Advice on forage replacers

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zanetti

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Hi all, I'm looking for some advice on feeding a forage replacement.
I moved yards a couple of weeks ago and as the amount of haylage my horse gets has been significantly reduced, I would like to feed a forage replacer. He's a showjumper on competition mix twice a day, and he gets sugarbeet for lunch, but only haylage twice a day, and by the looks of it not much.
He's in great condition, but I don't like him to be standing around all day with nothing to digest as I am well aware of the health issues associated with a lack of forage, so basically my question is - can a forage replacer help to make up some of what he's missing? I don't want anything high in calories as he has plenty of energy at the moment and don't need anything else to blow his brains! I've seen Dengie Hi-Fi for Good-doers, it looks like it's low in calories but is it safe to feed a horse on competition mix and haylage?
Also does anyone know how much an average bag would cost and how much they contain? Or any advice on how much to feed as a partial replacer?
Any information would be great! Thanks in advance!
 
hi whats the reason they give for horses standing around without haylage? if they have a weighed amount and hes just scoffing it too quickly then maybe a trickle net would work to slow him down? does he not get any turnout in the day to graze? but the haylage replacer is a good idea if you have no other choice at all. the dengie hi fi is usually in 15kg bags and costs about £12 ,if you were feeding say a large tubtrug full a day you would probly need 2 bags a week .it would be more cost effective to get horsehage i think
 
Hi, it's a common occurrence on competition yards to feed more concentrates than forage! He's on full livery and I don't expect them to change their whole routine just for my horse, so just looking for an alternative that won't upset anyone. He gets a couple of hours turn out a week as they are resting the fields, but he is used to this anyway so it's not much of a change. Thanks for the recommendation about horsehage, I will have look into it!
 
It might be common practice but perhaps isn't best for the horses digestive system. :( I'm glad you are looking at alternatives that will fit in.
 
When I was in your situation, I got some forage pellets (either alfalfa or grass) and a snak-a-ball.

The thing is, even if you feed a hay replacer, odds are the horse will eat it all in one go and still be a lot of hours with nothing to eat. The snak-a-ball made sure my horse was busy doing something and it also released the forage pellets which helped keep something in their stomach and when using alfalfa, would also help buffer the stomach acid.
 
zanetti said:
Hi, it's a common occurrence on competition yards to feed more concentrates than forage! He's on full livery and I don't expect them to change their whole routine just for my horse, so just looking for an alternative that won't upset anyone. He gets a couple of hours turn out a week as they are resting the fields, but he is used to this anyway so it's not much of a change. Thanks for the recommendation about horsehage, I will have look into it!
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Just because it is that way doesn't make it right or acceptable! If I were you op I'd either ask them to provide way more hay/haylage at the times they do give it to your horse and if necessary pay for this, or go out and buy some hay bales and ask them to use this. Alternatively you could buy in some fibre blocks for your hors but I'd be pushing for good old fashioned hay... Stabling most of the time, high concentrates and minimum forage... Well that's an invite for a whole load of problems.
 
I'm perfectly aware of that Queenbee, hence why asking for advice on replacing the forage he is missing. I'm guessing the picture was aimed at me?

I'm not able to have his haylage increased and I have no way of buying/storing extra hay (or obviously this would have answered my problems already!).
My main issue is there is nothing available for him during the day (no lunch net), hence why looking for a low calorie substitute that will at least fill up some of this time while not increasing his energy like extra hay or haylage would either.
I'm not asking for advice on management issues before anyone else wants to jump down my throat - I have an honours degree in equine performance & management so I'm not completely incompetent. I've unfortunately been put in situation where for the next few months I have to compromise on what I would prefer my horse's routine to be so that I can be based with a top rider. It's not ideal, but I'm not going to insult said rider by asking him to adapt the entire yard to suit me! Any extra forage will have to be stored in the back of my car and put in by myself.
No it may not be considered 'right or acceptable' but like I said, it happens in competition yards and as a pupil I would be considered impertinent if I started telling a nations cup rider how to look after bloomin horses!

Thank you for the advice so far, it's given me a few things to look into!
 
One of the least intrusive (and I do see where you are coming from OP as I also have horses in training and try to fit in with their feed programme where possible) would be a forage block or two. Halleys Feeds have a full range of grass, alfalfa, oat straw and Timothy hay blocks and the alfalfa and grass variants are also, I think, available from Feedmark and Simple Systems. They come in a bag of 12 or 20 depending on supplier and each block equates to roughly 1kg of forage - if fed dry they are good for gnawing on and are silly-easy to dispense. Maybe look at something like that if additional hay/haylage or a bucket feed of beet pulp isn't an option under that programme?
 
I would consider the halleys forage blocks too I feed these I use the Timothy hay ones but there's choice of several types you could easily store the bag in your car and they deliver direct to you and you don't have to buy huge quanties.
That might fit in and not cause too much trouble on the yard.
 
Thank you so much everyone. Sounds like a forage block would be a great idea, I've heard of them before but never learned about them in much detail. Will go and see what I can find!
 
zanetti said:
I'm perfectly aware of that Queenbee, hence why asking for advice on replacing the forage he is missing. I'm guessing the picture was aimed at me?

I'm not able to have his haylage increased and I have no way of buying/storing extra hay (or obviously this would have answered my problems already!).
My main issue is there is nothing available for him during the day (no lunch net), hence why looking for a low calorie substitute that will at least fill up some of this time while not increasing his energy like extra hay or haylage would either.
I'm not asking for advice on management issues before anyone else wants to jump down my throat - I have an honours degree in equine performance & management so I'm not completely incompetent. I've unfortunately been put in situation where for the next few months I have to compromise on what I would prefer my horse's routine to be so that I can be based with a top rider. It's not ideal, but I'm not going to insult said rider by asking him to adapt the entire yard to suit me! Any extra forage will have to be stored in the back of my car and put in by myself.
No it may not be considered 'right or acceptable' but like I said, it happens in competition yards and as a pupil I would be considered impertinent if I started telling a nations cup rider how to look after bloomin horses!

Thank you for the advice so far, it's given me a few things to look into!
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No, the picture was primarily aimed at the practice of the yard... Personally, I think it's daft to put a horse in that situation, but I'm more 'headdesking' at the fact a yard employ such practices... If you can't buy it in... Then surely asking them to fill an extra large haynet for breakfast... I'm assuming they fill 2 haynets a day as you say he has two lots of hay... It wouldn't be rude or asking them to change their practice if you asked them to just give a larger amount at these times, have you even broached that possibility... I would at least test the water with them, you don't ask, you don't get.

Anyway, if they refuse... As I suggested, fibre blocks would probably be your next best thing. The chances are if you gave him something like fast fibre which can be used as a forage replacer he would just wolf it down in one sitting which doesn't address your issue... Since fibre blocks are compact, it will take longer to eat and possibly help with any boredom too.

I haven't used them, but others on here have and have been pretty positive about them, they seem a reasonable enough price too and shouldn't take up too much room... Here is a link:

http://www.feedmark.com/product.asp?product=Feedmark+Fibre+Block
 
They don't use haynets, hay is left on the floor as it is less time consuming than filling up haynets, and at the speed my horse eats a little bit extra would last about 15 minutes and their haylage is high in calories and i would rather he not have the extra energy!
Have ordered a few weeks worth of fibre blocks so will see how he gets on with those, hopefully like you said he won't be able to wulf them down in 5 minutes like the hi fi!
 
Can you not fill your hay nets yourself and ask if they can be hung instead of it put on the floor? Im also on a yard where they are fed from floor, but my two fat tats munch down an entire nights worth of hay by seven PM if given it this way!! I Use small hole nets that I fill myself (even though I hate filling hay nets!) We do have turn out though so I can also nip into their beds and hang them up for when they come in.
But if you have no turn out and are on site every day you can have 3 or 4 nets so you always have at least one filled and only needing to be hung up by someone. If you use the large haylage nets, they have small holes, for the morning net there should be plenty in it to keep him going most of the day. I wouldn't consider this an unreasonable request.
Not trying to tell you what to do, just letting you know what I do x
 
zanetti said:
I'm perfectly aware of that Queenbee, hence why asking for advice on replacing the forage he is missing. I'm guessing the picture was aimed at me?

I'm not able to have his haylage increased and I have no way of buying/storing extra hay (or obviously this would have answered my problems already!).
My main issue is there is nothing available for him during the day (no lunch net), hence why looking for a low calorie substitute that will at least fill up some of this time while not increasing his energy like extra hay or haylage would either.
I'm not asking for advice on management issues before anyone else wants to jump down my throat - I have an honours degree in equine performance & management so I'm not completely incompetent. I've unfortunately been put in situation where for the next few months I have to compromise on what I would prefer my horse's routine to be so that I can be based with a top rider. It's not ideal, but I'm not going to insult said rider by asking him to adapt the entire yard to suit me! Any extra forage will have to be stored in the back of my car and put in by myself.
No it may not be considered 'right or acceptable' but like I said, it happens in competition yards and as a pupil I would be considered impertinent if I started telling a nations cup rider how to look after bloomin horses!

Thank you for the advice so far, it's given me a few things to look into!
Click to expand...

zanetti said:
They don't use haynets, hay is left on the floor as it is less time consuming than filling up haynets, and at the speed my horse eats a little bit extra would last about 15 minutes and their haylage is high in calories and i would rather he not have the extra energy!
Have ordered a few weeks worth of fibre blocks so will see how he gets on with those, hopefully like you said he won't be able to wulf them down in 5 minutes like the hi fi!
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The other option is to ask them to fill a Hayhutch... They eat much slower from one of these and it takes no more time than popping the hay on the floor... I have one and can highly reccomend them, if the blocks don't work, have a look into one of these.
 
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