Feeding Wheat Straw - Advice Needed?

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worldchimp

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Please can any one offer any advice? My husband has got some spare wheat straw rectangular bales that he says that I can have as they have got surplus to the farm's requirements. He suggested that I mix it in with my horse's hay to make it last longer. The wheat straw is dry and been undercover. With the bad weather, my horse is eating more hay and by substituing with wheat straw - it would make the hay last longer. Can you offer any advice as I have never done it before or how to introduce into his diet? (My horse's not hubby!)
 
I would suggest that you soak it before feeding due to the risks of colic, not saying don't feed it because if your horse does eat it them you are definitely saving money.
I would start out by mixing 7/8 hay with 1/8 of soaked straw (20 mins) for the first couple of nights to see how it goes, then slowly start to increase the straw volume until between 1/3 and 1/2... then again if you have a true fussy eater... !!
 
Does your OH not have cows he can feed it to? I wouldn't especially as with the snow they are getting not enough moisture. Mine had either colic or impaction on friday due to this flaming snow and no grass so feeding haylage in the field. Vet said getting loads of impactions due to everyone feeding more hard feed and hay/haylage.:(
 
I think you need oat straw or barley straw for feeding. Oat straw is the most palatable. Agree with the others on why wheat straw shouldn't be fed.
 
Tinypony said:
I think you need oat straw or barley straw for feeding. Oat straw is the most palatable. Agree with the others on why wheat straw shouldn't be fed.
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Wheat straw is widely fed in Australia - but as chaff. In my day (admittedly 30 years since I left) you could buy wheaten chaff, oaten chaff or lucerne chaff.

I would feed clean wheat straw - but I'd chaff it if I could. Otherwise, put a wedge in a trug and pour some warm, wet sugar beet pulp over it. It will make it more palatable - and wet!
 
We are feeding wheat straw mixed with haylage, as we can't get oat straw this year and if we fed haylage ad-lib they would burst! We prefer to feed forage ad-lib rather than have them standing with nothing to eat for hours.
We find that they don't actually eat that much of the straw but it's there if they want it. We are putting it out in the field - about 1/2 a bale between 4- in the snow and feeding it mixed with haylage inside overnight.
I have had one horse who gave herself impaction colic from eating a straw bed many years ago but she had absolutely refused to eat her hay for some reason and I think some of the cause of the colic was stress.
So far *touch wood* ours are thriving on the regime.
I'd be wary of wetting anything in this weather as everything freezes so quickly.
 
i don't know if people are aware that most straw, unless its bio of course, is sprayed with a fungicide, how does that affect horses?
 
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