opinions on mollichaff feed

[Tim's Girl]

hi, I'm after peoples opinions on the mollichaff range as i may change my boys feed to it. he is currently fed dengie alfa a and vit and mins supplement. the mollichaff seems to be alot cheaper but is it worth it? thanks

 

[9tails]

As a chaff? It smells good but it's quite sticky so I imagine there's plenty of molasses in there. It's not a complete feed though so you'd ideally need to continue with the supplement.

 

[soulfull]

My lad won't eat alfa a it is too rough, he loves the mollichop. as 9 tails said the standard one is quite sticky so must have molasses in it. I feed the lite and my lad loves it.

I also feed a vit supplement

 

[Erin]

full of sugar. I wouldn't feed it.

 

[RolyPolyPony]

full of sugar. I wouldn't feed it.

Echo this.

 

[much-jittering]

It is mollassed, says it all over the bag However they also do a non molassed version called 'Hoofkind'. We use it at work to fulfill our chaff needs, and even our lammi ponies cope fine with the Hoofkind version due the lack of sugar. Not sure how that works out costwise in comparison though.

 

[AngieandBen]

The High Fibre Alfalfa and the Alfalfa Oil has less sugar than the Hoofkind which is still 6%, don't forget although they seem cheaper, most of the bags aren't as big as the Dengie ones, ie Hoofkind is only 12.5kg.

 

[Tim's Girl]

thanks for your help guys. yeah have noticed that with the mollichaff bags. i know the veteran is either 12.5 or 15kg and the calmer is 15kg as it is what my friend feeds.

can anyone recommend a cheaper alternative to the alfa a? i'm going to try him on the mollichaff and see what happens. if he looses weight then back on the alfa a although the last bag of it i got it seemed to be very dry and dusty

 

[mudmonkey17]

My horse was fed on it at last yard where feed was included. Didnt know he had been changed onto this from alfa a. He changed into a different horse, lost condition, grumpy, loose droppings and really sensitive skin. Have since moved yards and feed topspec chaff lite and he is his old self again and looks fab.
Think mollichaff is sull of sugar?

 

[Hels_Bells]

i give my 34yo veteran mollichaff herbal as part of his hay replacement diet and he loves it! But he isn't ridden anymore so doesn't seem to fizz up etc and his feet are great but he's a bit of a toughie so might not affect him like others!

 

[Daisychain]

I really wouldnt bother with mollichaff at all, it is chopped up straw covered in mollases, zero nutrients and very expensive.

If you want more bulk just feed sugar beet shreds soaked, just buy the ordinary ones you certainly dont need to soak for 24hrs, easily ready in half an hour.

 

[andraste]

I feel the need to stick up for Mollichaff here. They do a range of feeds, not just one. Some are mollassed, others aren't. They stocked unmollassed feeds long before Dengie offered one as well. I give my boy on one of the unmollassed feeds and he does great on it. They do a very detailed feed analysis of their whole range on their website so you can have a look and decide if it's for you.

 

[AngieandBen]

I really wouldnt bother with mollichaff at all, it is chopped up straw covered in mollases, zero nutrients and very expensive.

If you want more bulk just feed sugar beet shreds soaked, just buy the ordinary ones you certainly dont need to soak for 24hrs, easily ready in half an hour.

Isn't sugar beet just that? sugar?!! molasses, sugar, glucose its all the same! as andraste says not all of them are coated in a lot of sugar ie the High Fibre and the Alfalfa Oil.

 

[TGM]

Isn't sugar beet just that? sugar?!!

Not necessarily, no! What we feed to horses is the by-product of sugar production, so that means the manufacturers remove as much sugar from the beet as possible, leaving a low sugar fibre which is what is fed to our horses. However, some types of beet then have extra molasses added before it is marketed as a horse feed, whilst others don't. Molassed beet usually has about 20% sugar whilst unmolassed beet only has 5%.

 

[Firewell]

I'm feeding mine the mollichaff showshine, it's got less molasses than the original as it has soya oil coating as well

It's fine, horse loves it am there's no difference whatsoever in his temperament. It comes in smaller bags than the Dengie range.

The calmer has less molasses in it then Dengie Alfa a by the way.

I'm not bothered by molassed chaff tbh. People go so crazy about molasses but at the end of the day there is less sugar in my bag of mollichaff then there is in the grass.

Ive never noticed any behaviour changes ever by swapping and trying different charts apart from when I used tons of Alfa A oil!

My horses usually go fruit loop when feeding too high energy feeds.

The only thing if you use mollichaff is that it won't have Alfa in it or not as much Alfa as pure Alfa a and Alfa is very high in protein.

 

[happy_talk]

why do you want to change? is it just for cost? Haven't done the sums but I would guess £ for energy is much better with alfa than mollichaff. if horse has too much energy, reduce the amount you feed.

also second adding sugarbeet as a cheap feed for bulk/energy/condition.

 

[Puzzles]

Mollichaff is very high in sugar compared to Dengie feeds and many other chaff-based feeds so I personally avoid it like the plague...

 

[Amaranta]

My lad won't eat alfa a it is too rough, he loves the mollichop. as 9 tails said the standard one is quite sticky so must have molasses in it. I feed the lite and my lad loves it.

I also feed a vit supplement

,

I feed Mollichop Lite too, my vet recommended it for a laminitic - if you feed the recommended dosage you don't need a supplement as it has all the vits etc in it, my girl also loves it

 

[SpottedCat]

As usual there is a lot of confusion on this thread!

Mollichaff and Mollichop are two completely different brands, with completely different ranges. Mollichops, in general (and I am generalising), are much more heavily mollassed, whereas many of the mollichaff feeds are completely unmollassed or have very little in the way of mollases.

Probably why an internet forum shouldn't be your first port of call for feeding advice!

 

[minniemouse]

As usual there is a lot of confusion on this thread!

Mollichaff and Mollichop are two completely different brands, with completely different ranges. Mollichops, in general (and I am generalising), are much more heavily mollassed, whereas many of the mollichaff feeds are completely unmollassed or have very little in the way of mollases.

Probably why an internet forum shouldn't be your first port of call for feeding advice!

I second this! i think a lot of people get mixed up with the mollichaff and mollichop brands as there names are so similar! i got a detailed analysis of the mollichaff range off the website and it is informative and tells you the percentages, it is a good range and i personally prefer it to dengie as my horse loved the showshine and calmer and he cant have alfa a based chaffs!

 

[AndySpooner]

Basically, anything with molasses added to it, avoid like the plague.

 

[appylass]

Another one sticking up for Mollichaff, 'some' of their feeds are molassed but not all. I use Mollichaff High Fibre Alfalfa, it is molasses free and great value (even though a smaller bag). I don't feed molasses to my lad as it doesn't suit him. Have a read on their website, it's very informative.

 

[AngieandBen]

As usual there is a lot of confusion on this thread!

Mollichaff and Mollichop are two completely different brands, with completely different ranges. Mollichops, in general (and I am generalising), are much more heavily mollassed, whereas many of the mollichaff feeds are completely unmollassed or have very little in the way of mollases.

Probably why an internet forum shouldn't be your first port of call for feeding advice!

Thought I'd put this up so everyone can make up their own mind!! Gives you all the different chaffs they do and the sugar content; As you see the Apple one has a lot of sugar!

http://www.friendshipestates.co.uk/mollichaff/mollichaff-showshine/detailed-product-flyer.html

 

[monkeybum13]

I feel the need to stick up for Mollichaff here. They do a range of feeds, not just one. Some are mollassed, others aren't. They stocked unmollassed feeds long before Dengie offered one as well. I give my boy on one of the unmollassed feeds and he does great on it. They do a very detailed feed analysis of their whole range on their website so you can have a look and decide if it's for you.

Yes, mollichaff do a good range.

I currently feed mollichaff herbal and am very happy with it.

 

[NOISYGIRL]

,

I feed Mollichop Lite too, my vet recommended it for a laminitic - if you feed the recommended dosage you don't need a supplement as it has all the vits etc in it, my girl also loves it

I would hope vets would recommend feeds that the Laminitis Clinic endorse, maybe they know the content to be the same as recommended and give this as a cheaper alternative, I don't know.

Dodsen and Horrel used to do an Alfalfa feed, not sure if they still do or how much in comparison it would be though.

I have noticed differences in quality in Dengie Alfa-A-Lite though and will be keeping an eye on it and contacting them if it continues.

I've never been a lover of the sticky mollichop/chaffs that are out there, my horse can't eat them now anyway, but he has had the herby one over the years and liked it probably because of all the mollasses !

 

[AndySpooner]

What is low sugar molasses?

What is a unique low sugar coating?

 

[Firewell]

When I was a little girl we used to feed liquid molasses mixed into the feed as our PBA was quite fussy and ate his food up better.
We didn't know any better then and the horses were totally fine. They didn't die, go bonkers or get diseases. We did not feed molasses to the ponies as they didn't get feed but my mums showjumper and eventer had them.
While I wouldn't feed liquid molasses now I do not think it did any harm. We used to feed them oats, maize and boiled barley as well.
Both horses lives into their twenties. The only time we had a food related problem was when I took the then 20yr old showjumper to college and I piled him full of alfalfa and build up mix while he was living in 24/7 and he tied up for the first time.
I don't think there is anything wrong with a double handful of mollassed chaff unless you have a laminitic pony or cob. A small amount of molasses is not the devil. Horses get more energy from a bucket of grass then they would a bucket of mollichaff.

 

[AndySpooner]

When I was a little girl we used to feed liquid molasses mixed into the feed as our PBA was quite fussy and ate his food up better.
We didn't know any better then and the horses were totally fine. They didn't die, go bonkers or get diseases. We did not feed molasses to the ponies as they didn't get feed but my mums showjumper and eventer had them.
While I wouldn't feed liquid molasses now I do not think it did any harm. We used to feed them oats, maize and boiled barley as well.
Both horses lives into their twenties. The only time we had a food related problem was when I took the then 20yr old showjumper to college and I piled him full of alfalfa and build up mix while he was living in 24/7 and he tied up for the first time.
I don't think there is anything wrong with a double handful of mollassed chaff unless you have a laminitic pony or cob. A small amount of molasses is not the devil. Horses get more energy from a bucket of grass then they would a bucket of mollichaff.

I agree with a lot of what you say here, you hit the nail on the head when you say that they ate their food up better. Molasses have traditionally been used to make feed more palatable to the horse. 30 or 40 yrs ago, horses were fed more straights and the feed value of most feeds was a lot less than it is now. In addition horses are now insulated in very sofisticated rugs so they are not using the energy to keep warm, but that energy has to go somewhere. They certainly don't get the 'work' they used to do.

Most horses really don't need 90% of what people are encouraged to feed, now that time has moved on and we know so much more why do we need to feed heavily molassed ( unpalatable) feeds. The sugar levels in the feeds published here look like laminitis in a bag to me, I used to feed molasses, but, not any more. Why feed something they don't need that we know can be harmful? It doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Tim's Girl]

I would hope vets would recommend feeds that the Laminitis Clinic endorse, maybe they know the content to be the same as recommended and give this as a cheaper alternative, I don't know.

Dodsen and Horrel used to do an Alfalfa feed, not sure if they still do or how much in comparison it would be though.

I have noticed differences in quality in Dengie Alfa-A-Lite though and will be keeping an eye on it and contacting them if it continues.

I've never been a lover of the sticky mollichop/chaffs that are out there, my horse can't eat them now anyway, but he has had the herby one over the years and liked it probably because of all the mollasses !

its the change in the quality of the alfa-a that makes me want to change. ive noticed over the last couple of feeds that he isnt eating all his feed like he used to. he's not a fussy animal and eats what he's given.

 

[zandp]

One horse went totally loony on it and the older normally calm, laid back horse got really spooky. Took them off it very quickly and won't touch the stuff now.