Chopped hay vs. Cubes

[Obsidian_Fire]

I’ve got an oldie I feed, no molars so it’s mash. I soak a combination of cubes/pellets for her, and give her some soft grass hay to quid on overnight. Running low on cubes, so have checked twice this week and the store is out! I use Timothy/Alfalfa blend - she of course loves straight alfalfa but does not need the calories.
Anyway, I saw a bag of chopped hay (T/A), I was peering thru the plastic trying to decide if it was more or less the same size as the chopped hay they use in cubes.

Does anyone out here know? Have you used chopped forage and found it to work out okay?

I prefer to feed her something such as cubes in her stall as they slow her down a bit.

[Equibrit]

For my 33 toothless mare I ran hay through a leaf mulcher; https://www.lowes.com/pd/Sun-Joe-13-Amp-12-in-Electric-Leaf-Mulcher/50343872

It was mulched in to a bag. You could also soak it.

[QHEventer]

I have a senior who gets the triple crown forage blend chopped hay. The pieces are probably around 1" long, and he absolutely loves it. It seems easier for him to eat than when I had him on soaked cubes. I do believe the price is a bit higher than cubes, however.

[mfglickman]

This ^^. I take care of 2 30 year old retirees (aQH and a Haffie) and they get some chopped hay alongside their grain in the AM. They don’t like it wet down but they adore it served up in a deep feed tub (so it doesn’t all end up spread on the ground). Then they get some super soft second cut hung around in nets to pick at. They tend to quid if I give them the long stem hay first, but if they start out on their own with the chopped they seem less likely to rush and quid at the nets.

[spencerlucy]

My 25 yr old draft cross gets two buckets of chopped hay a day. It isn’t soaked but it is wetted - I leave a watering can by his stall with the buckets so the staff pour water over the chopped hay and then dump it in his feeder. He LOVES it! When he sees the buckets coming he starts banging his stall door to hurry people along. He does still get regular hay but depending on how course it is he doesn’t always finish his hay so I’ve been supplementing with the chopped hay. Soaking hay cubes at my barn is a bit of a pain so the chopped hay is an easier option. The pieces are small (1”) and he will eat it dry but I take the opportunity to get a bit more moisture into him.

[lenapesadie]

@Obsidian_Fire

Anyway, I saw a bag of chopped hay (T/A), I was peering thru the plastic trying to decide if it was more or less the same size as the chopped hay they use in cubes.

What I’ve seen available near me, I’d say chopped forage is very similar in size to cubes

[littlebaypony]

I have an older pony that recently started quidditch. I tried chopped hay and he didn’t seem to like it. When his vet came out for spring shots and Coggins I quizzed the vet about what I should be feeding. In light of Dublin not liking the chopped hay he recommended soaked pellets. So the pony now gets soaked Timothy pellets with his ration balancer plus he gets about a gallon of ChaffeHay. It appears to be working well for him.

[lenapesadie]

@littlebaypony

I have an older pony that recently started quidditch

As a HP fan, I must say that I desperately need pictures of your pony flying a broomstick. Does pony play chaser, seeker, beater or keeper? Lol

[Equibrit]

Chaff is chopped hay. Do you mean something else by “ChaffeHay” ?

[ozjb]

I’m in Australia so I am guessing that your chopped hay is my chaff? Most people here feed chaff and all my horses have it as the base of their feeds.

I took our oldie off the soaked chaff because she was scouring so badly and I worked out that it was because of a lack of fibre since she really wasn’t eating the hay, just happy chewing on it. I’m no expert, but I don’t think chaff provides the long fibre that the hay cubes retain. I chased the hay cubes here after reading on these forums that it could help with the scouring issues, which it did.