hay replacers

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Jemima44

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Does anyone have any recommendations for a palatable hay replacer for a 36 year old 3/4 tb with poor dentition please? She was treated by a dentist this Summer. She currently has no problem with grass or mixes but have had to keep her in for a few days and have discovered that she is quidding her haylage quite badly.
 
Firstly, well done you for your sound management of your 36 year old!! I love oldies, have you any piccies?

I own a retired 35 year old former competition cob type, who is prone to spasmodic colic and cannot each much haylage but OK on grass at present. In the winter I feed him a half bucket of Dengie Hi Fi original, half medium sized scoop of soaked Speedi-beet and pasture mix. I pour warm water over the pasture mix to soften it and mix in thoroughly with the dengie hifi etc for half an hour so the mix has a chance to soften and is wet enough for him to digest. He receives 4 feeds like this a day so his gut is not overloaded. He keeps on the weight and I add a broad spectrum supplement such as Codlivine during mid winter until the grass comes through.

Hope this helps
 
Thanks for the suggestions and kind comments. I was going to try Hi Fi but someone mentioned Readigrass to me so I wondered which was more popular. Will try to put a picture up(school holidays leave me short of time) but she is still beautiful, if you ignore the dipped back - a daughter of Welton Gameful - must be one of the last left alive I expect.

One further question - is it still worth leaving hay for her to chew at in case she is able to eat bits of it, or is it best to go completely to replacers?
 
Wouldn't try readygrass as I think it is very high energy. I would offer a little hay as well and let her make her mind up. Would it be more palatable if you soaked the hay?
 
Readigrass is very nutritious and can be a little rich for some horses. Better off with something abit more bulky like dengie hifi, you can feed as much of this as you like. I usually give my old mare a bucket of Hi Fi and a small covering of hay on top. This gives her something to chomp on for a while even if she has a little trouble, otherwise she gulps the Hifi then is banging at the door again!

As sarah jane said soaked hay is easier for them to eat usually
 
Hi
My mare who is around the 35+mark,has suger beet,high fibre cubes and last year had a go at feeding the dengie veteran one they do ,but she struggled with it a bit due to haveing no teeth,she manages grass ok at the moment has long has its short,i soak her feeds to it looks like porridge in a trug bucket,she does reasonable well fed like this.
 
I fed my old boy( he was 37 when pts) on ready grass when his teeth started to go..........he managed that for a while, then he did have chaff........he wasn't a gready horse so i dodn't need to worry about him eating to much so to speak!
He seemed to like the ready grass and it was fine with him.
 
You can use sugar beet as a hay replacer. It's digested in the same way a hay. Plus you're getting more water into her at the same time, and you can make it more sloppy if you need it to be.

Just make sure you buy the molasses free one.
 
I use dengie also, I have a 33 yr old TBX He alos love badminton feeds Hi fibre nuggets soaked to make what can only be described as a green mash. he has a scoop of these 5 x a day + other feeds for oldies.( my mother in law feeds him during the day). He is a very fussy feeder and badminton recommended triple crown triple plus conditioning feed to help keep weight on him. He absolutley loves it and looks fantastic for his age. Give them a ring or visit them at Burghley if you're going you can get free samples to try before you buy. They were very helpful
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