Feeding before work - speedibeet vs chaff

[googol]

With summer looming-whohoo, I'm thinking I might have to change my feeding regime
Horse currently gets 1/2 scoop fast fibre with a handful of cool mix. It's a v small amount as he doesn't need hard feed, it's just to carry his bespoke hackup supp.
Last summer he was getting chaff occasionally if he had been in for more than a few hours before I wanted to ride because i wouldn't ride him on an empty stomach
Is ff/sb the same for "lining" their stomach as chaff would be? Il need him to be on something low calorie as he will need a bucket feed all summer to carry his supp, but I want it to be suitable for before he is ridden too

 

[TGM]

Does he not get hay when he is standing in for a few hours?

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

If he is grazing he won't have an empty stomach though, his stomach would only be empty if he was standing without forage in his stable.

 

[googol]

No not unless he's in for 4+ hours. He gets very fat easily

 

[googol]

he does stand in an empty stable for up to 2 hrs. So I like to ensure there's no risk of any acid splash when he's ridden
Is SB suitable for this?

 

[Hoof_Prints]

If my fatty is standing in a stable for even a small amount of time she gets soaked hay, double soaked and rinsed if you are really worried about the weight, it's basically just fibre then and won't add weight. Also fine to get on a ride after eating and I'm sure your horse would appreciate the forage while stood in a stable. Luckily she's not fat now and all mine get ad lib dry hay with buckets of water even if stood in for 10mins. I think 4 hours is a long time to stand with nothing to eat. You can just mix the supplement in with a little chaff to feed that, basically what I do with mine as she has some joint supplement

 

[twiggy2]

chaff would be what I would feed, I think the dry stuff sits on top of the acid I picture the wet stuff sinking in it

 

[Kat]

Alfalfa chaff is best to avoid acid splash. If you want something that you can soak maybe look at lucie nuts......

 

[Rivendell]

Definitely alfalfa chaff is best.

 

[CharliePonyPops]

My gelding is whole new world of special bless him and tried to choke himself on chaff. I found that even with a good splash of water the chaff was dry and the with a powdered supplement was dusty as well but I have been using fast fibre for months now just to add his supplements (he gets at best 1/3 of scoop of FF mixed with hot and cold water to make a mash) and I have no problems with him eating it or me worrying he is out to kill himself. The bag says that it can be used as a hay replacer but I admit to never trying it, I have found the Allen and Page helpline to be brilliant though so maybe worth a call. My boy can also get fat on fresh air so I like late cut stalky hay which has lots of long fibre so it takes him ages to chew and fills him up.

 

[mandwhy]

I would feed alfalfa definitely, Dengie healthy tummy is excellent for this very purpose. My haflinger is a pretty good doer but ulcer prone in my opinion so I always give her a fibre feed before riding And HT has various other digestion friendly herbs etc. I also like topchop alfalfa as it is very minty smelling so a lovely treat for her especially when trying to hide things!