Making up feeds in advance

pistolpete

pistolpete

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Is it ok to make up a mash feed like fast fibre 24 hours in advance now weather is cooler? I’m struggling as have three to make and horse charging around getting angry while they wait!
 
We have a rota for turning out and doing morning feeds in winter so we all make them up the night before and leave them stacked up (in colour coded buckets) for whoever is doing the next morning. It's never been an issue as far as I'm concerned.
 
Yes. It doesn't work so well if it's warm, but I make up Fast Fibre every other day in winter so at least one feed has been left for 24 hours. I always cover it over and store it in the feed bin which is cool.
 
pistolpete said:
Is it ok to make up a mash feed like fast fibre 24 hours in advance now weather is cooler? I’m struggling as have three to make and horse charging around getting angry while they wait!
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I've done it every Autumn/Winter for the past 20 years and never had issues. In fact I did it up until about end of July this year but it started smelling sour the next day so swapped feeds. I always make up breakfast night before, for staff to feed the next morning. Never had issues. Always mixed bute in too for next day.
 
Tiddlypom said:
I’d never leave soaked feeds for longer than 12 hours unless in the depths of winter. I routinely soak grass nuts for 12 hours.

Soaked feed do go off if left overly long and I would not risk my horse’s health simply for my own convenience.
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It’s not convenience it’s about horses potentially getting hurt while they wait. Mine got bitten yesterday.
 
I stick sugar beet and barley rings on to soak and they dont get fed for another 24 hours.

Done it all summer with the lack of grass this year. Never noticed a bad smell or any concerns with it. Obviously isnt left in direct sun light 🤷🏼‍♀️
 
pistolpete said:
It’s not convenience it’s about horses potentially getting hurt while they wait. Mine got bitten yesterday.
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How often are you up there? Are they hanging around getting antsy while you add water and wait for it to be ready to eat?

If you or someone else day is up twice day then soak twice daily. Otherwise consider changing to a feed that only needs to be damped, not soaked, so that the horses aren’t kept hanging around.
 
You could soak it in a cool box if you're particularly concerned but it would still need putting into buckets so might not save that much time, particularly if it's a fast soaking mash like fast fibre.
 
I would check with the manufacturers of the particular feed. Mine has Care and Gain and they said not to leave that overnight. He only has that in the evening when I’m there to make it fresh as we leave our food made up for whoever is there first to feed.
 
pistolpete said:
It’s not convenience it’s about horses potentially getting hurt while they wait. Mine got bitten yesterday.
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I used to feed A+P and never left feed made up longer than overnight, and always soaked 'fresh' when warm.

If your issue is getting feeds to horses quickly, I'm sure Fast Fibre is only a 60 second soak (from memory, some are 5 minutes). How fast do your horses expect you to be! I can see that if you're having to soak multiple buckets from the tap it would slow the process down though. How about filling a separate bin with water and it's own scoop, so it's dead quick to get the soaking going? Then waiting 60 seconds is nothing. Top the bin up once every few days/every week/every fortnight depending on how fast you use the water. I still have a separate water bin even though I no longer feed mash feeds, the tap is on the other side of the yard to the feed room and it's soooo much quicker even just for normal damping.
 
humblepie said:
I would check with the manufacturers of the particular feed. Mine has Care and Gain and they said not to leave that overnight. He only has that in the evening when I’m there to make it fresh as we leave our food made up for whoever is there first to feed.
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Lari has had C&G for a good 16 months (at retirement and then with me) and during this time I never knew this was a thing.
 
All through summer I've soaked grass pellets for 24hrs in our cool stone outbuildings.

I'd have no issue in winter so long as its cool and out of direct sunlight.

If you always go from home you could make up in a lidded bucket and it'll be done by the time you arrive.
 
Tiddlypom said:
How often are you up there? Are they hanging around getting antsy while you add water and wait for it to be ready to eat?

If you or someone else day is up twice day then soak twice daily. Otherwise consider changing to a feed that only needs to be damped, not soaked, so that the horses aren’t kept hanging around.
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Yes that’s the issue. They are watching us. It’s not my horse so I can’t dictate what she eats. If I mix feed in the morning when they’re only having hay that will cause more excitement.
 
Fast fibre soaks in 1 minute so it’s not like they have to wait any length of time. I personally would just try and keep out of sight until the bucket’s made up.

I use speedibeet but wouldn’t soak it for 24 hrs. I soak it either end of the day for the next feed.
 
I soak grass nuts the night before. I also use the plastic bags I get my bread in, to put all the measured out supplements/dry matter in the night before. Use a peg to seal them. Saves quite a lot of time the next morning. You can keep them in feed bins if you are worried about rodents.
 
i used to soak fast fibre/spillers mash for 2/3 days at a time, any more than that and it smells a bit funky. i now make all the feeds up ready with the mash in dry, and just let the whole thing soak for a bit. the spillers mash takes less time than the fast fibre though!

i often make feeds in the morning for the following day, so it’s left for 24 hours and absolutely fine, i just always put a cover on
 
Peglo said:
Fast fibre soaks in 1 minute so it’s not like they have to wait any length of time. I personally would just try and keep out of sight until the bucket’s made up.

I use speedibeet but wouldn’t soak it for 24 hrs. I soak it either end of the day for the next feed.
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Can you not give them whatever they normally have in the morning and finish your jobs so that they lose interest in you, then soak FF ready for tea?
 
I mix it up (fast fibre, speedi beet, grass nuts) 24 hours in advance. I only go up once a day.
It's kept in a wooden shed and works out fine. When I have bottled water in there its cool to drink on the hottest days.

I use a bucket with a lid to make it up. - this means anyone feeding mine has the mash at the right consistency as one is fussy and if it's not right he won't eat. (I'm only using fast fibre at the moment).
 
Thanks everyone. It’s actually spillers senior mash mine has Allen and Paige veteran light which soaks quicker. I’ve left it in soak for tomorrow. Fingers crossed I can give it to her straight away and she’ll chill.
 
Birker2020 said:
I've done it every Autumn/Winter for the past 20 years and never had issues. In fact I did it up until about end of July this year but it started smelling sour the next day so swapped feeds. I always make up breakfast night before, for staff to feed the next morning. Never had issues. Always mixed bute in too for next day.
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Vet told me not to leave bute in a soaked feed overnight because the palatable coating would dissolve.
 
I usually make up any mash/sugarbeet for 2-3 days in the winter in a big bucket. I put a little bucket on top to keep it fresh. Then I just add it to the rest of the feed just before feeding so it doesn't make everything else go to mush.
 
TheOldTrout said:
Vet told me not to leave bute in a soaked feed overnight because the palatable coating would dissolve.
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I've heard this too TOT but Bailey and Lari have never had issues not eating bute in their breakfasts.

I actually looked on the Phenylbutazone data sheet at the time and it says;

Dampening of the veterinary medicinal product in feed 5 minutes prior to feeding has been shown to have no detrimental influence on the palatability of the veterinary medicinal product. However, the influence of prolonged dampening on palatability or stability of the veterinary medicinal product is not known.
 
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