Cinnamontoast
Fais pas chier!
What are straights and what are they good for?
Is unmollassed sugar beet more or less calorific than unmollassed chaff?
Is unmollassed sugar beet more or less calorific than unmollassed chaff?
Dummy questions!
- Thread starter Cinnamontoast
- Start date
Shay
Well-Known Member
A straight is the basic feed stuff on its own - rather than in a mix. So oats, barley, linseed etc.
When I was a kid (OK long time ago now - no jokes!...) all horses were fed staights. There wasn't a choice. But then mixes became popular in the - no I'm not going to say when. But a while ago!
These days you can feed straights either alone in place of a mix, or in addition to it. The advantage of a mix is that all the vits & mins etc are all done for you so as long as you feed within the manufacturer's amounts you know all that is sorted and you don't need a seperate balencer. But you might want a bit more oomph so you add a bit of oats. Or a bit more condition so you add barley or linseed. (Some straights - like linseed - are poisonous raw. Please make sure if feeding that they are correctly cooked!)
Without looking at the nutritional data on the back of the pack I can't say if unmollassed sugar beet is less calorific than unmollassed chaff - although I suspect it is higher. If you look at the back of the pack you are looking for the figure for Kilojoules - often abbreviated to KJ. The lower the number the lower the calories. But calories alone are not the end of the story as you may need to high fibre / slow release effect of the sugar beet. Whereas chaff is really only there to help the horse digest better and stop it bolting its feed.
When I was a kid (OK long time ago now - no jokes!...) all horses were fed staights. There wasn't a choice. But then mixes became popular in the - no I'm not going to say when. But a while ago!
These days you can feed straights either alone in place of a mix, or in addition to it. The advantage of a mix is that all the vits & mins etc are all done for you so as long as you feed within the manufacturer's amounts you know all that is sorted and you don't need a seperate balencer. But you might want a bit more oomph so you add a bit of oats. Or a bit more condition so you add barley or linseed. (Some straights - like linseed - are poisonous raw. Please make sure if feeding that they are correctly cooked!)
Without looking at the nutritional data on the back of the pack I can't say if unmollassed sugar beet is less calorific than unmollassed chaff - although I suspect it is higher. If you look at the back of the pack you are looking for the figure for Kilojoules - often abbreviated to KJ. The lower the number the lower the calories. But calories alone are not the end of the story as you may need to high fibre / slow release effect of the sugar beet. Whereas chaff is really only there to help the horse digest better and stop it bolting its feed.
ribbons
Well-Known Member
Shay, I come from the same era as you (we'll not say when that is)
I just wanted to say what a super post from you. Helpful, informative and accurate without being condescending and judgemental about people asking questions. Often unusual here.
I just wanted to say what a super post from you. Helpful, informative and accurate without being condescending and judgemental about people asking questions. Often unusual here.
ribbons
Well-Known Member
Sorry posted to soon.
I'm sure cinnamontoast will find your reply very helpful.
I'm sure cinnamontoast will find your reply very helpful.
Cinnamontoast
Fais pas chier!
Shay, that is a fabulous post, many thanks for typing all that. Just fabulous! I asked as I've had two extremes, one that was a toast rack, shamefully neglected (not by me!) and needed everything I could throw at him (although I found ad lib hay was the best thing). He looked like this before Bluchip, sugar beet, lots of hay!
And now I have a very good do-er cob (in my sig) who needs something to hide the bute but the lowest calories possible!
I sure did, absolutely exactly what I wanted.
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