Hay cubes - soak, or not?

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

I just bought a bag of Triple Crown Timothy Balance Forage Cubes to try on my two oldsters who, it turns out, do not have diarrhea but actually have fecal water syndrome.

I didn’t even know that was a thing.

Anyway, the vet suggested something that would be easier for them to digest. Maybe I’m not looking in the right place on the bag, but I don’t see instructions regarding soaking or not soaking.

Despite this fecal water syndrome, they are in good weight and otherwise healthy and rather surprisingly not dehydrated.

[Highflyer]

I’ve always soaked because of the risk of choke.

[Scribbler]

I would soak for this reason also.

[Marla_100]

I would definitely soak.

[cloudyandcallie]

soak the cubes. If you can, buy the seminole freeze dried alfalfa cubes. They are the best.

[Bellathemustang]

Definitely soak. I buy those 5 gallon plastic buckets and soak them with warm water for 20 min or so. Then it actually looks like pieces of grass. It is so much more expensive per pound than hay, I want to make it as appetizing as possible and the extra water is great for digestion and overall health. I feed it in the big rubber feed tubs which would be less waste than feeding on the ground, but Bella likes to tip the bins over;)

[fanfayre]

Had to look up FWS! I, too, had no idea this was a thing- I thought maybe it was a sickness brought about by drinking fecal-contaminated water.

Yes, soak the cubes to minimize the possibility of choke, especially in the older guys.
I soak @ ~3 water :1 dry cubes ratio (by volume) even though I feed cubes by dry weight, so if, say, 1lb dry cubes is 1 quart volume then I add 3 quarts water, adjusted as needed to the horse’s preference.

[SMF11]

I guess in Arizona you might not need to do this, but if it is much below freezing I feed soaked cubes in big Coleman coolers with the lid off. That way the toothless pony can eat overnight.

[ryansgirl]

Always soak them. The risk of choke isn’t worth it.

My mare did great on the Timothy Balance cubes - great for metabolic horses. I stopped feeding them awhile ago as she lost interest in them - she’s a very picky eater - always has been but it’s a great product and I found the cubes soaked easier/faster than others on the market.

[JB]

IMVHO, cubes should always, always be soaked.

Pellets depend. Cubes, always.

[egrubbs]

Always soaked! Just think…if you place a few cubes in water and consider how much it expands…what do you think it does to their GI tract?! That’s my simple logic and rule for determining if I should soak something or not.

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

@SMF11

I guess in Arizona you might not need to do this, but if it is much below freezing I feed soaked cubes in big Coleman coolers with the lid off. That way the toothless pony can eat overnight.

Yeah, not so much a problem here!

@egrubbs - I want something to soak up water in the gut, which is why I was wondering about soaking.

@cloudyandcallie - no alfalfa for these guys because it causes diarrhea, the normal kind

But it sounds like not soaking would be what one of my grandsons calls a Bad Choice.

Thanks, all!

[mmeqcenter]

@Bellathemustang

It is so much more expensive per pound than hay, I want to make it as appetizing as possible and the extra water is great for digestion and overall health.

I miss being somewhere where alfalfa cubes and pellets are more expensive than hay bales.
Not enough to move back to the cold, though.

[mmeqcenter]

Always soak cubes.

[Bellathemustang]

@mmeqcenter

I miss being somewhere where alfalfa cubes and pellets are more expensive than hay bales.
Not enough to move back to the cold, though.

:lol: it is up to 20 degrees this morning, that is sad when 20 is a treat.