Quick feeding question re: fast fibre v pink mash

cblover

cblover

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Hi all,

Quick question please....given that fast fibre soaks in 60 secs, what would you think about using it instead of pink mash but adding something like Nettex VIP ulsa shield as the kind hind gut thing?

I’m currently using pink mash as it has protexin in but it’s just something I’ve been wondering about. Ulsa shield has it in too.
 
I dont like fast fibre as a feed, and theres more to pink mash than just the protexin. For me I wouldnt even entertain a swap like that. I put mine in the bucket to soak while I make feeds up. It cant be soaking more than 2 minutes before I feed it and its fine, so I just cant see why its taking so long to soak for you. Having fed fast fibre before they seem to take the same amount of time from what I remember. But if its really causing that much hassle then change it, sometimes life is too short!
 
I’ve started to add hot water after the cold and it’s soaking faster. But if I just use cold, it’s definitely over 5 mins until I feel the pellets have softened enough to be safe to eat.
 
I feed fast fibre, I'd have liked to feed pink mash but couldn't get madam to eat it.
Anyway just worth saying this time of year it takes longer than 60 seconds to soak...
 
I changed from FF to Pink Mash when one of mine got diagnosed with ulcers and it was recommended by someone on a group that I joined for advice. I honestly don't think mine takes as long as 10 mins to soak, but I could be wrong. I put plenty of water in mine too. I feed it with Thunderbrooks Herbal Chaff, my horses like it.
 
I feed fast fibre to Millie (Polly won’t eat any kind of soaked mash). I feed it as a filler really with her Balancer and supplements. She doesn’t have much at all but it soaks up enough that she feels she’s getting a decent feed.
It soaks in 60 seconds and as it’s got nothing in it, I don’t worry if I have to soak it early in the day and then feed it later.
I’ve never used pink mash though.
 
My pink mash seems to soak very quickly. Way less than 10 minutes. I'd guess about 5 with cold water. If I soak the mash by the time I have done a single other job (hay, water buckets, rug change etc) it's ready. I love it and think it has far more good in it than FF. In fact I was feeding FF, linseed, protexin all separately then realised I could just buy pink mash and have it all in one.
 
My Pink Mash doent take 10 min either. Water in 3 feeds, stir, maybe add a bit more water, stir again, carry to stables and feed. 5 min tops.

I do soak breakfasts the night before too somethimes, I dont worry too much about the 2 hour window. Theres more benefit to Pink Mash than just the pro-biotics (soya hulls themselves are great for maintaining hind gut Ph which guards against hind gut acidosis which can lead to ulcers and/or laminitis - theres been a few studies in the US)

I have a horse with inflamatory bowel disease and hind gut acidosis and he has thrived on Pink Mash, as have my others, and their gut health now is better than ever.
 
I set the stopwatch on my watch every day to time how long I’d soaked the pink mash for :cool:. With cold water, 5 mins was enough for some batches but others needed the full 10 mins. It would have been quicker with warm water.

I no longer feed it, it did not suit my horses. I’ve never fed FF.
 
This might be a daft question.....but do you all wait until the whole pellet is mash before feeding? I keep putting my fingers in and feeling the hard bits, so i leave it until I can't feel any in there. This is pink mash I'm talking about.

I did say it was daft!
 
I've had to adapt my routine slightly since we started feeding my friend's old boy pink mash. At first we soaked it overnight but apparently that can kill the good stuff off so we now soak just before feeding and it has worked miracles! This horse had a constant stream of liquid poo running down his legs, his tail was caked and you got covered in it changing his rugs. She was constantly washing his legs so the skin wasn't affected. He now produces "normal" poo, doesn't run randomly etc.

So my morning routine is now to soak his feed (having done my lad's the night before as he doesn't have pink mash), go and take the haynets down, sweep a clean area for my horse to tip his feed all over the floor, which is the only way to eat it, and then go back in the feed room to collect the morning feeds. We do tell the old boy "it's cooking" when he is impatient to be fed but it really does only take a few minutes. In the evening, it soaks while we make the following morning's feeds up or while we bring them in so it doesn't really interfere much with routine. He has it mixed with grass pellets which seem to take about the same amount of time to soak.

To me, the slight delay is definitely worth it for the benefits! That said, I've never compared it to FF so wouldn't know the different timings.
 
I timed mine yesterday for you, It was ready to feed in 1min7secs.

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I feed FF to a horse who was treated for ulcers a few years ago and he looks fab on it. I've never fed pink mash though. He used to get speedibeet and chaff but his field mate started having veteran vitality as she's a fussy so and so, and I didn't want to keep buying chaff as took me long enough to get through a bag when they both had it, and it was a faff to soak speedibeet with cold water.

However FF definitely takes longer than 60 seconds if you've only got cold water. I chuck water over mine then do my hay nets and it's always ready by the time I've finished.
 
Wow LW, that’s no time at all. Mine definitely takes more than that and I’ve been using hot water on top of the cold to speed things up. I keep putting my fingers in the mash to make sure all the pellets have gone soft. I can feel hard bits for quite a while before they all soak.
 
cblover said:
Wow LW, that’s no time at all. Mine definitely takes more than that and I’ve been using hot water on top of the cold to speed things up. I keep putting my fingers in the mash to make sure all the pellets have gone soft. I can feel hard bits for quite a while before they all soak.
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I dont think you need to worry too much. So long as the majority is soaked and its mash like I think its ok to feed. One of mind did get fed half a scoop worth unsoaked and lived to tell the tale/
 
That was something I was thinking about if you dont soak it thoroughly does it actually work better on runny tummies or is there a risk of it causing them to obstruct. Have just bought a bag of agrobs mash as it was recommended for runny poo. I gave him about 50 grms today as need to build it up to 500 grms per day so he had it mixed with the pink mash. he is about 30 and is very runny pink mash on its own didnt help so he has been having psyllium too. It is a real struggle as once it becomes liquid he gets sore legs and tummy and stops eating thought we were going to lose him this time last year. My intention is to build up the agrobs and drop the pink mash and psyllium as the psyllium is costing a fortune
 
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