Molasses - rocket fuel?!

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bex1984

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This may be a really numpty-ish question...but can molasses act as pony rocket fuel?!

I added some chaff with molasses in to Murphy's feed last week, and he seems to be a bit more bouncy, so I'm wondering if the two are connected??
 
that happened to my ponies when i used a feed containing molasses. So i came to that conclusion too... Ponies now back on normal feed without and are back to normal!
 
Anything with sugar sets my boy off - carrots, apples, mollassed chaff or feeds, even the occasional mint... I have to be really careful what I feed him. He loves haylage but I feed him "normal" hay... he will steal other horse's haylage though... given the chance
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Yes it definitely is for my highland, I've had him since he was weaned and have tried him with molassed feeds a few times, he is like a toddler who has eaten too many sweets. I try really hard to avoid molasses at all costs now!
 
My mare has just managed 5kg of molasses via Horslyx in 5 days and has been fine but I will have to take a brillo pad to her nose
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I never feed molasses either as they are incredibly bad for horses in so many ways - basically junk food for horses. I hate the way feed companies put it in almost every food - finding feed without molasses is hard.

If you do feed lots of molasses (including Horselyx which frankly should be banned!) then check out your horse's hooves. If you find any ridges on the hoof wall (what are sometimes called growth rings or stress rings) then each one of these is a laminitic event... most usually caused by too much sugar in the blood stream, causing laminella to inflame and pull away from the hoof wall, leading to the ridge (ring) on the hoof wall. I was always told that these rings were caused by changes in diet, the introduction of higher energy feeds and nothing to worry about. But they are very much to be worried about - they are an early warning that something went horribly wrong with your horses diet.

I'd love it if everyone's New Year's resolution was to stop feeding molasses altogether. If that happened the horse feed companies would have to start manufacturing more and more feed molasses free and all our horses would be much healthier.
 
molasses can affect certain susceptable horses as such as can grass, or anything else with a high sugar content.

Although I think there is too much hype about horse feeds and licks containing mollases, it is not the spawn of the devil, yes it is added to make feeds more palatable to the horse as is sugar to our breakfast cereal is that really such a bad thing.

So I do feed my horse mollases containing feeds,
 
But are your horse's hooves perfectly smooth? - no ridges or grooves.

All horses are susceptible to sugary feeds - some develop full blown laminitic attacks others suffer more chronically with repeated small laminitic events that often go unnoticed. Horses just aren't geared up to cope with the sort of sugar levels they have to face in domestication - lush green grass, hay/haylage made from those lush green grasses, feeds covered in molasses, horse treats etc etc. It's impossible to cut them all out - but the ones we can avoid we should... those in processed feeds and treats.

Molasses added into the vast majority of horse feeds at levels we cannot control ourselves is very different to us humans putting a spoon full of sugar on our cereal. And most doctors would discourage us from adding sugar to anything these days anyway as we know sugar is bad for us too.
 
thanks for all the replies...as many of you will know I am mildly obsessive about what goes in to my pony because he is on a permenant diet.

I am hoping the molasses have given him some extra bounce because he is a lazy lump!! He is only having 2 handfuls of chaff with it in and if it gets him moving it will do him good because I'll be able to work him harder.

I believe rings on hooves can be caused by ANY change in diet, not necessarily always laminitis?!
 
There are much healthier ways to up your horse's energy levels than molasses. Try adding some oil - either neat or via something like Copra Coolstance.

Rings/grooves in hooves can be caused by many things - too much sugar in the diet is the most common but also worming and vaccinations (vaccinations seem to produce grooves rather than rings - the reasons are not yet fully understood). Basically any time toxins attack the laminiae a ring or groove is formed. But though the causes can vary the physiological process happening in the hoof structure is the same - the laminiae inflame, seperate from the hoof wall, circulation is compromised and a ridge or groove is formed in the hoof wall. For the unlucky horses the attack is severe enough to result in what we traditionally know as laminitis - i.e. a very lame and in pain horse - but for most horses these laminitic events come and go throughout the year and fortunately for them their immune systems are strong enough to deal with the toxins and restore the hoof to health again before any lameness occurs but leaving a tell tale ridge or groove to grow down the hoof wall.
 
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thanks for all the replies...as many of you will know I am mildly obsessive about what goes in to my pony because he is on a permenant diet.

I am hoping the molasses have given him some extra bounce because he is a lazy lump!! He is only having 2 handfuls of chaff with it in and if it gets him moving it will do him good because I'll be able to work him harder.

I believe rings on hooves can be caused by ANY change in diet, not necessarily always laminitis?!

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Give him some D&H pasture mix or a handfull of oats that will fizz him up but I wouldn't fizz him up with sugar - that's like giving an athlete a can of coke before a race rather than complex carbs!!!
 
Personally I think its a case of everything is fine in moderation.

However I do agree with the above in the fact that molassis certaily is not a healthy way or certain way to fizz him up.

I personally would swop your chaff to alfa a oil or alfa a and micronised linseed ( except then you may need to add a vit e supplement ) or just increase the energy level of mix or cubes if you are feeding mix or cubes . Even though I do not avoid mollasis containing food, I would avoid the high mollassed chafs around as there is no benefit to the horse in feeding these.

Maybe that is why my horses hooves are smooth
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thanks for all the replies...as many of you will know I am mildly obsessive about what goes in to my pony because he is on a permenant diet.

I am hoping the molasses have given him some extra bounce because he is a lazy lump!! He is only having 2 handfuls of chaff with it in and if it gets him moving it will do him good because I'll be able to work him harder.

I believe rings on hooves can be caused by ANY change in diet, not necessarily always laminitis?!

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Give him some D&H pasture mix or a handfull of oats that will fizz him up but I wouldn't fizz him up with sugar - that's like giving an athlete a can of coke before a race rather than complex carbs!!!

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he's been on pasture mix, then leisure mix, then competition cubes, which although they've given him a little boost (and definitely more stamina), still haven't given him 'sparkle' if that makes sense?! The last week he has really seemed to enjoy his work more, which I guess is what I mean by more bounce
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I'll see how he goes on this new chaff, I monitor his weight and condition very closely anyway because he is a weight watchers pony (but he is now slim and fit!). It sound silly but he genuinely needs fizzing up a bit and so far nothing else has done the trick. For some reason I am a bit scared of feeding him oats!

I should add this is not some crazy sugar laden chaff, for most people it would be a fairly normal feed (I don't want to name brand names, it's not a major brand but quite well known), it's just that Murphy hasn't really had sugar before so it's a change for him.
 
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Absolutely, it'a almost pure sugar.

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though interestingly it tastes foul
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You tried it then?
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not by choice, it was unavoidable while having it chucked on me from multiple directions by the bucket load......... followed by shavings, which stuck to it lovely, then dumped in a 400 gallon water trough to wash it off. All part of leaving the job
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Why don't you want to name brands?

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it wouldn't really be appropriate. I love the stuff if it gives me a bouncy pony, but clearly not everyone agrees that molasses are good.
 
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Absolutely, it'a almost pure sugar.

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though interestingly it tastes foul
tongue.gif


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You tried it then?
confused.gif
grin.gif


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not by choice, it was unavoidable while having it chucked on me from multiple directions by the bucket load......... followed by shavings, which stuck to it lovely, then dumped in a 400 gallon water trough to wash it off. All part of leaving the job
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Ah right! Explains a lot! What a way to go, lol!
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