alfalfa hay, pellets, or cubes

[Dein]

I was wondering what was better to feed and on a scale from 1-10 how easy it is to feed each thanks

 

[disneyhorse]

In this order: hay, cubes, and then pellets. This is because of the long stem fiber... The more the hay is processed, the less long stem fiber there is for the horses' chew time and gut health.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Thanks for the reply! I'm running low on alfalfa and if it doesn't last until hay season, I was considering pellets or cubes. I've used cubes before and my horses didn't really like them. I was thinking of trying pellets this time, if I have to.

btw, my horses seem to prefer the leafy stems over the stemless leaves.

 

[ohmt]

Just a heads up, pellets don't count as forage. They are great for supplementation, but not as replacement.

 

[chandab]

Just a heads up, pellets don't count as forage. They are great for supplementation, but not as replacement.

Not sure if that's completely true... many senior horses live on a completely pelleted diet and do wonderful.

 

[disneyhorse]

I've had horses on pellets as forage too.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

The pellets will work but your better option would be to feed the cubes.

 

[ohmt]

Pellets don't contain the long stem roughage needed to keep a horse's digestive tract running smoothly, but if you have a senior horse who can't eat, it's better than nothing. It still provides the fiber and nutrients, but your horse is not getting the recommended 1lb roughage per 100 lbs body weight it needs. By not providing that, you're just asking for colic and ulcers.

Eta: I just realized I used "forage" instead of "roughage" in my previous post, sorry!

 

[Marty]

I've always had trouble with the cubes. Even with the big horses and I'm not going to start soaking them. Will not use them.

I love alfalfa hay of course, but that's if I can get it from a reliable source with no threat of the blister beetle. It needs to be nice and leafy and I will mix a bit of that with grass hay, only in the winter time. The rest of the time its grass hay only.

I do keep alfalfa pellets on hand for my big horse and use it as treats for the miniatures.

 

[Jill]

As for hay, if it's available, I think minis do better on something softer than alfalfa. We like to use orchard grass hay.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

How about timothy pellets? No forage/roughage value with those, either?

 

[chandab]

Like the alfalfa pellets, they don't have "long-stem" fiber, but they are still a source of fiber. I read some where fairly recently, that its the fiber quality that matters not the size of the particles, but I don't recall where I saw it.

 

[ohmt]

Marsha-very little roughage value. They do have the nutrients your horse needs, but even if there's fiber, your horse horse's digestive system needs long stem roughage to pass through and keep it in check. I'm sure it's for the buffering qualities and because of how horses are meant to eat (grazing constantly), just putting nutrients into them without providing the roughage causes issues.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

When I have to keep my horses confined on dry lot during the spring greening of the pasture, I do give them free choice hay but I've also given 1/4 C timothy pellets. My logic is that timothy is low starch, but yet gives them some extra munching through the night. Also, it is my understanding that forage pellets should be soaked. Is this true??

 

[chandab]

If they are getting free choice hay, they should be getting plenty of fiber; but the hay pellets make great "rattle" in their buckets.

Whether or not to soak hay pellets is a personal choice. I rarely do, and have never had an issue, all my horses eat them just fine with no issues. However, if you have a horse prone to choke or one that bolts its feed, then soaking would probably be in order to prevent a choke episode.

 

[Jean_B]

I've never had to soak the pellets. I would NEVER feed cubes without first pulverizing (which is NOT easy to do) them plus soaking thoroughly. Heard of way too many horses getting choke on cubes as they are packed so hard and way too big - one needed vet intervention at Nationals. Another National Grand died as a result of recurrent choke that started from one incident with a hay cube.

During the drought - where the only hay available had to be shipped in from over 800 miles away - pellets were a life-saver. Literally.