I have a dumb question. I know it’s not a good idea to change up the feed suddenly but I was curious as to if that pertained to timothy pellets. I’d like to give a couple of 3-qt. scoops of warm soaked Standlee brand timothy pellets when I’m out to the barn as a winter “treat” but as I live and work an hour away, I usually only get out to the barn a few days a week during the winter with the shorter days. My horses are on winter pasture during the day, weather permitting, in the barn otherwise and at night, and are fed brome and orchard grass a.m. and p.m. Can I give them the above mentioned treat just a few times a week without upsetting their gut?
That is too much if not given daily. I have been told never to change a horses diet more than a half a pound a day. so if only feeding occasionally it would be /2 pound
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Thanks China Doll, I hadn’t heard that rule of thumb before, that’s a good one to know.
I have always done so, as part of “soup” to get extra water in them- I do a scoop of hay pellets, a scoop of beet pulp shreds, a handful of mint leaves and a handful of flax seed, add hot water, let set and serve. Our five get them maybe once or twice a week when it;s cold, no problems.
Adding hay pellets is equivalent to adding an extra flake of hay, I would not add actual grain randomly that way.
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Can you find timothy cubes to soak?
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Along this line…
BO was discussing trying some kind of warm mash for the horses in this very cold weather. I have heard that it is not good to randomly add bran for a bran mash. Horses are on pelleted feeds and we were wondering if we could just mash that. Or add something like beet pulp, or would that be an issue too?
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You can soak pelleted feeds in warm/hot water. They soak it up well. I have a nearly toothless pony that gets soaked pellets twice/day since he can’t eat hay. In winter I bring the next feeding into the house so I can add hot water and it will be a nice mash by the time I feed him. He loves it. Any pelleted feed should make a good mash, and it’s much safer to use what your horse is already used to eating.
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The best “treat” for a horse is a quality, well balanced diet. They are not people and don’t have the emotional fixations about food that we do. You should feel the same way about food and diet as you do about oxygen and water.
A mash is not going to offer a significant intake of water. Your best bet is to have water that is warm - draw up a bucket of hot water and dump it into his water bucket. That’s a “treat.”
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Timothy pellets are hay. A 3qt scoop is probably about 3lb. That’s the size of a light flake of hay. I doubt anyone would have a problem tossing in a small flake of Timothy hay a few times a week. He’s already eating hay. Probably some sort of grass hay.
It’s fine.
I might not do 6 quarts though, simply from a volume perspective. 3 quarts, well-soaked, will be fine, and appreciated 
As for a warm mash, just add tap-hot water to the regular meal. There - warm mash 
If a horse doesn’t really get anything as a “meal”, that’s why I like to always feed a small bit of alfalfa pellets (pick your poison, could be Timothy pellets, beet pulp, whatever) so that when it’s extra cold like now, I just add more of that so I can add more hot water.
A nice warm meal on extra cold mornings or nights just feels good, however temporary.
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That’s a good idea, I can get timothy cubes at the local feed store as well.
Thanks JB, I will split it up between the two of them and yes, they are getting grass hay twice a day and also on winter pasture, albeit no grass left on that!
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Yeah it’s nice to give them a warm meal. I soak feed for my old guy. Not working very well, as almost half is frozen solid before he can eat it. So if real cold wet feed might not be a great idea. Makes for a frozen mess in feed tub.
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Well, I have always (even in summer) given everyone in the barn a handful (or two or three depending on the horse) of a snack every evening. For 28 horses, we mix 3 scoops beet pulp shreds, three scoops hay stretcher, three scoops alfalfa pellets, three scoops wheat bran with about 3 gallons of warm water. Everyone expects their snack at night and if someone is not standing at his feed tub waiting, we know something may be brewing. We let the old timers lick the bowl. It is our check that all is well before leaving for the evening. We even do it at shows.
Personally, a small amount a few times a week would not worry me.
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I don’t see any issue with it (although I agree with the 6 qts is probably a bit much). I do a hot BEEP/ alfalfa pellet mash/ flax/ salt mash when it’s really cold- and although it’s pretty much everyday right now with this crazy weather, normally it’d be pretty sporadic.
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Thanks to all for your replies!
No one ever told my group that they have no “emotional fixation about food”.
An extra bit of anything food makes them happy. Sure they like a full bucket of water (heated buckets here), but I am sure I get a far happier reaction to a treat or a bit of extra hay pellets than I do when I top off their buckets.
A wet meal has one added benefit - the amazing slurping noise the horses make as they eat their mash and then make a mess out of everything they can touch with their slurry covered nose.
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Mine have hay/grass in front of them 24/7, so I guess if food makes them happy, they are happy 24/7.
I have one that will suck down half a bucket of hot water, so I get that slurping noise too.
I always got in trouble when I was a kid when I slurped my food.
I guess since mine have heated water all winter all the time they do not find a bucket refill that exciting. They have hay all the time too so adding hay is not exciting either. But pellets are not always available so … exciting for sure, even if they are hay pellets. Pellets are like a treat in their mind.
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Sure, but we’re not talking about a sudden change of 20lb fescue hay to 20lb Timothy. Adding a couple pounds of Timothy pellets is equivalent to tossing in a pretty small flake in addition to the current hay. No big deal. And, it’s still a grass hay, which reduces the change even more.
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