reducing bacteria in hay and increasing the moisture content to help forage move through the digestive tract. More moisture also aids hydration. These benefits combine with increased palatability, ensuring that your horse gets everything they need from their hay and nothing they don't. Multiple peer-reviewed published studies prove the benefits of Haygain Steamed Hay.

Steaming only slightly reduces the water soluble carbohydrates (aka "sugar") in hay. If a significant reduction in sugar is desired, the latest research suggests a 9-hour soak followed by a 50-minute steam to reduce sugars while maintaining hygienic quality. Ideally, hay is analysed to determine nutrient content, including sugars, enabling best next steps for specific horse needs. 

Soaking hay will dampen microscopic particles so they are more likely to be ingested rather than inhaled into the respiratory system. Because it does not involve high temperatures, however, soaking does not deactivate mold and bacteria. In fact, it can increase them. A 10-minute soak can increase bacteria content by 150%, whereas Haygain's high temperatures deactivate mold and harmful bacteria. The soaking process produces post-soak liquid -- and lots of it -- that is 9X more polluting than raw sewage. Soaking hay requires between 60 and 100 litres of water, while Haygain steaming requires just 4 litres. The small amount of post-steam liquid is not toxic. 

Steamed Hay retains its hygienic qualities for at least 24 hours, while soaked hay should be fed quickly.

Steaming hay preserves nutrients; soaking leaches them. Studies show that most horses prefer steamed hay over soaked or dry, and many horses don't like taste and texture of soaked hay. 

No—Haygain Hay Steaming is designed to preserve the nutritional value of your forage. Unlike soaking, which can leach out water-soluble nutrients, steaming adds moisture without removing key nutrients. This means your horse benefits from cleaner hay while still receiving the nutrition it needs.

Haygain Steamed Hay retains its hygienic qualities for at least 24 hours after steaming. Haygain Hay Bags keep the steamed hay fresh and clean.

Haygain Steamed Hay goes from moist to dry soon after exposure to the air. This has no effect on the hygienic quality or palatability. We recommend feeding the hay within 24 hours to prevent contamination from environmental sources.

Haygain's patented Hay Steaming technology is the only scientifically proven method for significantly reducing the respirable particles commonly found in hay. Extensive peer-reviewed published research establishes the benefits of Haygain Steamed Hay for horses' respiratory, digestive and overall health. Read the research here. A spike manifold steam injection system ensures thorough steaming of all hay in the thermally-sealed chest and at temperatures required to deactivate disease-causing mold, bacteria and other allergens. Haygain Hay Steaming was developed in conjunction with the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, UK and its benefits continue to be verified by ongoing research. Haygain Steamed Hay is the standard of care in much of the equestrian world and is embraced by veterinarians, Olympic equestrians and horse owners worldwide. Haygain is committed to researching various aspects of equine health and to sharing that knowledge with horse owners and care providers. 

While well-intentioned, homemade steamers can often do more harm than good. Steaming forage at insufficient temperatures and durations can dramatically increase mold and bacteria content. They are not designed to deliver steam evenly throughout the hay or to retain the necessary high temperatures. The benefits of feeding Haygain Steamed Hay have been proven many times in published research, which cannot be said about hay steamed in DIY units. 

Yes. Haygain Steaming will improve the hygienic quality of any forage. Scientific studies have also shown it will increase the shelf life of haylage by up to 4 days.

Steamed Hay can be fed immediately after the steaming cycle is finished and the initial release of steam has dissipated after lifting the lid. It is hot initially, but cools down quickly and most owners report their horses enjoy it served warm -- especially on chilly mornings! Haygain Steamed Hay retains its hygienic qualities for at least 24 hours.

Studies demonstrate most horses prefer Haygain Steamed Hay over dry or soaked hay. Some horses may adjust to it gradually and will benefit from a mix of dry and steamed hay in the beginning.

Steamed hay feels moist: it is not wet like soaked hay. Its appearance varies based on the type of hay. Green forages may lose their colour due to high temperature's effect on the chlorophyll that gives it that green hue. 

Steaming does not affect the hay's weight. 

The hay will absorb the water, bringing it back towards its original moisture content, approximately 15+% of its original weight. Steaming uses about 4 ½ litres of water per cycle. Some is absorbed by the hay, some is released as steam when the lid opens and a small amount exits through drain holes in the chest base. Soaking hay, by contrast, uses 60 to 80 litres of water.

A forage-only diet is very good for horses’ gut health because it’s high in fibers and low in starches, and it offers horses the chance to chew for long hours of the day the way nature intended.

But nature also intended for horses to roam and consume a wide variety of green grasses, bushes, tree leaves, and other plants that would provide them with all the nutrients they need for a healthy diet. Today’s pastures and hay fields lack this variety, and much of the protein is lost in the drying, cutting, and storing process.

Nutrition experts recommend providing horses with a daily balancer—a small blend of vitamins, minerals, and proteins—if they are kept on a forage-only diet. That is true regardless of whether the forage has been steamed or not.

In very rare circumstances involving specifically developed, immature, early cut high-protein grasses stored as haylage or silage, owners might be able to cut the protein balancer. But in that case, the forage must undergo regular laboratory analyses to ensure the protein levels are high enough, and the horses must have consistent body condition scoring. Again, that is the case whether the forage has been steamed or not.

Steaming might have a mild effect on proteins that would make them less available to a horse’s digestive tract. This is similar to the way boiling an egg would make some of its proteins slightly less available to humans.

Practically speaking, however, this mild effect would make almost no difference in horses’ protein intake from hay. Studies in live horses have shown that horses only take up 22% of the already low amounts of protein in dry hay. The consequences of any damage caused by steaming would be negligible.

Because horses on forage-based diets need supplemental protein regardless of whether the forage is dry or steamed, they can gain all the benefits from steaming without any changes in their protein uptake.

Commercial concentrated feeds provide all the protein horses need, provided they are fed according to the manufacturer’s instructions and recommendations.

Owners wishing to eliminate concentrated feeds from their horses’ diet can provide high-quality and highly palatable Haygain-steamed hay supplemented with a commercial ration balancer. A handful of balancer each day provides the vitamins and minerals that are often lacking in today’s fresh and stored forage.

If the balancer does not already include protein, owners can add small quantities of beet pulp or soybean meal, which are available at levels higher than 90% in the small intestine, or chopped alfalfa, which is available at about 50%. Check with your nutritionist or Haygain consultant for more specific recommendations and dosages depending on your individual horse’s needs.

The steamed hay cools down very quickly. It can be fed shortly after the initial release of steam from the chest and for at least 24 hours afterward.