“Hay should always be qualitatively assessed before feeding. Is it a nice green or pale gold color, depending upon the variety? It should not appear brown or dull or have obvious white or black areas of mold.”
HAY PELLETS AND CUBES Pellets and cubes are the result of mechanical chopping of long stem
hay and then forcing it through a dye under pressure to make the pellet/ cube. Hay within pellets tends to have been chopped more fi nely than that in cubes. Owners oſt en believe these forms of forage contain low quality forage, but that is in fact not the case. Unlike hay, pellets and cubes come with a tag that guarantees at least the protein and fi ber content. T erefore there may be less variability between bags of pellets than in bales of hay. Pellets and cubes have other advantages: they
are less dusty than hay, easier to store, they are digested more effi ciently resulting in less manure waste, and less waste also tends to occur during feeding. The increased efficiency of digestion can mean that fewer pounds of pellets need to be fed as compared to pounds of hay, although they should still comprise at least 1% of a horse’s body weight per day. Pellets and cubes are also easier for horses with poor dentition, especially when fed soaked. Due to the heating that occurs during the pelleting process, pellets are typically certifi ed weed-free, and many trails and open areas require that horses be fed weed-free feed forage. T e biggest downfall of pellets is that they
require less chewing and therefore are consumed more rapidly than hay. Horses therefore get to spend less of their day eating, which can lead to boredom. In addition, chewing results in increased saliva production, and saliva contains bicarbonate, a natural buff er of stomach acid. Reducing chew time may not be a good idea for horses prone to gastric ulcers. A common miscon- ception is that horses cannot get enough fi ber from pellets alone—this is not the case. However, for the reasons stated it is recommended that at least a couple of pounds of long-stem hay be fed if the
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majority of the forage is pellets or cubes. If you do not feel comfortable feeding your horse’s entire forage
requirement as pellets but have a limited supply of hay, consider re- placing part of their hay intake with pellets or cubes as a way to make your hay go further.
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