Hay Replacers - How do you feed them?

[Nik90]

It looks like my gelding will need a little more help this winter as he has worn his teeth smooth, otherwise he has a healthy mouth for a 22ish year old. I was planning to start by introducing 1 kg of readigrass chaff each evening and see how we go from there. I was wondering if this should be dampened or fed dry? He doesn't like wet or soaked hay so I'm not sure he would like the grass dampened but I am concerned he may choke on it.
He'll still be getting his hay as he is not quidding, he's just not able to break it down as much as he used to get the goodness. This will be dry or he wont touch it if its wet, he is also out at grass for a minimum of 10 hours, normally 12 a day. We're fortunate enough to have grass for almost the full winter but he is supplemented with a balancer fed in unmollased sugar beet.

 

[ester]

Damp definitely. hopefully it will be tasty enough that he will get over himself . Though readigrass wouldn't be my grass chaff of choice given the recent research on Rye grass (and that is its only constituent).

Can I suggest adding micronised linseed to his beet meal.

 

[Nik90]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Hopefully the fact it’s less work for him to chew will make it more enticing despite being damp. I already feed a cup of Charnwoods Linseed a day in his meals and copra in the winter. The Linseed really improved his skin & coat. He’s not food orinentated so has turned his nose up at everything Ive offered since April. He’s only now starting to eat something other than grass. Not helpful when you need to give him danilon for his arthritis!
I am not set on readigrass, I just need something that will partially replace the hay. What would you choose to use instead? He does not hold his weight well in winter so I’ve been trying to avoid the straw chaffs.

 

[ester]

Mine should be food orientated but is really fussy!

He particularly likes agrobs aspero but it would be expensive as a hay replacer and can be a pain to source (it was a revelation finding him something he tucked into!). I am about to try him on a bag of the new dengie one which also has 'erbs to see if that meets with his approval. Prior to the agrobs I did feed D+H just grass which has a mix of grasses in. Emerald green state theirs is fescue not rye so might be worth considering. There are a lot more grass chaffs than there used to be

 

[milliepops]

Emerald green state theirs is fescue not rye so might be worth considering. There are a lot more grass chaffs than there used to be

Just on this... mine would choose the emerald green chaff over any others, they really like it. I am feeding the pellets at the moment as easier to get hold of locally, and more economic (though you can order online from their website).

Mine hate readigrass but will eat graze-on which is a blend of ryegrass/fescue/timothy. I don't feed it as a hay replacer but agree I'd always feed dampened, these plain grass chaffs with no oil etc are very dry indeed.

 

[ester]

graze-on, I knew there was one I forgot!

 

[Nik90]

I think you’re right about the number of options Ester, it would appear I actually picked up graze-on not readigrass! The dengie one seems good, I have tried it & he will eat it, I am just so suspicious of dengie feeds after finding large chunks glued together with molasses in a bag of good do-or. I will have a look at the emerald ones. I would like to keep him chewing his food for as long as he can. Soaked feeds are eaten far too quickly.