grass nuts?!

[crazycoloured]

Does anyone feed grass nuts?? im feeding them to gain condition on my elderly tb..he also has baileys no 4 topline cubes..has anyone used them with success..???..I soak them before I feed them and he seems to like them...

 

[crazycoloured]

anyone?

 

[burtie]

I feed Graze On Grass Nuts, fabulous value, very high in Fibre and Protein! I feed with basic supermarket Oil and some fast fibre. Seems to keep mine in very good condition.

 

[Woody2013]

I was using simple systems blue bag grass nuts (late spring grass, I reckon) rather than the red bag .. but just for treats. And wet when I needed to give her any meds.

 

[stencilface]

I was feeding the graze on grass nuts while my horse was on box rest. During being on box rest he developed a hard oedema on his sheath, after posting on here it was suggested that might be caused by too much protein (14% in that feed) and he's now on paddock rest so more walking etc, but since cutting out th grass nuts the oedema has gone right down. I think high protein feeds can be more difficult for older horses to digest. We have our 29 yo tb on fast fibre and speedibeet and micronised linseed he looks really well on it

 

[JillA]

My old Cushingoid and dentally challenged mare has hay replacer diet - Grazon grass nuts, with unmollassed peet pulp and some alfalfa nuts for a little more protein plus micronized linseed. She has been on that for about 3 years now - suits her well, my bank balance less so

 

[crazycoloured]

sorry its the northers crop grass nuts i use..its 14% protein.. will see how he gets on with it..

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We use either Northern Cropdriers or Graze-on grassnuts, depending on the shop I go to. Atm they are just getting a tiny amount but when we had the elderly cob she had a full feed of soaked grassnuts with dried grass (Graze-on or Redaigrass) and Speedibeet. She did very well on it and when she had a blood test just before pts, they results came back as being particluarly good for her age - shame there was nothing that could be done for her tumour!

 

[WelshD]

They make my pony itch. He has speedibeet and no4 instead

My 2 year old pony is finishing up the grass nuts by having a handful mixed in with his speedibeet and that seems to have done him the world of good

 

[Mike007]

There is a lot of lovely good hay about this year ,(its almost a miracle) after so many years of bad weather. Give your boy as much as he wants ,it is cheaper than grass cubes ,and this year the food value will be similar. The only reservation I would put ,is that if he has poor teeth then soaked grass nuts are easier to eat.

 

[JillA]

Grazon ARE Northern Crop Driers product http://www.northerncropdriers.co.uk/product/grazeon-pellets

 

[FfionWinnie]

I just started feeding them. Are you supposed to feed them soaked? My mare is so fussy it was good to find something she would eat along with her other food which is (I hope!) bf friendly as well.

 

[Polos Mum]

My companion pony has no back teeth left and dentist suggested grass nuts, I got a full pallet from Emerald Green Feeds for £340 inc delivery. So far I;ve just been giving him a scoop a day as he can happily eat grass but in the winter I'll build him up to full ration (2% of his 400 kgs will be 8kgs a day!) so a bag will last 2 1/2 days. But even at this rate my 50 sacks will last 3 months ish. I'd normally budget 100 bales of hay for him over winter so I don't think it's going to work out too much more expensive. Unless we have one of those winters that lasts forever!!

 

[Mince Pie]

I just started feeding them. Are you supposed to feed them soaked? My mare is so fussy it was good to find something she would eat along with her other food which is (I hope!) bf friendly as well.

Yes they must be soaked! 1 1/2 round scoops will fill a normal size water bucket when soaked!

 

[JillA]

Yes they must be soaked! 1 1/2 round scoops will fill a normal size water bucket when soaked!

Not true - on the website they say you CAN feed soaked, but if not, then feed with some chop or something to make sure they don't bolt them. They don't swell or anything - I did a few and checked, in water all they do is break down into small fibres.

 

[FfionWinnie]

Yes they must be soaked! 1 1/2 round scoops will fill a normal size water bucket when soaked!

Ok, it doesn't say on the bag nor does it say on their website because I specifically went to look for the info. Her food is already soaked but she doesn't really like wet food hence I wanted to know if it was necessary. I find it hard to believe they swell that much.

 

[stencilface]

Have to say mine hated them soaked as they seem to disintegrate to nothing, he would always leave it at the end, and I didn't want to feed him slop. I'm using up mine by giving a handful along with his fast fibre - which does need to be soaked, but has a good texture when soaked imho without turning into slop

 

[FfionWinnie]

Not true - on the website they say you CAN feed soaked, but if not, then feed with some chop or something to make sure they don't bolt them. They don't swell or anything - I did a few and checked, in water all they do is break down into small fibres.

Thanks Jill that is exactly my experience of them as well. I was of the thought that if they needed to be soaked like sbp for instance, the bag would carry a warning.

In which case, I can continue adding them to her already wet feed as I have been doing.

 

[pip6]

Grass nuts form the base for all our horses feeds, always soaked. They are fantastic, and help reduce the spring silliness when the grass starts to grow as it has been in their system all winter. Whilst most get equivalent of blue bag nuts, we found the elderly tb, 25 and still working, needed a higher protein level so she gets red bag nuts.

 

[windand rain]

Yes I feed them as a base for all mine I wouldnt say you needed to soak them but I would say they are better as the hard bits in a wet feed so I wouldnt feed completely dry but then I dont feed any feed dry especially not nuts of any kind as I had one choke when she grabbed a mouthful as I was on the way to the tap. So from my experience they are a great feed but better served at least damp if not wet. I also use them soaked at shows as the ponies wont eat or drink when away from home so they will slurp up a grass nut porridge which keeps them hydrated on hot days, messy so usually done after the classes and before traveling home.
All mine from weanlings to veterans are fed a base diet of soaked grass and alfalfa nuts, grass chaff, micronised linseed and speedibeet all in fairly small amounts, all as hay replacer as I cant get mine to eat soaked hay and hay causes the runs in two of the four of them, dont know why but would guess that it is a very rich source of feed value that upsets them as it is sheep hay
They look great are at the minute as fat as butter going into winter and they will be lean fit and healthy coming out of winter so will be able to tolerate the grass in the spring, all native ponies and not a metabolic one among them so it works for mine

 

[WelshD]

I had a nice chat with the Emerald Green people at Equifest, they are really helpful people

They said their grass pellets can be fed dry, made in to a chunky 'mash' with a little water or fed completely soaked.

 

[Dizzleton]

I used Simple Feed Systems grass nuts during last winter/spring where there was very little grass. At first my horse loved them, but after about a week he went off the taste and wouldn't eat them

 

[kellybee]

Mine have a small scoop between them a day, soaked they expand to roughly double their size and it's done wonders for my big un's weight. At the end of the day, horses eat grass and this is exactly what grass nuts are. It's good for not-so-great teeth and mine all wolf it down