Best hay replacers/grass - what do you feed??

Hels_Bells

Hels_Bells

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I have recently moved my very old horse on to hay replacement diet as he has very few teeth left!

I have been giving him readigrass but last week I couldn't get hold of any so ended up with just grass which he doesn't seem to like very much I think because it's quite a lot coarser than readigrass. I also noticed graze on in the saddlery today which seems quite high in fibre (which is what he needs) so really just wondering what others use.

[He also gets sugarbeet, bailey high fibre, baileys #4, grass nuts and mollichaff herbal.]

Just wondering what others use/recommend especially wrt grass.
 
I use graze on, it is quite a short chop dried grass. I moved to it when redigrass was really densly packed and difficult to get out of the bag and then Readygrass changed hands and was not as good, whereas graze o has been good quality throughout.

Allen and page fast fibre is also good and would be great for those with not to many teeth as you soak it and it comes out like porridge, and I use their calm and condition for my TB as well through the winter.
 
I use Readigrass or just grass, my horse likes both, tried the allen n page fast fibre and he didn't really like it( ate it grudgingly if i left it in long enough) just changed him onto Rowan and barbury soft n soak fibre mash and he loves that, very easy for them to eat and you can serve it hot or cold!
 
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Give Three a pm. Her Arab is now 35 and with no matching teeth left yet looks really good. She did a lot of trial and error and research to get his diet just right, including hay replacement.
 
I use Readigrass, Just Grass and Graze On. Out of them all, Graze on is the nicest and most appetising IMO.

Fast Fibre is highly rated amongst the owners of oldies I know. I don't use myself but others all swear by it.
 
I personally didnt like Graze on as I found it very dry and almost "pine needle" like. My mare has very poor teeth and I was worried about choke so gave it away. Needless to say the horse that I gave it to then suffered choke!

If it is a grass chaff you are looking for then Just Grass is nice (in the middle or Readigrass and Graze on).

I have used all sorts for a hay replacer as I was advised the more fibre sources the better.

High Fibre Cubes (Fast Fibre being my favourite)
Speedibeet or Fibrebeet
Dengie Hi Fi Range
Mollichaff Veteran

There is some useful info regarding hay replacers on here

http://www.veteran-horse-welfare.co.uk/preparing_for_winter.html
 
Thanks so much for all your thoughts and advice which I will certainly ponder!!

I agree about just grass SmartieBean - he just didn't seem to like it and it seemed really coarse, plus he left all the "timothy" (I think that's the grass with the corn like mini-ears at the end) in the bottom each morning!!

I think I might give Graze on a bit more of a go, esp as it's quite a lot cheaper than readigrass. Interesting about fast fibre too so I'm going to look into it! I wonder about switching from speedibeet to fibrebeet - as my others all get speedibeet I don't want MORE bags in the feed room I can hardly move in there as it is!!

I will also consider giving Three a PM though SmartieBean is very good at this sort of thing too and has helped me loads!! ;)
 
i find that any of the grass type feeds (graze on, just grass, readi grass) all tend to be too dry for the oldies. if i feed them i tend to put a load in a trug and put a couple of kettles of boiling water on it and leave for 20 mins before feeding. how many cream crackers can you eat? mine all love fast fibre and it swells enormously, personally i think it stinks but the oldies do like it.
 
If you decide to go for something soaked, then consider soaked grass nuts rather than Fast Fibre if you need condition on your horse. Fast Fibre is great but low calorie and not the most cost effective. Grass nuts usually work out cheaper than grass chaffs.
 
oooh thanks for that tip OCYC - he does drink an inordinate amount of water because of the grass, I'll do that kettle thing!

Thanks TGM - he's getting a stubbs scoop of soaked grass nuts each night too, plus I've been adding baileys #4 and oil into the fibre cubes to add some calorie content. But really good to know re grass nuts that I'm on right tracks - he really likes them!
 
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