Dengie Alfalfa pellets... feed soaked or dry?

[phantomhorse]

Can these be fed dry straight from the bag, or do they have to be moistened?

 

[brighteyes]

I feed them very soaked with Speedi-Beet. They do swell up an awful lot, so wouldn't be tempted to feed dry, I don't think.

 

[star]

the bag says to soak for 15mins, but i find they're still quite pellety after that long so i tend to leave them overnight and then they form a lovely mush like sugar beet.

 

[piebaldsparkle]

Soaked - Use hot water if you are shot of soaking time.

 

[Mrs_Wishkabibble]

Ditto the above, I soak mine overnight. They do swell lots, nearly as much as beet pellets.

 

[phantomhorse]

Thanks everyone. Soaked it is then.

And do you find the soaked mash is palatable?

I used to feed grass nuts years ago but they were always rather bitter and not all the horses were that keen on them (tended to pick them out and leave them at the bottom of the bucket when they could!)

 

[CrazyMare]

OH's horse is on it, he gobbles it down, then hoovers his mess off the floor/door/walls....

 

[lucemoose]

my horse hated them! really lost his appetite so went back to alfa a

 

[brighteyes]

Speaking of which, every bag's contents except my last bag (which was dry and well within date) smelled delicious - a sort of nutty, malty, grassy smell. The last lot didn't smell anything like as appetising at all...

The nuts are shiny, hard and 'rattle', like always.

Opinions/experiences please!

 

[Thistle]

A friend gave her horse a handful unsoaked by mistake (she thought they were pony nots) Horse choked and had to spend 24 hrs at the vets as it didn't clear easily.

It really was just a few in her hand, they swell so much.

 

[Bugly]

I soak a scoop and then use it all week out of the bucket. Its so difficult to source round here though!

 

[Troggy]

We fed these to Beano previously and had always fed them dry, he had them in his snack ball. I wasn't sure when I first bought them so emailed Dengie and got this reply:

Thank you for your email regarding Alfalfa Pellets. Alfalfa Pellets are fine to feed dry, the bag that they are in has a very old design stating that the pellets must be soaked, although it is fine to soak the pellets it is not necessary and they can be fed to horses dry. They would make an ideal feed for your horse as they contain pure alfalfa (thus no wheat) and are very low in sugar (we do not add any molasses).

He never had any ill effects from feeding them dry.

Hope this helps.

 

[DollyDolls]

I got the same response from Dengie when I asked the same question.

I thought it was a brilliant product, until last spring when my 2 went off them overnight when I opened a new bag. Sent them back to Dengie who said the following...
....The new crop is slightly more bitter than previous crops due to excessive rainfall. The sample was tested and nothing out of the ordinary was identified. All we can put it down to is a different crop batch.

I would go back onto it tomorrow, but cant risk my guys not eating it.

 

[star]

my guys eats it fine.

 

[wonkey_donkey]

My lot have their grass pellets and sugar beet soaked together (with Copra Meal) overnight in a big tub trug which forms a nice sloppy mash ready to be fed without the risk of choke.