Hay replacers

[Tlc220]

Hi, I’m looking for recommendations for partial hat replacer for my older boy. He still manages hay without issue but is missing some teeth and drops weight and condition in winter as he’s not getting what he used to out of his haylage.

He currently has a feed of grass nuts and linseed, which I’m happy to increase if that is as good as anything but I just wondered what else was out there.

Preferably a soaked feed rather than a chaff so less gets stuck in the teeth he has left.

Thank you.

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

I use Dodson and Horrell classic grass cubes and/or Speedibeet well soaked..I’ve also used Haley’s dried grass blocks rehydrated.

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

I’m currently feeding my 27yr old with little grinding surface a couple of scoops of Pure Feeds Meadow Mash in one trug and a couple of scoops of Simple Systems Haycare mixed with one scoop of splllers fibre cubes in another. Both are soaked. He’s only in sometimes during the day at the moment. He loves the meadow mash but it’s very expensive and he eats it quickly. The Haycare he’s not so keen on so mix it with the Spllers nuts and he doesn’t gorge it but sometimes tosses it out. He can’t really eat hay at all although copes with grass and I’m not looking forward to my feed bills this winter. Alternatives I’ve tried are grass nuts, A&P fast fibre and Speedibeet mixes but he’s not keen. I’m still looking for the perfect solution of cheap(ish) easy to eat palatable fibre.

I also give him Equijewel in his feeds. I took him off in the summer but he looks so much better when he’s on it so I started again. It’s expensive but you only need to feed a mug or so a day.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Coolstance copra , pure coconut feed ?

 

[Tlc220]

Thank you

I used to use Halley’s chaffs and blocks, they were great.

Will have a look into all of these suggestions, much appreciated!

 

[Barton Bounty]

The good thing is copra is very fattening and good for oldies

 

[meleeka]

Soeedibeet is great and not expensive. I also used Fibrebeet for my oldies.

 

[Peglo]

I mix speedibeet and grass nuts in winter for my oldie as her ‘big’ bucket and then she gets 2 feed buckets of spillers super senior mash and readimash.

 

[splashgirl45]

I used fast fibre for my cushings mare and it helped her through the winter , and you add water so it’s a mash

 

[Polos Mum]

I had one with almost no teeth that ate huge tubs of soaked grass nuts - he didn't binge on them like a feed but ate them slowly over night like hay

I'm talking 3-4 stubbs scoops in 3 x that volume of water - one at 5pm coming in and another one added at 10pm late night checks.

 

[Tlc220]

He lives out but his field mate comes in a night, so I’m thinking he’ll have his main “feed” in a morning then a big bucket of something soaked of a night time to pick at overnight.

 

[Acchiappanuvole]

I've got a 34-year old Welsh A with barely any teeth left. He did really well on Topspec Fibre Plus, it has pretty high protein content for a hay replacer. He actually did so well on it, that I ended up swapping it for Fast Fibre. More fibre, less protein. The pony dropped weight so much I've had to add more Alfabeet to his diet, but I doubt I'll go back to Fibre plus - he was almost too heavy on that.

 

[pistolpete]

I had one with almost no teeth that ate huge tubs of soaked grass nuts - he didn't binge on them like a feed but ate them slowly over night like hay

I'm talking 3-4 stubbs scoops in 3 x that volume of water - one at 5pm coming in and another one added at 10pm late night checks.

That’s interesting. Any idea on calories of grass nuts compared to a net of hay?

 

[Birker2020]

Allen & Page Veteran Vitality.
Rowen Barbary do a range of mashes, the first one is to put weight on I believe.

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

That’s interesting. Any idea on calories of grass nuts compared to a net of hay?

Baileys horse feeds say -
We’ve been collecting forage analysis results for 14 years and they show that, on average, hay has a Digestible Energy (DE) (or ‘calorie’) content of around nine megajoules per kilogram (MJ/kg).

My simple systems Haycare has around 8-10 MJ/kg and their blue bag grass nuts 10-11 MJ/kg so roughly equivalent.

 

[Polos Mum]

That’s interesting. Any idea on calories of grass nuts compared to a net of hay?

The pony i was feeding was older and needed condition - so I was looking for weight maintenance / gain.

Emerald green (who I used as I bought by the pallet and they were economical to do that) have a meadow grass lower starch / sugar which is
9.25 mj/kj

The low cal haylage I'm using for the fatties says it is 6-8 mj/kg so a bit lower but not massively much.

https://emeraldgreenfeeds.co.uk/product/emerald-green-feeds-meadow-magic-pellets-20kg/

 

[Tlc220]

Allen & Page Veteran Vitality.
Rowen Barbary do a range of mashes, the first one is to put weight on I believe.
View attachment 96694

I really like these feeds, he’s currently on Solution Mash, I hadn’t seen the hay replacer though so that could be an option.

 

[Tlc220]

I really like these feeds, he’s currently on Solution Mash, I hadn’t seen the hay replacer though so that could be an option.

I also just realised I never mentioned the solution mash in my original post, d’oh!

 

[nikkimariet]

Saracen fibre cubes would be perfect imho