If you’re just going to say “no, you’re wrong” when people provide an answer to your question, why ask at all?
Yes, pellets can be treated as hay. If you don’t want to approach it that way, cool. But that doesn’t make someone else choosing to treat pellets as hay wrong.
I don’t believe I ever said “You’re wrong”.
I asked questions. I stated what I had heard. But pardon me, I never said you were wrong. I was open to conversation and asking questions and sharing what I have heard/read. I guess this isn’t the place for that.
You may not have stated the words “You’re wrong,” but that was clearly what you meant by this response to me saying it is still hay.
For clarification, there’s no such thing as “long stem fiber.” It’s long stem forage.
Fiber is a chemical with a specifical chemical makeup (well, there’s multiple types of fibers so, fibers are chemicals with specific chemical makeups). There are long-chain fibers and short-chain fibers, but these are referring to the chemical structure and are not changed by a physical alteration like chewing or cutting. Similar to how cutting a brick of butter into a small piece for your potato. It’s still butter, it’s just a smaller piece. So chewing forage still leaves the same forage, just in smaller pieces, same as chopping up and pressing into a block or pellet. Starting with a long stem doesn’t have any chemical difference than the resulting short stem of the same material. I have been unable to find any literature with a reason for needing long-stem forage other than the chew-time consideration for digestion in grazing animals. I see no chemical reason why the same chemical would be processed differently in the digestive tract. Other than that a too-large length of hay that doesn’t get chewed up enough may not have enough time to digest fully, so you might see more pieces of intact hay in their poo.
Typo. I meant forage.
I never meant to imply anyone was wrong. If a horse can consume lbs of alfalfa pellets in a short time that would be a concern in terms of it moving to the small intestine too quickly.
I’ll bow out of this conversation now. Again it was meant to be a conversation. That’s all. Have a great day.
I’m glad you asked and shared what you’d heard. Hopefully you took somethings away to consider. Have a good one!
If he’s eating 10lb in 5 minutes, that might be a problem. I don’t know if that’s even possible, let alone being done by enough horses. And if the pellets are soaked, food is coming in and moving along at a slower rate since it’s diluted with water.
The “5 lbs per meal” rule on concentrate feeding is a very general guideline. The real purpose is to limit starch intake in a short period of time, and the actual “rule” is more nuanced and based on the specific starch content of the meal.
Is there a reason this horse is being fed a mix of complete feed, alfalfa pellets, and beet pulp? As a nutritionist, my recommendation would be to replace the alfalfa pellets and beet pulp with an equal amount (by weight) of the senior feed. Assuming you are feeding a quality brand, you will increase the digestibility and balance of the overall diet doing this. You will probably also reduce the volume (certainly will compared to soaked beet pulp, which has a very high volume to weight ratio) of the overall meal. Complete feeds are made specifically for these kinds of situations.
@YoungGirlOldHorse, it’s okay to come back to your thread and converse with us. Looks like it got a bit hijacked by SmlHpy1…
Try not to be put off by the mmm… ‘discussion’. We are here to help you, and several of the people who weighed in are extremely knowledgeable!
This is a good question and something I’ve wondered myself. My concern is if they will stop eating soaked pellets once they are full or continue eating until they get a stomachache.
I’m in a similar situation and I’d love to be able to leave a few pounds of soaked pellets for him to munch on in between meals.
A few pounds, even soaked with a ton of water, won’t make an average horse too full 
I’d just make sure that the pellets aren’t likely to spoil in that time. I know that seems laughable at this cold moment, but I’m always surprised how quickly grains can set to fermenting in warm weather…
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
