The Benefits of Steaming Hay
“I no longer hear sneezing or coughing due to dust or mold spores. Once you have fed Haygain you will never go back!” Debbie McDonald, Team USA US Equestrian Dressage Team Chef d’Equipe Olympic medallist, two World Cup medals, two Pan American Games medals, World Champion
"[...] His appetite has improved dramatically too - he used to leave a lot of hay waste in his stall. With Haygain steamed hay, he eats every piece we feed him! I love knowing that it's 99% free of dust, mold and bacteria" Jamie Barge, Team USA World Cup Finalist
A recent study* found 88% of horses were suffering from Inflammatory Airway Disease (IAD) and that steaming hay with a Haygain hay steamer reduced the incidence by 65%. Plus there are a range of other benefits.
How does IAD impact your Horse
IAD can affect horses of all ages and clinical signs include poor performance (exercise intolerance and poor recovery), nasal discharge and occasional coughing at rest and/or during exercise. Clinical signs are often subtle and horses have normal breathing at rest, so IAD can go unnoticed while affecting the horses ability to perform.Common treatments prescribed by veterinarians include bronchodilators and corticosteroids but the key to both prevention and management of IAD is reducing exposure to airborne dust.
Steam, don't Soak
The IAD study found that IAD was closely linked to the dust found in hay, and that simply by steaming hay with a Haygain hay steamer the incidence of IAD reduced by 65%.
Other benefits of steaming your hay include:
Increased palatability - several studies show how horses prefer steamed hay over dry and soaked hay
Hydration - steamed hay provides a useful additional source of water in high temperatures
Retains nutritional value – unlike soaking, steaming retains the nutritional goodness of the hay including protein and minerals with just a small, variable loss of water soluble carbohydrate
Our Product
Prices start from $1,499 or $255 per month for 6 months, including free delivery and 12 months warranty
What riders say
“I love using Haygain Steamed Hay because it helps improve my horses’ respiratory conditions and stopped them from coughing,” “With Haygain’s help, I can make sure the hay wherever I go is never dusty and it’s bacteriafree, so my horses don’t have any issues during competitions.”
Jessica Springsteen, Team USA
“[We] take the smaller unit away to competitions all over Europe, which we find essential. The horses have been free from coughs and nasal discharge, they are healthy and performing well”
William Fox-Pitt, Team GBR Three Olympic Medals, seven World Championship medals
“Before I was introduced to Haygain, I was soaking hay for Brentina to make sure that it was more palatable and dust free. Then I found Haygain and not just Brentina but every horse in our barn is so happy. Now after our horses are fed the only sound you hear are the horses chewing. I no longer hear sneezing or coughing due to dust or mold spores. Once you have fed Haygain you will never go back!”
Debbie McDonald, Team USA
US Equestrian Dressage Team Chef d’Equipe Olympic medallist, two World Cup medals, two Pan American Games medals, World Champion
What the veterinarians say
“We have used Haygain for foals with severe Rhodococcusequi pneumonia to aid in reducing the amount of inhaled allergens when they eat hay. We have also steamed bedding (ie: straw, not shavings) for the same reduction of potential inhaled allergens. For our colic surgeries that are not eating well, we have used Haygain to entice those horses to consume more roughage. The fresh aroma after the hay has been steamed appears to increase many horse's appetite postsurgery. I have first-hand experience with this product because not only do I use Haygain at my hospital, but for my own personal dressage and racehorses as well.”
Nathan Slovis
DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, CHT Director of the McGee Critical Care and Medical Center Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, Lexington, Kentucky
"Haygain is used routinely on our respiratory cases to good effect. Not only is the steamed hay very palatable but the process of steaming is much simpler and more effective than soaking the hay. We are also using Haygain when reintroducing feed to some of our colic cases with good results."
Harold C. McKenzie III
DVM MS Diplomat ACVIM Associate Professor of Equine Medicine Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
* Dauvillier J, Woort F. T, Van Erck‐Westergren E. disease (2018) Fungi in respiratory samples of horses with inflammatory airway, Journal of veterinary internal medicine, 2018;1-8