What do you guys think of this re fast fibre?

[claribella]

Just put on one of my sites that I feed fast fibre for a barefoot diet and got this reply which is very disturbing!

I am not a fan of fast fibre. Top ingredient is nutritionally improved straw - which means it has been soaked in sodium hydroxide to break down the structural fibre and increase its digestibility. Sodium hydroxide is otherwise known as caustic soda. It is principally used in the paper making industry, manufacturing of soaps, detergents and as a drain cleaner. It is the most common ingredient in oven cleaners. Why would we want to feed that to our horses ?

 

[sleepingdragon10]

I highly doubt there will be any NaOH left in the end product.

 

[Megibo]

well I hope that is not true!

 

[Natch]

It would be interesting to see if there is anything to back that up. OP, how about emailing the company and asking them? If you do, please update us when/if they reply

 

[SaharaS]

slightly off topic, but having watched the recent food uncovered, I don't disbelieve this is a possibility...I saw what they did to make canned grapefruit segments so perfectly pith free & 'clean' does not sit right with me in the slightest.. even if it is rinsed a billion times before we eat it...even salads that are pre washed & packed are sprayed with chemicals etc to keep them 'fresh' longer...if this is for humans, I am not surprised what they do in the process for animal feed....that said, I hope it is not the case...will watch with interest. I wonder if Fast fibre makers would divulge the making process..I doubt it falls under 'freedom of information act' but it would definitely be nice to know so as owners we can make a choice

 

[claribella]

Yes I will do that and let you know if and when I get a reply. Part of me thinks its a bit scary but then the other part of me thinks hey ho shes not dead yet and like above post says the amount of Work that goes into our food is ridonkulous and we are still alive so is it worth worrying about.

 

[claribella]

Awaiting a reply as I type

 

[criso]

Not fast fibre specifically but some info on Nutritionally Improved Straw.

http://www.feedsmarketing.co.uk/nutrionally-improved-straw

It's why I try and feed straights where possible.

 

[claribella]

Oh gosh! Just when you think youve got a good feed for a poor doer who is very fussy a spanner is thrown in the works! What to do now........

 

[Scarlett]

like above post says the amount of Work that goes into our food is ridonkulous and we are still alive so is it worth worrying about.

Yes but the statistics for people contracting horrific diseases cancer etc are horrendous! What we put into ourselves is important, it's amazing how many things can be cured with specific foods....

I've seen stage 4 cancer turned around with a specific diet.

Everything we, our horses and our pets eat has been screwed with somehow. FF will be no different from the other feeds....

 

[StoptheCavalry]

Oh gosh! Just when you think youve got a good feed for a poor doer who is very fussy a spanner is thrown in the works! What to do now........

I litterally just bought a bag of this after reading other posts raving about it, dammit what to do now?!

 

[claribella]

Yes you are right. I have a friend who firmly believes this and has cut just about everything out of her diet because she works with old people who have altsymers (sp?) and it worries her to death that they got it through what theyve put into their mouths over the years. Its so diffcult though because she says most of the supermarket stuff is messed with and buying pure stuff can be quite expensive. As if living today is not already ridicklously expensive. So should I be looking into a basic chaff then for horsey? What are my options? She is a poor doer so I feed linseed and also mag along with the fast fibre so I need a base for the linseed and mag

 

[thatsmygirl]

Just when I thought I had found a good feed

 

[Oberon]

Despite this, Fast Fibre has found itself safe and effective as a feed for many horses.

 

[claribella]

Yeah Like I said earlier oberon Im in two minds esp since I have a new bag sat in my living room. Funny isnt it, I am sat here eating a bag of haribo which is full of junk, infact it is junk but the amount of stress and consideration that ive put into horse feed over the years! My hubby laughs at me!

 

[SmartieBean09]

http://thunderbrook.co.uk/app/download/5780944254/PureEssentials+Information+Sheet+Back.pdf

The above has information on feeds we give to our horses. I understand that most things we eat or feed has been tampered with by mankind at some point but I also take the above with a pinch of salt. Soon enough we will end up paying through the nose for unadulterated horse feeds because we want our crops not to be sprayed, our feeds to be molasses free etc. Truth is, if we fed correctly in the first instance then this could all be avoided. Most leisure horses are fed to make us feel better but in all my years around horses I have never seen a horse drop dead from just eating grass and hay. Infact I've seen horses that have been fed hay and grass only, only have the dentist when there is a problem, only have shoes on if it's competing and also left unvaccinated all live well into their 30's and have been completely healthy.

I think sometimes we as horse owners over complicate things and I for one can be one of those!

 

[Hippona]

Well.....my 3 have never looked so well or been so sound since I started using fast fibre. Even the fussy arab loves it....in fact, all 3 were licking their lips this morning when I was bringing the feeds out....

You would literally feed nothing if you took it all on board.....

Grief....even grass isn't good for 'em

 

[claribella]

I was just looking at the thunderbrook site but its just sooooo expensive! I dont know if I can stomuch paying that much for a bag of feed. I know it says a bag would last around forty days but but my ff lasts a month and the linseed lasts forever. It does look good though.

 

[samlf]

NaOH is used in lots of food science, all you do is add some HCl and it is neutralised to salt and water. Even if what this person said was true, and it was still in the feed when you fed it, the stomach contains HCl so it'd be neutralised anyway.

 

[Oberon]

Yeah Like I said earlier oberon Im in two minds esp since I have a new bag sat in my living room. Funny isnt it, I am sat here eating a bag of haribo which is full of junk, infact it is junk but the amount of stress and consideration that ive put into horse feed over the years! My hubby laughs at me!

I'm absolutely the same . My diet is shocking - even though I know better .

Fast Fibre is something quite a lot of barefooters use successfully. As you will know - barefoot horses often don't tolerate anything hinky in the diet.

I feed Fast Fibre in large amounts to my elderly, Cushing's horse. He has a proven track record of doing poorly on many feeds - I have made pretty much every mistake out there . He is doing well on the Fast Fibre and Speedibeet (and minerals etc) so even though I am not emotionally attached to the ingredients - I am happy to continue feeding it on the basis that it works

Spiller's High Fibre Cubes is another feed that reads badly on paper (molasses etc) but has still been found 'safe' for barefooters. I have no idea why .

Thunderbrooks and TopSpec are two companies who's feeds look good on paper but have been found not to perform well with many barefooters.....

Although - you will find each horse will respond differently and so it's a case on seeing what fits .

 

[criso]

...in fact, all 3 were licking their lips this morning when I was bringing the feeds out....

Not sure that's a good basis, mine would happily live on chicken pot noodle given the chance (don't ask how I know), doesn't mean he gets it.

NIS pellets are in alot of feeds particularly low calorie sugar free chops.

Sodium Hydroxide is used in the processing and may not have any adverse effects or be left in the end result, however looking at all the articles about NIS it would seem that all the testing on gut function and digestibility was done on cows not horses.

Virtually all chaffs will have either molasses and/or oil to keep it turning to dust or clumping.
The ingredients will probably have been sprayed when they were growing and some are GM, then they will all have some sort of preservatives in them to keep them in the bag.

The alternative would be to look FF key ingredients which are essentially straw, unmolassed sugar beet and grass meal (I'm discounting oatfeed as just filler) and make your own equivalent.

You may find without the flavourings that your horse doesn't find it as yummy and then you have to start adding mint and fenugreek like FF does.

Suddenly feed times are incredibly complicated and you find yourself storing mulitple bags of feeds.

If you are going to feed a mix it's still one of the safer ones.

 

[claribella]

Well there you go then if samlf said it, it must be true

Oberon I also feed large amounts of the stuff and she loves it which is wny I was so pleased when we found it because she is so fussy. I tried simple system but she hated it. Thanks for the info about thunderbrook. Interesting about the spillers stuff. I used to feed the original balancer they do without any problems as well but then she went off it so I had to rethink. I think I will just stick to what we are doing since she looks good on it.

 

[Oberon]

I was feeding Spiller's HFC all summer as a tempting base for herb, minerals and linseed (I don't usually feed in summer - but he needed it this year).

Then, come the autumn, he decided he wouldn't eat it any more in favour of Fast Fibre. Interestingly, he also refused all herbs from September.

I added Speedibeet last month when it got cold. He's loving both that and the Fast Fibre and is relishing his feeds.

But I know that come spring, he will start refusing all feeds in favour of the grass .

 

[Hippona]

Not sure that's a good basis, mine would happily live on chicken pot noodle given the chance (don't ask how I know), doesn't mean he gets it.


.

On the basis that he actually eats it and keeps condition on...isn't footy and not a total loony....its a good enough basis for me.

 

[claribella]

Its funny isnt it. They know they need and like.

My girl has just gone into the winter paddock and is gorging on grass at the moment so isnt touching her hard feed. YO is very concerned that she isnt eating it but I know her so well I could have predicted that. She would eat hay and grass over any hard feed. YO offered me some hifi and pony nuts as I think she thinks my girl doesnt like the ff (she went off food when I moved yards which I knew she would as she is a stresshead with change and she wont eat down at the yard because she likes to see other horses so YO hasnt seen her eat it much because I feed in the field when shes not around) but explained it was too high in sugar.(I think she thinks Im mad with my barefoot and bridle less stuff)To be honest I am so fed up worrying about weight and feeds with horsey and I like her to not be the same weight throughout the year because I dont think its natural and there is higher risk of lammi if they come out of the winter fat. She does drop off but as soon as the spring grass comes through she fattens up again.

 

[micki]

Whatevers in it i shall keep feeding it as my 4 love it and they all have great feet on it and the 3 in work have good hard feet and don't need shoes so it works for them and me . So happy owner and happy horses .

 

[travelmad]

slightly off topic, but having watched the recent food uncovered, I don't disbelieve this is a possibility...I saw what they did to make canned grapefruit segments so perfectly pith free & 'clean' does not sit right with me in the slightest.. even if it is rinsed a billion times before we eat it...even salads that are pre washed & packed are sprayed with chemicals etc to keep them 'fresh' longer...if this is for humans, I am not surprised what they do in the process for animal feed....that said, I hope it is not the case...will watch with interest. I wonder if Fast fibre makers would divulge the making process..I doubt it falls under 'freedom of information act' but it would definitely be nice to know so as owners we can make a choice

when I read this first I also thought about watching the Food Uncovered programme - you have no idea how many people I have told since that need to be careful eating grapefruit!

 

[SO1]

I think people have to be realistic Sodium hydroxide is used in manufacturing many food items including butter, processed meats, ice cream and beer, making olives soft, washing cocoa beans for making chocolate, tooth paste and even drinking water and lots of other things that many of us consume on a daily basis.

I am probably consume more of it than my pony does through eating fast fibre. If it is in tap water suitable for drinking then he is probably consuming it from drinking water as well. Water companies add Sodium hydroxide to acidic water to raise the Ph values.

Maybe the people who are worried about their horse consuming it need to stop eating chocolate and brushing their teeth with toothpaste and drinking tap water in case something bad happens to them.

I think it is easy to overeact when someone see a chemical in a product. I don't think fast fibre is dangerous. There are some people that will want to avoid exposure to all chemicals for them and their horses but they should not cause panic about chemicals.

Just because something is a "straight" does not mean it has not been exposed to chemicals in the growing or processing stage.

 

[ester]

its not something I worry about tbh, if someone would like to find away to conveniently pellet straw without using it then great, if not I think its unlikely to be doing any harm at all.

 

[catkin]

How much of the daily diet is actually fast fibre?
The litre per day that my two ponies get for example, pales into insignificance against kilos of ad-lib hay and the kilos of twigs and leaves and herbs they browse in the field each day.