Hay replacers?

S

Shilasdair

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Do any of you use hay replacers, and if so, which do you recommend in terms of palatability, nutrition, etc?
(It would be for a horse who maintains weight well, but isn't fat, with only a handful of mix and some speedibeet as hard feed).
Thanks in advance; you are always so helpful. :D
S :D
 
fast fibre it is good for good doers such as cobs or cob xs, my only concern is the amount you would have to feed, I cant rememeber how much it is, but if you was to fed in large amounts it might be cheaper to get hay, even though it is costing quite alot.




on a side note can we see you tb cross, we have one on the yard who is crossed with a shire and she is quite nice.
 
bugbee717 said:
fast fibre it is good for good doers such as cobs or cob xs, my only concern is the amount you would have to feed, I cant rememeber how much it is, but if you was to fed in large amounts it might be cheaper to get hay, even though it is costing quite alot.




on a side note can we see you tb cross, we have one on the yard who is crossed with a shire and she is quite nice.
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My Shire x tb is averse to having her photograph taken...she is a little large to ever be mistaken for a cob though. :D
S :D
 
dont use hifi lite then, have a friend who has one like that, she is soo bad hifi is too dry, she has been told not to give her any speedibeat or fast fibre.

tb x shire are so huge but something quite special is he more shire
 
Sorry, bugbee, I should have been clearer - she doesn't choke, just expires in all sorts of interesting and expensive other ways. :p
My Shire is by a Tb stallion, out of a Shire mare. She takes to the Shire side, and wears 7'3" rugs, XL headcollars etc.
Lavender - she's never had alfalfa in her feed before, so she can't (theoretically) be allergic to it (yet :D).
S :D
 
shils.... so not a cob then lol, my haffy is a cob, my friesian is a posh cob my dartmorr is a minicob, a shire x of that size IS NOT A COB it is a bl**dy bus, like the one on my yard.

hay replacers hmmm at a loss now........ fast fibre, but if she comes out of her like that maybe not. Will have a think tomo the two bottle of wine may help.

I love that you have a tb x
 
bugbee717 said:
shils.... so not a cob then lol, my haffy is a cob, my friesian is a posh cob my dartmorr is a minicob, a shire x of that size IS NOT A COB it is a bl**dy bus, like the one on my yard.

hay replacers hmmm at a loss now........ fast fibre, but if she comes out of her like that maybe not. Will have a think tomo the two bottle of wine may help.

I love that you have a tb x
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Tell Jhoward that my Shire x Tb is not a cob, please! :D :p
S :D
 
Dengie good doer is a bit more tasty than lite.

Alfa might be too rich if yours is a little round.

Our ShireXtrak is a food pit, although fussy never looks fat.
 
Shills, is it the shire x that is having the problem? What is the horse like on things like oat straw? If they are a good doer I would imagine some kind of straw diet with a balancer and maybe something like a bit of alfalfa or cereal for a bit of protein would be an ok ish diet.

If they lose weight on this diet and would cope with more protein, I would say more alfalfa (you can get this in hay or freshly cut as well as chopped form, although don't ask me where from!) and/or maybe increase their oil intake to boost calories.

Obvs check with feed company/vet yada yada ;)

Fact of the day: The "Shire horse man" local to me feeds his shires carrots - by the tonne, quite literally, they are each given a mound in the field and told to go knock themselves out :eek: As well as other feeds. I'm not entirely sure he'd know an equine nutritionalist if one hit him over the head though ;)

So this shire x then I'm curious... do they pay ANY sort of homage to TBs then, or could she be mistaken for a full shire?
 
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When we had a TBx that was allergic to cereals and sugar, we used alfalfa and grassnuts to maintain her weight.
I really feel for you, our problem was years ago and had to be diagnosed purely by chance, gut feeling and trial and error and ours could eat grass/hay and her problems were behavioural so not likely to be fatal for her (although possibly for the handler!).
In your position, with such serious (& expensive) consequences I would stick to alfalfa. As I'm sure you know alfalfa is a legume, whereas all the other 'hay replacers' are cereal based, basically straw in one form or another.

Having just read Naturally's post - the standard-bred stud up the road from us also feeds carrots in abundance but their horses live out, unrugged and with very little natural shelter.
 
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Would it be possible to find a source of pea straw? I am reliably informed that this used to be fed to horses, as it was a cheap byproduct. If you can make contact with a commercial grower they may be able to help you out. I am presuming that cereal straw will cause her the same problems as grass, as they are of the same family.
 
I feed my extremely sensitive and allergic to alsorts of things arab speedibeet, alfalfa nuts (molasses free) and graze on (pure freeze dried grass).

Personally I would not feed Fast Fibre as it contains garlic.
 
FestiveG said:
Would it be possible to find a source of pea straw? I am reliably informed that this used to be fed to horses, as it was a cheap byproduct. If you can make contact with a commercial grower they may be able to help you out. I am presuming that cereal straw will cause her the same problems as grass, as they are of the same family.
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Pea haulm can definitely be fed to horses, there is someone advertising home grown peas and oats in one of the horsey free ad papers who may be able to source/supply it.
 
I'm currently using soaked high fibre cubes, just cheap own brand ones, mashed up with sugar beet, mine are looking great on this plus a tiny bit of haylage and whatever grazing they can find...
 
I feed my old pony a hay replacer. She suffers with choke.

She has:

Fibre Beet (Alfalfa and Speedibeet) with Hi Fi Senior (dried grass and Alfalfa)

She used to struggle with Hi Fi Senior but they have changed it again and chopped it finer and she seems to be doing ok on this.

Another Chop I highly recommend is Fibergy which contains mint to relax the digestive tract.


Have also fed in the past:

Fast Fibre
Readigrass
Speedibeet

All which worked well.

I feed Fibre beet for the high water content and fibre levels (was feeding beet and Fast Fibre before) and I add the chop to slow her down. She grazes on this over night and also has a haynet of soft meadow hay.
 
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