Effects of soaking on the water-soluble carbohydrate and crude protein content of hay.

This research investigates the effect of soaking hay on the amount of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) and protein that leaches out from a variety of hays in the UK. The results showed that after soaking hays for up to 16 hours, there is a significant reduction in the WSC content while the protein content remained relatively unaffected.

Effect of Soaked Hay on Water-Soluble Carbohydrate Content

• The research involved soaking different types of hays for up to 16 hours in water at an average temperature of 8°C.
• The initial carbohydrate content of the hays varied from 123 to 230 grams per kilogram of dry matter (g/kg DM).
• The soaking process resulted in a loss of about 27% of the hay’s carbohydrate content, with the range of loss being between 6 to 54%.

Effect on Different Constituents of Water-Soluble Carbohydrates

• The study also measured the losses in different constituents of carbohydrates during the soaking process. These constituents were fructan, fructose, sucrose, and glucose.
• The percentage loss of fructan varied from 14 to 31%, with an average loss of 24%.
• Fructose had a loss between 21 to 70% with an average of 41%.
• Sucrose had a range of 28 to 100% loss, with an average of 45%.
• Glucose had a loss range of 29 to 100%, with an average loss of 56%.

Effect of Soaked Hay on Protein Content

• The protein content of the hay before soaking varied from 30 to 86 g/kg DM, with an average protein content of 58.7 g/kg DM.
• This protein content was not significantly affected by soaking the hay.

Outcome and Implication of the Study

• Despite the loss of carbohydrates due to soaking, seven of the hays still had carbohydrate contents greater than the suggested maximum limit for laminitic animals, which is 100 g/kg DM.
• This implies that even if hay is soaked before feeding to laminitic animals, they might still intake more carbohydrates than recommended, increasing their risk of laminitis.