Replacing long stem forage

[walktheline]

Hi all, some of you may have seen my other thread about my new horse who began having recurrent colic episodes almost immediately after I brought him home, with one about a month ago requiring surgery to correct a 360 degree large colon volvulus…. surgeon said if we had been 2-3 hours later he would not have made it.

Well, we are almost 5 weeks post op and he had another mild episode over the weekend so I called the surgeon. Her suggestion was to replace all long stem forage with chopped hay or hay pellets/cubes. Does anyone have any experience with this? My concern is that it would be really difficult to truly provide it free choice given that it will be consumed so much faster not to mention the absolutely enormous expense that would be. I’m willing to put a lot of money into it but it just seems like it would be very difficult logistically and practically. Please help. I’m feeling so defeated and overwhelmed about where to start.

[Ibex]

Does it have to be a soaked type feed? I can’t help with the slow feeding, but I have heard of people using a small chaff cutter to break down normal bales more cost effectively than bagged feed. Another option could be compressed bales - they tend to be much finer than normal bales.

[walktheline]

No, could just be chopped hay, a product like Triple crown safe starch. But that still has the issue of it being consumed too quickly making it difficult to feed free choice

[trubandloki]

@walktheline

No, could just be chopped hay, a product like Triple crown safe starch. But that still has the issue of it being consumed too quickly making it difficult to feed free choice

They make hay nets with 1" holes that might slow down your horse eating their chopped hay.

shires haylage net

[fanfayre]

It’s quite easy to create chopped hay.
Take the normal amount of long-stemmed hay you would be feeding, and place in a trough, tub, or large bucket. Use a weed-eater/whipper-snipper and spend 0.5 to 1 minute/flake (or longer- it will then be shorter chops) per flake. You will end up with essentially chaff.
Very small hole haynets, such as those mentioned above, will be your best bet for feeding, unless you can set up some sort of automatic feeder to dispense a certain amount of hay in a certain timeframe.
I did the chopping before and fed it 2/3:1/3 chopped to long-stem (which I fed in a haynet) but fed the chopped just on the ground no problem. It took 2-3 minutes out of my day to prepare a day’s worth of chopped for my then-BO to feed my mare.

[clanter]

We switched to TEFF hay years ago, it is not a long steam hay Teff hay is known for its fine stems, which are easy for horses to chew and digest.

Also feed Standlee Teff pellets

[SusanO]

I am not sure chopped hay is the answer. My pony who is mid twenties as far as we can tell, is losing grinding surface on his molars. He is still eating hay but he does quid some and he gets the runs if it is too coarse. So I bought a bag of Standlee chopped timothy. Of course he refused to eat it and liked it even less if it was soaked. But I looked at the hay. It was coarser than the tim/OG mix I was already feeding. It was not very fine at all and was just cut into shorter pieces. I cannot see how this chopped hay would make it easier to chew if you do not grind hay with your teeth very well.

For this pony - it would not be digested any better than my finer hay that was not cut in half. Maybe if your horse’s problems are not poor dentition then it might work. But I was not impressed with it at all. It looked like their poorer quality hay that they had chopped in two. Fairly large stems which were chopped but still large stems. No wonder the pony did not like it. Maybe the other brands have a better product, I have not tried them yet. I have had more luck with soaked hay cubes which my horses like if it has alfalfa in them. Pellets will cut out the long stem fiber whereas soaked cubes do not. Because I do not know why your horse is having problems I can’t really tell you which kind to use. But not impressed with Standlee chopped timothy.

[GoodTimes]

Are you able to install some sort of dispenser? Maybe you can do chopped hay during turnout? Followed by some soaked cubes or more chopped hay when he comes in? And then have the dispenser drop a few handfuls of pellets every few hours through the night?

I’m not sure where you’re located or what your turnout schedule will be like (solo, buddy, group, etc).

In Ontario there is a hay cube product that is still considered long stem forage but may have some benefits in your situation. Maybe there’s a similar product in your area?

Nutrition | MAAAX Equine Feed

[amottb17]

There really is no easy way to do it - I was recommended this route for my horse with recurrent severe colic episodes (though no surgery). While I ultimately chose not to go forward with it and instead made other management changes that have turned things around for her, it is a common diet to put horses who have just had colic surgery for a few months on while they are healing because it is easy on their digestive system.

Is your horse out with other horses? If not, I’d look into an iFeed (https://ifeednaturally.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorafqE4d2qjUM1GbW0uCsMqggfCvjoPfiM8PSTgUFSLEHoL1sb5). You pre-load it with pellets and set a timer for it to dispense a certain amount at intervals throughout the day. There is really no way to provide completely free-choice access to horses on a short-stemmed diet, but this is about as close as you can get, especially if you pair it with throwing some chopped hay a few times a day.

[LCDR]

I wonder if a dispenser like this would work for feeding chopped hay. I have seen several brands advertised over years but have no personal experience.

Nordic AutoFeed - Automatic Slow Feeding Solution

[quietann]

I’d get creative, but realize you won’t get true “free choice” with chopped forage. You’ll probably figure out how much the horse needs per day, and divide it into meals.

A friend has a horse who can’t have regular hay due to chronic colitis. She uses a mix of Triple Crown Stress-Free forage and soaked timothy/alfalfa cubes. These are fed in a bucket with a Hay Burners bucket topper on it, or a ground feeder with depressions in it. The horse also gets soaked ration balancer. The above is split into 4 feedings per day, and the horse also gets a little time on mowed grass. At night, she gets timothy pellets from a timed feeder - 1 cup per hour IIRC. It is not a hay feeder as shown above; it’s a pellet feeder. Cost her about $700 IIRC. This horse is a very, very easy keeper so 24/7 access to short stem forage wouldn’t work.

The Triple Crown stress free is very finely chopped and doesn’t have any thick stems. Chopping your own would likely end up less expensive but you’d need to use a very fine, soft hay.

[fordtraktor]

My 31 yo pony gets free choice forage, but I don’t choose the pure alfalfa kind of chopped hay. She gets the Hi Fiber brand at TSC when there isn’t grass. She eats it, but it isn’t so delicious she feels she has to scarf it down.

I give her all the calories she needs in Senior feed, so the chopped hay is more for her tummy and enjoyment.

When there is grass, she does fine on that so I don’t feed her chopped hay during the grass months.

She can’t be on long-stemmed hay at all, it gives her terrible runs because she pretty much has no teeth left.

[NaturallyHappy]

@SusanO

So I bought a bag of Standlee chopped timothy. Of course he refused to eat it and liked it even less if it was soaked. But I looked at the hay. It was coarser than the tim/OG mix I was already feeding. It was not very fine at all and was just cut into shorter pieces.

I was shocked at the coarseness of chopped Standlee products.

[CBoylen]

I’ve fed this free choice in a muck tub for a harder keeper, and I know several older horses that eat it free choice out of feeders like these:

Amazon.com: Porta-Grazer XL, Slow Hay Horse Feeder : Pet Supplies

I haven’t seen one inhale it to the point where it wasn’t possible.

[Poll_Alias]

Many here in Florida feed free choice hay cubes with great success. Hay is expensive because of the distance it needs to ship and the quality can be inconsistent.
We will fill a separate large feed tub in the stall 2-3 times a day so that they effectively have it in front of them at all times. It ends up less expensive and there is little to no waste. Most also have access to fresh grass during turn out.

[FjordBCRF]

Sorry to hear everything you’re going through

I LOVE my auto feeder. I use it because my guy is an easy keeper so it helps with not having his stomach empty for extended hours.

They hold 12 pounds, and you can set the portion size and set how often you want it to dispense the portions. It has been VERY much worth the price tag for us. I used it with both hay pellets and Unbeetable Forage Only pellets.

iFEED Naturally | Automatic Slow Feeder for Horses | Mimics Grazing

[NaturallyHappy]

@FjordBCRF, which model did you buy??

[FjordBCRF]

I have the kind that fixes to the outside of the stall:

The chute doesn’t quite fit between the bars at our current barn but nothing duct tape can’t fix

[NaturallyHappy]

Thank you!

[quietann]

This is the one my BO has for her chronic colitis horse. We have talked occasionally about getting one for Feronia, and now that she’s tipping into being a harder keeper, it may be time. She eats her hay fine, no quidding, but doesn’t seem to be digesting it as well.