Help.. What's a good hay replacer??

[jayvee]

Our horse is just not eating his hay at night in the stable. Only occasionally will he eat the lot by morning. It is good hay and we also hose it down prior to putting it in, (which he does prefer to dry) but is still not eating near enough for his size.
We would like to try and give him a large rubber tub of chaff/chop.
What kind do you reccommend as a complete hay replacer? And would it be more expensive to feed? How long would a bag last and how much would you give per night? He is 16.2hh heavy weight Clydesdale x cob. Not the best doer and does alot of hacking.
Thanks for advice.

 

[TGM]

Spiller's Happy Hoof or Dengie HiFi Lite are good hay replacers, but cost a lot more than feeding hay, especially for a big horse. I would use it as a temporary measure until you can get the horse's teeth checked, as this could be causing him not to eat his hay.

 

[Happytohack]

This is only a rough guide - but I would guess his weight at 650 kgs? If so, he needs approx 13 kgs feed per day, if you split this roughly as 4kgs hard feed and 9kgs forage, it will give you an idea of the amount he will need. The 9kgs of forage would be made up of hay plus any grass he eats when he is turned out. To give a hay replacer, you will need to be feeding him a lot and it will certainly work out more expensive than hay. Have you tried him on a high fibre haylage? He might well like this better than hay and it is worth a go. Hay replacers are things like Readigrass, soaked hi fibre cubes, dengi hi fi lite, etc. If you want to try a complete forage diet, have a look at www.simplesystem.co.uk for lots of info, some of these feeds can be fed as hay replacers.

 

[Maesfen]

Silly question but are you sure he is actually hungry?!

My lot (4 in at night,) usually scoff a bale and a half each night this time of year but I'm not even using a bale a night as there is still so much grass about and they leave some of that (lovely meadow hay, not rubbish!); they're even on half rations of their feed too simply because they just do not want it.

But sorry, can't help with hay replacers, hope you get him sorted.

 

[Chex]

Mine is eating next to nothing too. Its good haylage, but neither are really interested. I've only been giving them 2 leafs each (they share a pen), and most of it is still there in the morning. we still have so much grass that I don't think they're really hungry, so just pick at it overnight. I used to feed a bucket of readigrass, but wasn't often finished either. I would imagine using hi-fi or other hay replacer would cost a fortune, at about half a bag a night, thats £4 a night or something.

 

[PapaFrita]

Echo MFH_09; Perhaps he's just not hungry? If he looks well in himself I wouldn't worry too much. If he's getting hard feed in addition to the hay perhaps you could cut that down? Or, if you think he's just being fussy, perhaps mix a bit of alfalfa/haylage in with his hay to make it yummier?
Meant to add that PF gets very little roughage (FAR from ideal, but hay is very, very hard to get hold of in this part of the world) and she manages just fine on alfalfa which is very very nutritious.

 

[meandmyself]

I think you can use sugar beet as a partial hay replacer.

 

[Lucy_Ally]

Agree with Pat. Spring is hardly eating anything as she has so much grass out in the field, but then she is a good doer so it doesn't worry me too much and am saving a fortune on hay!!

If you are concerned about him dropping off I would try either in combination of alone:

Haylage - you may find he likes this better, could be he is bored with the hay (you may also want to try different hay, so if you have meadow hay try seed hay).
Readigrass - A bucket of readigrass can often get them interested
Happy hoof - Tasty, smells good and won't fizz them up or put weight on
Alfa - some horses love it and some don't maybe worth trying it

 

[jayvee]

Thanks for info and advice guys,
Yes he is about the 600-625kg in weight. He is on 1.8kg No4 plus alfa a oil and 1 cup of fibregest twice daily. And a net of about 5-6kg (he won't eat any more or if that).
teeth are fine as was checked and rasped in Oct.
The other horses empty their nets every night and love the hay. The grazing is there but I would say poor as not been rested in years!
He looks fine, just slightly on the slim side. we struggled all summer to get weight on and he did have a serious worm burden when purchased back in march (has had a good clear out since, I can tell you -Was horrified at what came out as loads of tape worms)!
Maybe it's me!? i would just like him to eat more fibre/forage as he is a big horse.
But like you say, he just may not be hungry

 

[MagicMelon]

Ive fed Hi Fi Lite as a full hay replacer. It would probably be pricey for your ned. I was giving it to a shetland and 1 bag lasted about a week. So you'd likely get through a lot more than that!

 

[KatB]

I personally wouldnt worry too much. My lad isnt eating as much as normal for this time of year, but there is still alot of grass out there, and he does seem to be getting a decent amount of feed down him anyway. If he starts to drop weight dramatically, then would worry, but some horses are just grass addicts, and prefer to eat alot of it even if it is bad quality, than eating hay/hayledge. If he drops weight alot, try adding something like fibrebeet to his feed to add more roughage, but I think you'll find he is just self regulating, and naturally dropping weight because there isnt as much in the grass.