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Expert
Posts: 1414
 
| I have lots of questions about feeding hay cubes.
Do you feed the grass or alfalfa cubes?
Is it your horses only source of forage/roughage or do they have hay available?
Do you feed once a day, twice a day?
On the bag it says not to feed free choice, curious about that.
Why do you feed the cubes - for nutrition, for ease, no waste?
I have fed them before as a "extra" and after this winter and the mess the round bales made in my new arena (grrrr), I'm trying to put together a cleaner and less wasteful game plan. I am a FIRM believer in forage 24/7 so I'm not looking to eliminate hay from their diet, not at all. |
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 Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
  
Location: N Texas | I feed the Standlee alfalfa/timothy cubes as a supplement for my senior gelding that has a hard time eating hay. I soak them and feed them once a day so that I know he's getting some roughage. He still has all his teeth but I soak them to make sure he doesn't have issues eating them. I know some people don't soak them and others do to help prevent choke.
So no, they're not his sole source of roughage, I feed them as "extra".
Edited by Gunner11 2014-03-24 2:28 PM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 929
| I know that the trainer down the road from me feeds them in place of forage and her horses all look great. However, I also like my horses to have hay to munch on all day and think that they were physiologically designed to do this, so only use the cubes as a supplement or when camping and you CANNOT bring hay or grass. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | roanrider - 2014-03-24 2:07 PM I have lots of questions about feeding hay cubes.
Do you feed the grass or alfalfa cubes? Hay rite Alfalfa cubes
Is it your horses only source of forage/roughage or do they have hay available? Hay is also provided.
Do you feed once a day, twice a day? It depends on your objective with the cubes. I know quite a few people who feed these. Some use it only as a supplemental feed to what they are already feeding and some use it as the primary source of feed. If you are wanting to eliminate grain definitely twice a day.
On the bag it says not to feed free choice, curious about that. I think because they (at least Hay-Rite) do advertise it has a primary feed source, so like you would not leave grain for free-choice you would not use these in that either.
Why do you feed the cubes - for nutrition, for ease, no waste? All of the above. Also, they are a much more consistent source of alfalfa then buying bales. It is easier to "switch" them over to, than say a pellet (important for trainers that have horses coming and going).
I have fed them before as a "extra" and after this winter and the mess the round bales made in my new arena (grrrr), I'm trying to put together a cleaner and less wasteful game plan. I am a FIRM believer in forage 24/7 so I'm not looking to eliminate hay from their diet, not at all.
I worked for a cutting trainer that fed 70+ head of horses these cubes. They all received cubes in the morning, hay at lunch, and cubes in the evening. The really hard keepers received about 1/4-1/2 a scoop of Safe Choice at lunch also, I believe no more than 10 of them total needed it. All 70 looked fantastic.
Edited by BamaCanChaser 2014-03-24 3:58 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1414
| Thanks for the replies. I will continue to feed grain so the cubes won't be replacing anything, more of "in addition to". |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 563
Location: Small Town Iowa | Something else to think about instead of the cubes is pellets. I feed alfalfa pellets to mine as "extra". It's the same price as the cubes so it is really personal choice. Mine look great either on cubes or pellets. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 832
Location: Kansas (but Great Lakes member since 1978) | My horses get brome hay that we raise and bale ourselves but I like to give them alfalfa cubes (soaked for a little while in water) as part of their hay ration. My horses also get low starch pelleted feed. They love the soaked hay cubes so I put their supplements on top of them after I dump them in a feed tub and they eat every last little bit. It's a great way to give them more water when traveling and cheaper than hydration hay. Good quality alfalfa cubes don't need to be soaked too long and I also break pieces off to use as treats. |
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![](<a href="http://s1191.photobucket.com/albums/z470/alicat0909/?action=view¤t=yellaandcalf.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1191.photobu) Heeler Hater
Posts: 3014
Location: Texas | roanrider - 2014-03-24 2:07 PM
I have lots of questions about feeding hay cubes.
Do you feed the grass or alfalfa cubes? Alfalfa Cubes
Is it your horses only source of forage/roughage or do they have hay available? Hay is avaliable
Do you feed once a day, twice a day? twice
On the bag it says not to feed free choice, curious about that. Possible choke id assume
Why do you feed the cubes - for nutrition, for ease, no waste? Getting good alfalfa hay consistenly here is a PAIN. I feed my horse twice a day, his regular grain, FORCO, and coastal. My horse is in a small pen so I get a scoop of alfalfa cubes and sling them across his pen to simuate grazing and foraging for food. Then he gets another scoop tossed into his hay. Some people may disagree but hes such a slow eater and chews his feed and hay so well. He actually picks the cube up and bites off into tiny little bite sized chunks. This is all split up into two different feedings and its finally making him look like a horse again. I too am a firm believer in forage 24/7 but i cant put a whole round bale in there so I just sling the cubes and feed three flakes of hay a feeding. and usually all the cubes are gone and there is just a little hay left :) Biggest plus is almost no waste
I have fed them before as a "extra" and after this winter and the mess the round bales made in my new arena (grrrr), I'm trying to put together a cleaner and less wasteful game plan. I am a FIRM believer in forage 24/7 so I'm not looking to eliminate hay from their diet, not at all.
I hope I answered it and didnt confuse you loL! |
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 Expert
Posts: 2457
| roanrider - 2014-03-24 2:07 PM
I have lots of questions about feeding hay cubes.
Do you feed the grass or alfalfa cubes? Alfalfa
Is it your horses only source of forage/roughage or do they have hay available? They also receive brome twice daily.
Do you feed once a day, twice a day? Once a day, soaked, with Platinum supplement and grain mixed in. I feel like they don't waste the Platinum and the slick up the soaked feed really, really well. My hard keeping mare also gets beet pulp in the winter so, soaking works well for me.
On the bag it says not to feed free choice, curious about that. I would guess choke or some type of colic. When soaked, the cubes (and pellets too) expand to almost double their size. Thus, if you left a horse to "free graze" a bag of cubes you could have some serious problems ... JMO, no science involved.
Why do you feed the cubes - for nutrition, for ease, no waste? All the above. My horses look great, they are easy to procure and feed, and I feel like they drop way less feed. When traveling, I find that if needed, the same product is easily found at many different places - just in case my awesome self forgets them!
I have fed them before as a "extra" and after this winter and the mess the round bales made in my new arena (grrrr), I'm trying to put together a cleaner and less wasteful game plan. I am a FIRM believer in forage 24/7 so I'm not looking to eliminate hay from their diet, not at all.
Hope I helped!!  |
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | We feed strictly cubes to our rope and barrel horses....and we went to cubes because its way cheaper than hay and more consistant.....they get fed twice a day along with the suplements I feed......M |
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Blessed 
Location: Here | I started feeding the standlee cubes in january along with free choice grass hay. No grain. mine look fantastic. no more grain for mine  yes they get forco and grostrong blocks |
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 Chasin my Dream
Posts: 13651
Location: Alberta | Do you feed the grass or alfalfa cubes? Timothy/alfalfa mix Is it your horses only source of forage/roughage or do they have hay available? The last 2 winters we have fed just cubes and their forage was straw (yes they'll eat straw) and dig up pasture in the snow
Do you feed once a day, twice a day? Twice a day
On the bag it says not to feed free choice, curious about that. That might be on a choking factor
Why do you feed the cubes - for nutrition, for ease, no waste? cost effective since there is no waste (verses a round bale), our horses do very well off just cubes, and easy feeding since we have no tractor to move bales.
Now with all that, this winter we did supplement hay when the temperatures started dropping (-40 and below). It was more for my piece of mind cause I'm sure they would of survived. I like cubes when hauling cause they are easier and take up less space also no risk of dust when your dealing with cubes.
Edited by dream_chaser 2014-03-24 9:22 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1414
| Thanks for all the replies. Do you feed the amount suggested on the bag? My horses will continue to get a small amount of grain and free choice grass hay along with their free choice loose vit/min. |
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 Expert
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Location: Texas | Do you find it necessary to soak the cubes? Are they too dry or hard if they are not soaked? If you soak them, about how long does it take? Does hot or cold water work best? For those of you that still feed other hay or pasture with them, any idea about how many pounds of cubes you are feeding? Why choose cubes over pellets? Do you have to soak pellets too? Anyone feed the bagged, chopped alfalfa?
Edited by TBone 2014-03-25 9:06 AM
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | Have you considered building these?
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 GW509H355.jpg (53KB - 257 downloads)
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | I think RLB feeds only hay cubes to her gelding with breathing issues. You could try shooting her a PM. :) |
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Expert
Posts: 2457
| TBone - 2014-03-25 8:56 AM Do you find it necessary to soak the cubes? This is a preference for me. I soak because I feel they clean up the Platinum supplement better (it is a fine ground powder/granule) when mixed in soaked alfalfa - they waste less of everything. I like that I can get more water into my horses too. Also, if you watch the expansion of the cubes or pellets, it ends up almost doubling. I don't know about you, but I HATE when my food expands so I soak to help prevent colic. Again, this is just my preference and I know plenty of people that feed them without soaking and have little to no issues.
Are they too dry or hard if they are not soaked? Not necessarily dry per say but more so HARD. Depending on the brand of cube or pellet will depend on what substance the company uses to pack the cube or pellet. For instance, it is common to pack them with Bentonite minerals. So, older horses or horses with worn/bad teeth tend to do better with these products soaked.
If you soak them, about how long does it take? Does hot or cold water work best? Hot water will work more quickly (bout 30 -45 mins)- HOWEVER - be careful with the temperature of the feed when you give it to the horse. Too hot will also cause colic problems. I soak in room temp tap water overnight with no issues. Just add enough water to cover the cubes/pellets and wait and watch - you'll figure it out pretty fast.
For those of you that still feed other hay or pasture with them, any idea about how many pounds of cubes you are feeding? My horses each get 1.5 lbs once a day. When I haul my older mare, this will increase to 3lbs split up to twice a day mixed in with supplements and grain.
Why choose cubes over pellets? availablity for me - I think its a bit easier on their teeth if you feed pellets but honestly, it doesn't make a lick of difference if you're going to soak them and feed them by weight.
Hope this helps and pm me if you have more questions :) |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 602
| Do you feed the grass or alfalfa cubes? Alfalfa mix
Is it your horses only source of forage/roughage or do they have hay available? Only forage provided
Do you feed once a day, twice a day? Twice a day. Soak it for 2-5 mins before feeding.
Why do you feed the cubes - for nutrition, for ease, no waste? All of the above. I mainly switched over because its cheaper than hay and It keeps my allergies down. Hauling the bags to weekend races is way easier then bales.
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Expert
Posts: 2604
Location: Texas | Lyndseylou2290 - THANK YOU! You answered all of my questions PERFECTLY!!!!  |
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Expert
Posts: 1414
| When I fed them two winters ago I soaked in warm water for about 5 minutes. If I soaked them longer my horses didn't like it. It was just enough to break up the hard cubes and soften things a bit but not enough to make it mushy. |
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 Too Skinny
Posts: 8009
Location: LA Lower Alabama | local state vet suggests tossing them on the ground whole. It encourages proper chewing and helps keep their teeth better. I just pour water on it and gather hay to toss and dump it. It hasn't fully soaked up all the water but mine is one of the slowest eaters in the world so by the time she gets done it's soaked it all up. |
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Expert
Posts: 2457
| TBone - 2014-03-25 9:41 AM
Lyndseylou2290 - THANK YOU! You answered all of my questions PERFECTLY!!!!
No prob! Glad I can help with my little bit of knowledge! |
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Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | I soak for two of mine on their night feeding as thats when they stay in for the night......and the rest of the time I feed it dry and on the ground....M |
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