Ok, mild argument here. One of my family members swears that you can feed less hay pellets because they are dryer, so 1 pound hay pellets = 1 1/2 to 2lb regular hay.
I said no way, the moisture content in hay isn’t high enough to make that big of a difference.
I can’t find anything online about this. Thoughts? Who is right?
If you look at any hay analysis dry matter is up around 85 to 90 per cent. I don’t know what it is in pellets. But not enough to make a difference.
Pellets may be easier to chew, easier to digest, or made of better quality basic materials than any given hay source. So they may in some situations be more nutritious or put weight on some horses. But not because of moisture per se.
They do list the protein % on the bags, don’t they ? I don’t feed pellets but I imagine you feed it pound for pound in relation to hay?
I don’t see how it being drier would allow you to feed less unless you soak it and it swells. then the horse may not be able to eat so much at one time?
Pellets start out as hay (obviously), and while their DM may be higher at the end simply as a function of being compressed and pelletized which involves a die and some heating due to pressure, it’s not significant.
Equi-Analytical puts alfalfa pellets at an average of 91% DM, with a range of 89-92. It puts legume hay at 90% average, with a range of 89-92. That’s insignificant.
Protein is average/low/high higher with legume hay than alf pellets but when the lowest of that is 17%…
ADF and NDF average 30 and 38% for legume hay, 35 and 47% for pellets, meaning there’s more alfalfa that’s more mature, being used for pelleting. Those are functions of digestibility and palatability, and while higher (which isn’t always good), the pelleting process increases digestibility of something, so that’s probably not an issue either
DE of pellets is listed as 1024 average, hay as 1101, also insignificant.
Quality is about a lot more. Many companies use higher quality hay to start, some more local mills use “leftover” that wasn’t good enough to sell as horse hay.
So no, it’s not a 1:1.5-2 ratio, it’s pretty much 1:1, all else equal.
Some do, lots don’t. Many don’t list anything other than “alfalfa”. Some list protein, fat, fiber. Some list protein.
Nutrient value is always on a dry matter (dry, as in not soaked, not the actual tested DM) basis, as water has no nutrients or calories. IF pellets were, say, 1.5x as potent as hay, in most ways, then theoretically you could feed 67% of pellets to equal 1lb of hay, Soaking would have no impact on calories or nutrients, only volume.
I have been told that pellets are not as beneficial a fiber source because it is no longer “long stem forage”, having been chopped and formed. So, then it shouldnt be used as a large part of a horse’s forage amount.
Id love comments.
Thanks everyone. I think you proved my side haha.
The came about over talking about feeding hard keepers. They said they feed their hard keepers pelleted alfalfa (soaked) because they can feed less per pound then hay, but give them the same amount of calories. Which I said, that makes no sense. Because hay is dried. They swear they can feed 5 pounds of alfalfa pellets in place of 10lbs hay.
It might work if the horses can’t chew hay. Or if they are deluded about how much hay they feed by weight versus pellets. Or they are feeding crap hay with no protein.
It’s true they are not a long-stem fiber. If they are supplementing a diet that has at least 1% of the body weight in long-stem fiber, that’s not a big deal.
That said, if you boil down the absolute bare bones basic requirements, short-stem fiber does just fine (not optimal but fine) for horses who cannot eat long-stem fiber for some reason - no teeth, colitis, etc. That’s why complete feeds (most Sr feeds, a few Jr/growth feeds) have such high fiber content, usually 17% or more), to satisfy the root fiber requirements.
But if you have a horse with good teeth, no health issues, and access to actual hay, then I would never recommend using pellets a major source of forage. If cost is an issue (common right now), it’s fine to do that for a few months, the whole Winter until grazing in the Spring, etc. But “just because”? No.
oh good God, no. Show them the www.equi-analytical.com site, Common Feed Profiles. 16+ years’ worth of analyses of these things.
Great thread. Thank you OP for asking, and JB for the breakdown!
Some years ago our veterinarians formulated a complete pelleted feed based on alfalfa and supplemental nutrients.
A local mill produces it and is only available in our region, I think, Alfa Pro:
All this time, that is what practically all performance horses are receiving while on the road to rodeos and shows and have done very well on it, no colics or drop in performance and is easier to control quality than taking a grain ration and any available hay with you.
Just take enough sacks to feed while on the road and horses like it and eat it slowly, their fill initially and later come back to finish, not gobbling it all in a few minutes.
Quality control is strict, nothing in that feed that may tests against drugs prohibited by any organization.
Alfalfa itself being a buffer to ulcers, horses in transit and at performance venues tend to stress, that ration may help with that also.
I think many/some trainers at home cut back on that and may add some regular alfalfa hay.
Horses look fit and feel good under that management.
I think WHAT is in pellets is more important that if they are more nutritious and well balanced for the intended purpose than if what is feed is as pellets or hay?
If the question is about X pellets vs X hay, where X is alfalfa, or timothy, or bermuda, then it it still stands - all else equal, they are the same.
It’s only when those pellets start in with fortification that you can more definitively say X is more nutritious than Y
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