Feeding Straw

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Equinimity

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Does anyone feed straw? If so, what type? I'm running out of hay and am thinking of giving the cobs some straw overnight instead. They're good doers but are out 24/7 and I don't like the idea of them without something to munch on. Is straw a viable alternative?

(I am collecting more hay at the weekend but would rather save most of that for my pony).
 
I have been mixing straw 50/50 with my cobs hay all winter, it has taken the edge of the hay bill, but they have still got fat over the winter. I dont think I would feed straw alone though. I think of strw as the horse equivalent of all bran or celery, you woiuld only eat it if you realy have to!

We had oat straw at the beginning of the winter but have barley straw now.
 
Excellent - can't believe I've not done this before. I spend all winter shovelling them full of ad lib hay and watching their waistlines expand!
 
Magicmillbrook said:
I think of strw as the horse equivalent of all bran or celery, you woiuld only eat it if you realy have to!
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Hmm not what my 2 say when they are happily tucking into their clean beds whilst ignoring nice big haynet ! - All the hay has gone in the morning + all the bed lol!
 
Oh you learn something new every day, i have always been warned not to let horses eat straw as it could course colic.
May try this next winter as i do have a good doing mare.
 
karsteine said:
Oh you learn something new every day, i have always been warned not to let horses eat straw as it could course colic.

I may not totally be requoting correctly but i attended a feed talk given by our equine vet recently and straw is a high fibre product. Horses need fibre so its a good alternative. The question was even raised at the talk -the advice was yes go for it. As others have noted introduce as you would any other feed.

I can;t find it at the moment, but their is a table on internet somewhere with the fibre levels.
The reason collic is possible (again don't quote me) is that the high fibre source, if gorged on it could cause it!

:-)
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I have just started feeding my two mares on oat straw mixed with slice of soaked hay at night as they are a bit on the plump side! Oat straw is best but Barley is fine too! It is also saving me money as a bale of straw costs me £1.20 compared with £4.50 for hay. I am going to mix straw and haylage next winter to try and keep weight off them. I wish I had thought of it earlier!
 
You want oat or barley - oat is slightly higher in quality than barley but both aren't overly common so you will probably just have to get whatever is avaliable. We feed our donks just on barely straw and they are fine. They even eat some of their wheat straw bed sometimes which hardly has an value in it whatsoever!
 
Isn't oat straw what chaff is made from? If so, you are already feeding it.

I read something worrying t'other day. It said that straw can be higher in sugar... bad news for lamis although I let mine tuck in to his bed and I know he tucks in with great vigour!

Why can't life be simple.........
 
I have Barley straw - tried them on some last night and it all went (they had some hay too). Might try and get some oat straw this year and see if I can do haf and half all winter. Result! Thanks everyone for your input.
 
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