Do Horses Need a Chaff/Chaff Type Product in Their Feed

devilwoman

devilwoman

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As title really - I know it is supposed to slow them down eating so they have to chew and i'm sure it has other benefits but is it totally necessary that they have to have it.

I get my mix feed and sugarbeet from a guy on my yard but he doesn't sell chaff so end up driving 15 miles to stock up on chaff.

So can they just have mix and sugarbeet (they have vits/minerals) in their feed every day twice a day.
 
Yes they do, for the following reasons;

IMO, a horse's feed requirements is first met by grazing. If they can't get the nutrients they need then feed hay/haylage if possible. If they still need more then feed a chaff or similar short feed, such as alfalfa or Graze-On/Readigrass. And then from here go on to cereals or oils if requirements still not met.

So for me, cutting out chaff is cutting out a 'step' in the feeding pyramid.

Also, they do help to slow down feeding in most horses.
 
None of my horses past or present have got it, i dont see the point, ive never had a horse that bolts their food.. looking at feeding post though, most people on here feed it or similar products.
 
Yes, for all the reasons that Megan has stated, and additionally because they are designed to digest long fibre (such as that found in stalks) whereas we keep them on v leafy grass in the most part (usually rye grass designed for dairy grazing). They are therefore missing out on this element of the diet especially if kept out 24/7 so not getting hay or haylage. This can lead to digestive issues such as splash ulcers.
 
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I was going to talk about fibre length but thought you'd reply and let me get back to my cider instead (you can take a girl out of Somerset....)

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I'm quite dull about the whole thing now.:o

Do you know I got on my horse without giving him the required chaff before exercise tonight, walked round the school and then realised so gave him a really easy session!
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I have this sort of advanced chaff paranoia now....
 
I don't feed chaff at the moment as I feel none of my horses need it. They have hay or haylage available whenever they are in the stable, so are getting plenty of fibre anyway. My veteran mare eats quite slowly anyway so I feel a chaff would slow her down even more - so I just give her barley mixed with sugar beet. The other two just get high fibre cubes which a soaked to a mash, to minimize risk of choke.
 
I feed my horses winergy low fiber, they seem to do well on it and it has what I would have called chaff years ago only more refined.I find it has slowed down the horses bolting their food.But yes I use to feed chaff in with the short feed to 1) slow them down from bolting their food and 2)it did help keep their weight on.Before the modern age 1990 onwards a lot of working horses had chaff in their feed.
 
I thought they taught kids in pony club that a horse's diet should be as much natural fibre as possible, whether grass, hay, haylage, short chop bagged stuff, combination - then topped up with concentrated feed only if necessary for health, weight, work, age etc. If in doubt, I'd start by keeping the fibre and chucking the rest until you have worked out a safe, natural (as much as possible) diet for your ned,
 
My laddie gets a scoop of alfa-a oil and two scoops of cool mix as he gets fat on any other mix and too lean without the alfa-a, it keeps him nicely rounded and shiny
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He lives out 24/7, until the winter, when I may up or change the mix for something more high energy.

(Sorry, that was my totally nutritionally ignoarant superficial addition to the topic, Im sorry if it has upset or offended anyone).
 
Yes, they do need Chaff or Grass products, because that's what they were designed to eat. There was some research done not so long ago about stomach ulcers and how feeding Alfa/similar products helps prevent them.
At the moment, Star is on grass and LoCal. But when she needs a bit more, I'll be adding Alfa A to the LoCal and that's it. I gave up on nuts/mixes last winter and she came through brilliantly. When she needed a few more calories I upped to Alfa Oil which has the same energy content as a conditioning feed. When the snow came and the temperature didn't come about Zero for 2 weeks, I put some Speedibeet in.
I used to feed her on Baileys Horse and Pony Cubes (10mj) and a handful of Alfa A, but switched her over to Alfa A and Lo Cal because it had the same energy content as the Cube, was a fibre based diet (better for her) and considerably cheaper. One sack of Alfa A lasts me 20 days or so. 1 sack of cubes lasted me 8 days. I halved my feed costs. The LoCal lasts me about 8 weeks - £2.50 a week.
 
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I'm the first to agree that a high fibre diet is the best option for horses, but high fibre doesn't necessarily have to equal chaff! Good quality hay or haylage is an excellent source of fibre and much cheaper than the chopped up stuff that comes in a bag!

If feeding chaff suits your horse that is fine, but to my mind it is not essential for every horse, as long as they are getting plenty of hay/haylage to provide fibre.
 
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I'm the first to agree that a high fibre diet is the best option for horses, but high fibre doesn't necessarily have to equal chaff

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Very good point.
 
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