Feeding straw

[MasterBenedict]

Who on here feeds straw?

If so what type? Has it helped with weight loss?

Has anyone experienced colic when feeding straw?

Fatty is on a major diet and doing well but I'm a little paranoid about impaction colic and some research I've found saying straw is actually often higher in starch and sugars than hay...experiences wanted please

 

[Nativelover]

Hi, I did this for the first time this winter. I fed barley straw and hay 1:3 it's worked a treat. Kept stable kept pony 'entertained' with food but not the calories.

 

[dreamcometrue]

I feed mine chopped oat straw. It is called Honeychop - a bit misleading because it has nothing added. I give my horse a net of weighed hay and a trug of the oat straw which she will eat slowly when all her hay is gone. She prefers this to the flavoured oat straw chops like Top Spec Zero because it is not as finely chopped.

Yes it has helped her to lose weight and not be hungry.

 

[honetpot]

Yep, feed it all the time, they have a large round bale in the field now. It was put out before the rain as the grass was not growing, now the grass is growing they are still eating it.
I prefer barley, but if they are hungry the will eat anything and ponies permanent state is hungry. They will often eat it in preference to hay.
Never had any problems, from eating it but they always eat the middle out first of a round bale. Large square bales double as a wind break.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Yes and yes.

My Draft horse was frankly obese when I got her. She was immediately put on a strict diet. Because I cannot do with horses standing for hours with nothing to eat, I gave her plenty of straw to supplement her meagre hay ration. Unfortunately, she did get impaction colic, so I changed to plain oat straw chaff, which has worked wonderfully and now she can have pretty much ad lib hay, so long as she isn't given the whole ration when she first comes in.

 

[Dry Rot]

Another straw feeder. I put out a round bale of hay and a round bale of barley straw and leave them to it. If they start to get fat, I'll be slow replacing the hay with a fresh bale. I think the change over needs to be gradual so I would not switch from hay to straw over night. Never had any problems. I also think horses need roughage, especially on young grass, but mine are Highland ponies.

I did feed oat straw one winter but I think there was a lot of corn in th straw and they seemed to burrow through it looking for grain. Not a success!

 

[Leo Walker]

Yup I do and mines lost significant amounts of weight. Hes out on an almost bare lot, gets a couple of Kgs of high fibre haylage, a tub trug filled with chopped oat straw x 2, and has a full bed of wheat straw he eats as well. He gets a token feed of Agrobs, a high spec mineral balancer. Hes lost about 50kgs in a couple of months

 

[samlf]

Yes - not just for weight loss, I have a mare that from March-November would have quite bad hind gut/diarrhoea issues, and a change of magnesium supply and feeding barley straw has completely resolved the issue (reducing grass helped, but didnt cure it).
I feed it 50/50 with hay over spring and summer to both horses so it works out they have ad lib forage but ad lib hay they would scoff. They then get the ratio slightly increased towards hay over autumn approx 70/30. Then over winter they have ad lib hay.

 

[eggs]

Be careful if feeding Honeychop as you need to buy the ' Free From' bag as standard Honeychop has mollasses coating it.

 

[Gift Horse]

I sourced some very good oat straw for an overweight out of work mare, unfortunately neither her nor my gelding would touch it. Fortunately now she is back in work she is a healthy weight.

 

[Kizzy2004]

Yes never had a problems. Usually do half and half in winter then just straw in summer if I'm restricting grazing so they have something to fill their bellies without the calories and save faffing around soaking hay.

 

[chaps89]

My mare wouldn't touch straw from a bale when she was on restricted intake last year but is this year wolfing down the honeychop free from straw chaff. Much more expensive way to do it sadly but there we go!
Question to those who also feed this chaff (apologies for thread-jacking slightly!) how much do you give and how long does it last? I give mine 2-3 stubbs scoop thinking it would last a while but was on the yard for a bit after giving it yesterday and noticed it was gone in 5 minutes :s

 

[Goldenstar]

Yes I use chopped oat straw in my feeding regime .

 

[Leo Walker]

He gets 2 tub trugs full, about 8 scoops in each. I dont think it lasts a particularly long time, but he only eats it if hes actually hungry, and tends to nibble at it. Anything else is inhaled in seconds!

 

[freckles22uk]

Mine have straw or my 2 mares would be the size of a house, Im in Spain but they do have access to grazing in the day (neighbours field) and at night they have straw in small holed nets, it gives them something to chew in the night, and keeps them slimmer.

 

[hollyandivy123]

thread hi jack.........having trouble finding oat or barely straw in the Nottingham area, anyone have suggestions tried the usual routes

 

[Fransurrey]

I mix in oat or barley straw with haylage. I have in the past fed exclusively straw but they don't rush to it like with haylage, so current regime works a little better, especially if I'm keeping them occupied!!

 

[Fransurrey]

Holly and ivy you could see if Easypack will deliver up there. They sell both wrapped.