Can't get Standlee Chopped Alfalfa anymore - what to use?

[4LeafCloverFarm]

My TSC (and other TSCs within 1+ hours of me) no longer carry the Standlee Chopped Alfalfa. :sigh: Twice I’ve spoken to the manger of my local store and twice he said he’d order 10 bags and twice he’s totally forgotten what he said he’d do. So I’ve given up on it ever materializing.

They have two chopped products - neither are all-alfalfa, but are chopped. Haven’t used either one so was wondering what people thought of:

ManaPro HiFiber Chop

DuMor Timothy/Alfalfa Chop

My local Co-Op doesn’t have chopped hay and neither does my local feed store where I buy my horse feed. This is for my senior horse who is already getting 7.5 pounds of alfalfa pellets (soaked) a day. The chopped alfalfa is added to his night-time bermuda hay for added calories, as he lives outside (with shelter and is blanketed in winter). Been doing this for the last 3 or 4 years, so I know adding that 3-5 pounds of the chopped alfalfa is beneficial to him.

My other option to make a 3+ hour round trip to a large commercial hay supplier who has lovely Montana alfalfa in 50# compressed bales that is soft and flexible that I know he can chew, but when you add the gas mileage of my poor old Suburban, we are talking paying upwards of $23 a bale.

Oh - and I have tried the compressed bales of Alfalfa from Standlee and they are NOT consistent enough in quality (some my senior can eat and some he can not). So not wasting money on that method - its why I switched to the chopped hay in the first place.

I just hate it when a product I’ve used for years goes poof from the stores. So infuriating. So, what to do?

[Megaladon]

Can you order online?

[Amy3996]

I’ve heard good things about the Triple Crown chopped forages if you have a supplier near you who carries them?

[4LeafCloverFarm]

Unfortunately, no Triple Crown in my area either. That’s an hour and a half drive (one way).

The manger at TSC says there is no Standlee in their warehouse to even ship it to the store (which explains why those 10 bags he promised to have haven’t materialized). I can find it on the website, but because I’ve heard horror stores of ordering from TSC ship to store being horribly inconsistent, I figured its better to just switch products than count on them being able to have it.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

I did just check the TSC website for the bagged chopped alfalfa and “ship to store” and “delivery to home” are BOTH unavailable on the website. :lol: So you can look at it, but not touch.

[Simkie]

You might try contacting Chewy to see if they’re able to get it. They do carry other standlee stuff, but that product isn’t listed. Service is stellar from them, so maybe they’d pick it up?

[4LeafCloverFarm]

@Simkie

You might try contacting Chewy to see if they’re able to get it. They do carry other standlee stuff, but that product isn’t listed. Service is stellar from them, so maybe they’d pick it up?

Well, they have it at Walmart for for a whopping $39.50 (the shipping is $20.39). :lol:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Standlee-Hay-1100-70101-0-0-Forage-Chopped-Alfalfa-40-Lb-Bag/47647474

I’ve never used Chewy, but I know a lot of people like it.

[morsekg]

I get Green Meadows chopped forage and it’s high quality. I’ve only done the low starch equal balance but they have alfalfa as well. Depending where you are maybe you can find that somewhere.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

I called and left a message at Standlee Customer Service - asking them if there is just a supply shortage right now. Because I can’t seem to find their chopped alfalfa anywhere but Walmart, which seems odd to me.

So no one has used the Manna Pro HiFiber Chop? I’m not familiar with oat hay which is the main forage in that chopped hay. Can’t find an NSC value on that either.

[ryansgirl]

I had problems getting Standlee Chopped Alfalfa quite awhile ago. Contacted Standlee and they said there was no shortage. Managers at Tractor Supply would order it but it would never get delivered.

I stopped feeding it anyways because it was like feeding a bag of dust (a couple were so bad i needed my inhaler after as I could feel my throat closing up - it was that bad). I tossed it in my mares pee spot - she wouldn’t tough it either and I wasn’t going to feed it to her when it was that bad.

Do you have Lucerne Farms available? They have chopped everything including alfalfa though they do add some molasses to it. My preference is Triple Crown but you don’t have access to theirs.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

So, I found the Lucerne Farms Alfalfa Supreme at two places - each about 1.25 hours drive (one way) from me. Its $20 a bag. Unfortunately those are the only suppliers in the immediate area that carry their products.

So if no one can recommend the Manna Pro HiFiber Chop, I guess a road trip is in order! :winkgrin:

[ryansgirl]

If the Manna Pro is primarily oat hay I wouldn’t feed it. Oat hay is typically much higher in sugar. Without knowing the NSC or much else about the product I wouldn’t risk it.

[LovieBird]

@4LeafCloverFarm

I called and left a message at Standlee Customer Service - asking them if there is just a supply shortage right now. Because I can’t seem to find their chopped alfalfa anywhere but Walmart, which seems odd to me.

So no one has used the Manna Pro HiFiber Chop? I’m not familiar with oat hay which is the main forage in that chopped hay. Can’t find an NSC value on that either.

So I recently posted on here asking about the Manna Pro Hi Fiber Chop as well. I emailed Lucerne Farms and they said the NSC was 21.2. Since I was looking for a complete hay replacement, I decided against it. However, if you just use it supplementally and your horse does not have any sensitivities, it might be ok.

What about Chaffhaye? It’s pretty soft chopped alfalfa. Chewy might even carry it, I’m not sure. You might also look into the hydration hay that purina makes. Too expensive to feed as a sole fiber source, but totally doable as a supplement.

Otherwise, I’d stick with the alfalfa pellets. If your horse is getting it in addition to regular hay, he is still getting the “long stem fiber” he needs.

I also found that cubes of any brand always seem to have errant hay string/twine or other weird things in them.

[wsmoak]

@4LeafCloverFarm

So no one has used the Manna Pro HiFiber Chop? I’m not familiar with oat hay which is the main forage in that chopped hay. Can’t find an NSC value on that either.

I’ve bought it a couple of times just to see what it was / have a backup if I can’t get other stuff. It’s fine. It’s coated with molasses though. I think of it as an emergency forage, not something I’d use regularly.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

The prices for getting bagged hay online seems to run double (or more) in price of what you would pay in store. In an emergency, that might be an option, but not for a regular purchase I use daily.

@LovieBird .Thanks for the NSC on the HiFiber Chop from Manna Pro. I kind of figured it was high. I don’t feed the chopped hay in huge quantities, so probably not a huge issue… but still that is pretty high. My senior who is 28 does not have PPID or IR or anything - but my other two are not so fortunate. I’d rather have a product all three can have.

A rep from Standlee did call me back yesterday. There is no shortage or shipping/delivery issue with their bagged Chopped Alfalfa. They are going to look into why TSC doesn’t have it available in-store or online. So I’m waiting to hear back from them on that.

[Marla_100]

I second calling Chewy.com- their customer service is unparalled. They’re now stocking more and more horse products.

[DinkyDonk]

I’d rent a small enclosed moving truck and go pick up those soft 50 lb Montana alfalfa bales and be done with it for the winter; a PITA to be sure, but once you have it under your own roof it will be worth it–no more worries of how, when or if.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

@DinkyDonk

I’d rent a small enclosed moving truck and go pick up those soft 50 lb Montana alfalfa bales and be done with it for the winter; a PITA to be sure, but once you have it under your own roof it will be worth it–no more worries of how, when or if.

I can fit 16+ of those little 50# compressed bales inside my Suburban. No rental needed. If I don’t hear back from the Standlee folks soon, that may be what I’ll do. I was kind of hoping they (Standlee) would send me a coupon or something for all the trouble trying to get their product. I mean, who doesn’t just luv free stuff?

[bdj]

FWIW, OP, my old guy (with really bad teeth) did very well on the Lucerne Farms Alfa Supreme. It does have a little bit of of molasses mixed in, but didn’t seem like as much as the Triple Crown stuff, which felt downright sticky/damp somehow.

I managed to fit 12 or 13 bags of it in my Totoya Matrix (feed store folks were mightily impressed with my skills at CarTetris), so I’m sure you could fit a boatload of them in a Suburban!

[DinkyDonk]

@bdj

FWIW, OP, my old guy (with really bad teeth) did very well on the Lucerne Farms Alfa Supreme. It does have a little bit of of molasses mixed in, but didn’t seem like as much as the Triple Crown stuff, which felt downright sticky/damp somehow.

I managed to fit 12 or 13 bags of it in my Totoya Matrix (feed store folks were mightily impressed with my skills at CarTetris), so I’m sure you could fit a boatload of them in a Suburban!

Ahh! I remember well the days of picking up bags of shavings with my Nissen Sentra–1 in the passenger front seat, 3 in the backseat, and 2 in the trunk! Whatever it takes!