Grass chops - readigrass etc

[tobiano1984]

Just wanted to hear what brands folk use and why! I'm gradually changing my lot from a mainly alfalfa diet to predominantly grass, as it just makes more sense. 3 are good doers - dressage cobs and a native x tb sports pony, one is a TB who gets about 10 times more of everything!
I've recently started using Emerald Green grass nuts - seem great and pleased to hear they're bringing out a grass chop in the summer. But in the meantime wondering what other brands are out there!
All mine are barefoot and very healthy - great Rock crunching hooves so no worries there. But I've been warned off the likes of Readigrass and Graze on by barefoot types because they're rye grass based and therefore high sugar and not good for bare feet. But looking at the nutritional breakdown compared to Alfa A unmollassed which I use currently, doesn't seem to be much difference!
Any thoughts? I LOVE the smell of Readigrass but I don't think I should base diets on that
I'd like to get them on grass chop as they've got nothing in the field at the moment apart from hay.

 

[Dazed'n'confused]

Hi! Have a look at Thunderbrook feeds - they do a grass chop that's meadow grass - I use it on everything from the chubby pony to my 5 yr old ID x WB!

 

[ester]

D and h just grass on basis that is grass mix not just rye like redi and others and doesn't have any coatings. It does the job - he is more inclined to eat the rest of his ration with it - don't need to use much and it is easyish for me to get hold of a bag at a time

 

[HBB]

I'd like to get them on grass chop as they've got nothing in the field at the moment apart from hay.

I don't want to point out the obvious but grass chop is just chopped up hay. If your guys are good doers and all you are wanting is a base feed, then I would just stick with your grass nut. Do your horses bolt their feed? Why are you looking to add chopped grass? I gave up feeding chaff years ago. My cobs all get adequate grazing time and plenty of good quality hay, they don't need additional chaff in their bucket. Does that make sense?

 

[tobiano1984]

I don't want to point out the obvious but grass chop is just chopped up hay. If your guys are good doers and all you are wanting is a base feed, then I would just stick with your grass nut. Do your horses bolt their feed? Why are you looking to add chopped grass? I gave up feeding chaff years ago. My cobs all get adequate grazing time and plenty of good quality hay, they don't need additional chaff in their bucket. Does that make sense?

Not entirely - I think you'll find the grass chops have quite a lot more nutrients than hay, especially the ones that are flash dried - and a lot more green!
They're good doers apart from the Tb, but are all in quite hard work.
At the moment they have zero grass and also trying to prolong feeding time - I've always fed predominantly forage feed.

 

[ester]

Definitely not like a hay chop at all! I haven't fed it before this because of the energy levels but horse in good work, doesn't bother his feet and I don't feed much by weight.

 

[Goldenstar]

I feed chopped dried grass about two to three kilos a day the horses are doing very well on it but I cut it back as soon as anything decreases their work load .

 

[HBB]

Not entirely - I think you'll find the grass chops have quite a lot more nutrients than hay

Can you direct me to this analytical findings please? What grasses were they comparing? Was there a comparison to when the different types of grasses were cut? Was this a geographical study too? Very interesting. Thanks in advance.

 

[Darkwater]

I use Graze On, mainly just because I can get hold of it and it's cheaper than the other brands that my feed store have - I actually didn't realise it was Rye based and have never compared it to other brands so I'm going to do some investigation now, thanks!

 

[TGM]

Obviously the nutritional values for hay can vary a lot, dependent on grass type, time of cutting, etc., but generally the energy content of 'average hay' is given as around 8 MJDE/kg. Readigrass is said to have 11.5 MJDE/kg and Graze On 10-11 MJDE/kg. Ideally, you'd get your hay analysed to find out the true energy content, but it is likely that if you are feeding 'average hay' then the grass chops are going to be more calorific, and probably more tempting for the horse. There are also studies that suggest horses eat more if offered a range of forages, so a poor doer could benefit from being offered supplementary dried grass products in addition to the normal ration of hay. Obviously, if you are lucky enough to have access to superlative hay, then the benefits of supplying grass chops are much lessened!

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Just wanted to hear what brands folk use and why! I'm gradually changing my lot from a mainly alfalfa diet to predominantly grass, as it just makes more sense. 3 are good doers - dressage cobs and a native x tb sports pony, one is a TB who gets about 10 times more of everything!
I've recently started using Emerald Green grass nuts - seem great and pleased to hear they're bringing out a grass chop in the summer. But in the meantime wondering what other brands are out there!
All mine are barefoot and very healthy - great Rock crunching hooves so no worries there. But I've been warned off the likes of Readigrass and Graze on by barefoot types because they're rye grass based and therefore high sugar and not good for bare feet. But looking at the nutritional breakdown compared to Alfa A unmollassed which I use currently, doesn't seem to be much difference!
Any thoughts? I LOVE the smell of Readigrass but I don't think I should base diets on that
I'd like to get them on grass chop as they've got nothing in the field at the moment apart from hay.

Ready grass for mine and my liveries

Tried many and like ready grass the best, it looks fresh, smells good and the truth of the pudding is in the eating and my horses love it. Others I found are fine dusty and have caused choke despite being damp,
I also find you gets loads for your money

 

[HBB]

Obviously the nutritional values for hay can vary a lot, dependent on grass type, time of cutting, etc., but generally the energy content of 'average hay' is given as around 8 MJDE/kg. Readigrass is said to have 11.5 MJDE/kg and Graze On 10-11 MJDE/kg. Ideally, you'd get your hay analysed to find out the true energy content, but it is likely that if you are feeding 'average hay' then the grass chops are going to be more calorific, and probably more tempting for the horse. There are also studies that suggest horses eat more if offered a range of forages, so a poor doer could benefit from being offered supplementary dried grass products in addition to the normal ration of hay. Obviously, if you are lucky enough to have access to superlative hay, then the benefits of supplying grass chops are much lessened!

Excellent well thought out post. Thank you