Chaff as a Hay Replacer?

[spotty_pony]

Does anyone do this? Or does anyone give their horse a bucket of it alongside their hay?

Our old boy is a bit fussy sometimes with his hay, so I was thinking whether to give him a small bucket of chaff alongside his usual hay, to make it a bit more interesting for him. Wht do you think?

Any advice much appreciated.

 

[Coffee_Bean]

Horse at our yard has this, simple systems lucie stalks he has (so just a fancy name for chaff really

) Might as well give it a go, or mix sugarbeet and chaff in the ratio 1:3 or something?

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

Yes I am sure that many chaff based feeds can be given as a hay replacer, i am sure by looking on some websites such as this
http://www.horsehage.co.uk/feedchafftohorses.html
You will see that it is used commonly particularly with older horses

 

[Erehwemos]

Funny this has been asked tonight - only today I decided to put Ellie onto Dengie Hi Fi as a part replacement for hay!

She's quite fussy too and sometimes barely touches her hay (which isnt the best quality), so I'm happier knowing she's got good quality chaff to pick through if she is on a no-hay day

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

I don't know how old your oldie is but the oldie here (he is 37!) is picky with hay so he gets a trug of Mollichaff Veteran to pick at to keep his fibre levels topped up. He loves it as it is 'softer' than a lot of the other chaffs and also has linseed, mint and nettles and other good things in it to help keep them in tip top condition. He shovels it down!!

Buttercup in Melton/Oakham stock it.

 

[TGM]

If you are going to feed chaff in large quantities as a hay replacer, please take advice from the manufacturer whether it is actually suitable for this purpose as some aren't.

Suitable to be fed in large quantities are Spiller's Happy Hoof, Dengie Hi Fi Lite, and any of the dried grass chaffs such as Readigrass and Graze On. (The dried grass ones are more calorific, but the first two are suitable for laminitics).

If you feed an alfalfa chaff then ensure that you don't feed more than the manufacturers recommend as the protein and mineral content can unbalance the diet if fed in large quantities.