Chaff. Is it really needed ?

[Darlabean]

It’s only a bit of hay and straw isn’t it, usually sprayed with goodness knows what unless you pay a fortune and go organic? But even then most don’t know what their hay and haylage is sprayed with anyway .... does it really add anything to a diet if the horse already has hay and haylage? Discussion welcome.

 

[JillA]

For me it slows down their food intake and makes them chew more which stimulates the production of saliva. No nutritional value as such (the one I use is good quality meadow hay) but invaluable in terms of digestion. Especially if there are dry pellets (stud nuts, grass nuts etc) in the feed.

 

[milliepops]

I don't add chaff as routine, none of mine have ever been speedy eaters and they all get plenty of forage. However I do have one that I feed soaked grass nuts to, they don't have much turnout at the moment so seem to find it very tasty, and it gives her something decent to munch on while the other has her hard feed.

 

[be positive]

I don't think it is needed unless you are feeding something that is at risk of choke, although of the 3 I have seen choke 2 were eating hay not feed at the time, I have no need to slow mine down or increase chewing time as they spend the best part of 24 hours with hay/ haylage or grass to chew, the only time I will get chaff in now is if I have a horse on box rest and want to add a bit more variety without adding anything high value to the diet, mine get a token of soaked grassnuts to occupy them and carry any supplements, easier to mix than using chaff alone.

 

[Auslander]

I use chaff tactically, as mine are fed in the field. The greedy ones get a big scoop of HiFi molasses-free to occupy them while the ones that actually need hard feed get a smaller, higher nutritional value feed.

 

[ester]

I use chaff tactically, as mine are fed in the field. The greedy ones get a big scoop of HiFi molasses-free to occupy them while the ones that actually need hard feed get a smaller, higher nutritional value feed.

you mean you have more than nuts, fat nuts and thin nuts?

 

[ihatework]

I’ve usually had fatties so have generally fed a diet chaff product more to give them something when everything else was getting fed.

I continued that (but using good grass chaff) for current horse alongside 3 big scoops of pellets, then figured I was probably wasting money given he was ad-lib forage anyway. Trialled no chaff, he choked and cost me £200, so he rapidly had his chaff back

 

[texas]

I feed chaff for two reasons - fatties, to make them think they've got feed and make them very happy. Thinnies as the soaked feed seems to give them runny poo if I don't mix some chaff in.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I feed it to slow the eating down and sometimes just as a token feed in the summer

 

[pansymouse]

I like to use a chaff based complete food, currently Agrobs muesli, and then add more pep as needed in the form of some sort of nut; at the moment it's grass nuts and when I was trying to get weigh on it was show improver.

 

[3OldPonies]

Personally, I think it is needed, if your bear in mind that most of the daily food intake should be forage based, it must help the gut process hard feed more steadily and with less problems than if a whole load of nuts or muesli feed arrives all in one go sandwiched between hay or grass.

 

[MouseInLux]

My mare gets it to carry her supplements, mine are on part livery and get fed by the yard I prefer to add supplements myself as I know they are getting it and I know when to order more. My daughter’s pony gets some because he’s a food driven nut and goes crazy if big sister gets food and he doesn’t.

 

[Yardbird]

I get fed up with storing chaff as the bags are too big to fit in a bin and too tightly packed to pour into a bin. I found that half a teacup of non mollassed sugar beet does the same job,soaked odviously.

 

[Damnation]

I feed chaff for a few reasons.

I have 2 horses, one is a good doer, the other is a not so good doer in winter. Chaff is something the fatty can have as a token feed, but it something I can give in bigger quantites and add speedibeet and oil to for the not so good doer which works as the fatty feels she's had something and the not so good doer is looking good right now (she usually falls of and gets very lean come Feb.)

It's easier on me and my pocket not having many different bags of feed hanging around for 2 horses and it seems to work for what each of them needs.

When I had just the one, she just got mix, no chaff.

 

[meleeka]

I use chaff tactically, as mine are fed in the field. The greedy ones get a big scoop of HiFi molasses-free to occupy them while the ones that actually need hard feed get a smaller, higher nutritional value feed.

Only one of mine has chaff (low calorie) for this reason. It makes him think he has a proper feed and ensures he doesn’t finish before the others.

I wouldn’t feed anything dry though. The others get Veteran Vitality and my Cushings pony has a mix added to that or she won’t eat it. It’s still only 3 bags of feed for 5 horses/ponies.

 

[Auslander]

you mean you have more than nuts, fat nuts and thin nuts?

I've given up with nuts - seemed to shelling out lots and lots of money on different nuts, when most of the ******* are fat anyway. We now have fat grass, thin grass and not grass...

 

[poiuytrewq]

I use chaff tactically, as mine are fed in the field. The greedy ones get a big scoop of HiFi molasses-free to occupy them while the ones that actually need hard feed get a smaller, higher nutritional value feed.

This is what I'm currently doing! Two on racing mix turned out with my fat old boy who gets a bucket of low cal chaff and my days apple cores (I eat a silly amount of apples . )

 

[ester]

I've given up with nuts - seemed to shelling out lots and lots of money on different nuts, when most of the ******* are fat anyway. We now have fat grass, thin grass and not grass...

I so wanted you to say special grass...!

 

[HillcrossMay]

You really don’t need to feed chaff separately at all as long as your horse gets plenty of forage. I just use it to mix in with their hard feed just to get them to chew it probably as if the just gulp it down it can lead to colic.

 

[Annagain]

Mine have a plain grass chaff and Saracen Re-leve, one mixed with Fast Fibre and one with soaked grass nuts. The one who has Fast Fibre has to have a very low sugar diet and the one with grass nuts won't eat Fast Fibre! Neither is keen on just chaff. I'm aware it's doubling up but I don't think they can ever have too much fibre and I like the way chaff encourages them to chew. They'd just hoover up the rest of it in about 30 seconds without it.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I have fed plain oat straw chaff as a hay replacer to the Draft mare when she was on a diet. The cob who was prone to choke had grass chaff (Graze-on) mixed with her soaked grass nuts, to make sure that she chewed them properly. The current pair just have Agrobs Haycobs with a splash of water, magnesium and salt, so don't need chaff.

 

[bollybop]

I don’t feed it if my horses are being fed a on mix/nuts as it’s just a waste of bucket space and my money.

However if they need a token feed, chaff is great, one bag lasts forever!

 

[Equi]

My thoughts on chaff is that it is an empty feed...just a filler to bulk out feeds for those that dont really need the calories. I have a varying mix of horses as in youngstock, fatties, and poor doers. The fatties get a handful of chaff with these little nuggets in it, so they think they are getting fed. The rest get their normal hardfeeds etc. Sometimes ill spread a bit of chaff out on the concrete to let them "graze" just to ad stimulation.

 

[ycbm]

I use straw chaff as a low calorie way to water down the nasty taste of minerals and save me soaking beet. In the summer I will feed my minis on it when they are in during the day as a low calorie filler.

 

[irishdraft]

I don't feed chaff mine get nuts & plenty of sugar beet and ad lib grass & hay.

 

[criso]

I didn't use to as mine has ad lib forage so bucket feed is there to add something they don't get from that - minerals, calories, protein etc. However I have a fussy one who loses weight easily that likes something with a bit of chew in his feed so he gets Agrobs Musli which has some extras added but is molasses free rather than a straw based chaff which would add bulk and chew but not calories.

 

[windand rain]

mine are on very restricted grazing so have oat straw chaff as a feed base to get more fibre into them and as Auslander says it makes them all think they are being fed. trouble comes when they realise their field mates are getting tastier stuff to give them more calories you have to be near them to keep the right pony at the right bucket

 

[henmother]

Never fed chaff , boy gets a treat ball with a scoop of grass nuts and a few carrots for his tea. This is just so he's got something while everyone else is chowing down on their tea. Would give him nothing but set up of stables means they can all see feed buckets going in . Gets balancer and a few carrots for breakfast . Don't think he'd be very happy getting nowt when feeds are being dished out to everyone else . we did have a new girl that didn't get a feed and she starting stamping and kicking door so now she gets nuts and carrots . Easier than a big hoo ha at meal times .

 

[moodymare1987]

Mine will be going on Chaff to slow his eating habits down. He is quite greedy when it comes to his feed so spoke to Saracen and they have suggested this and changing to Releve to help with him.

 

[SEL]

mine are on very restricted grazing so have oat straw chaff as a feed base to get more fibre into them and as Auslander says it makes them all think they are being fed. trouble comes when they realise their field mates are getting tastier stuff to give them more calories you have to be near them to keep the right pony at the right bucket

My mare has clocked that the gelding has 1) a much larger bucket of food and 2) tasty pellet things in there. So she's on the lead rope if they are both fed in the field! I use oat chaff soaked in a wet 1/2 scoop of kwik beet to persuade her she's having a feed when the others do and because I need to hide vitamin E in something. She's on a restricted diet so doesn't need the calories and chaff bulks the bucket out and slows her down.