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 Veteran
Posts: 133
 
Location: texas | Well my gelding has been eating a grain called mitchells pellet aka 14-6. with 3 cups of alfalfa pellet(standlee), half a flake of the compressed standlee alfalfa forage with 2 flakes of hay as well, with 1 scoop of joint supplement and 1 scoop of Red Cell electrolytes(omg i love this supplement!) he gets this in the morning and evening.
The moment i even gave him a handful of the alfalfa pellet he was obsessd so i decided it would be a go on buying them for him. Its been about 3 or 4 months that hes been eating the alfalfa pellet. Around 2 days ago he would finish his food! (which is not a good sign because thats all HE EVER THINKS ABOUT lol) so of course i was freaking out thinking he was colicing! but he had passed gas and pooped a couple times, so he was okay. i gave him a handful of his food(which is mixed up) and he turned his head, next i got a different handful mostly of just the 14-6 sure enough he ate it! so i tried just giving him the alfalfa pellet and HE WONT EAT IT whats so ever! hes always loveddd it! im just confused.
Has this happened to anybody else? what are your experiences with Standlee alfalfa pellet? Could he have ulcers possibly?
Or just being picky? |
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 Don't Wanna Make This Awkward
Posts: 3106
 
Location: Texas | Have you tried soaking the alfalfa pellets? |
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Veteran
Posts: 133
Location: texas | YES! he turns his head away still! he wont eat them dry or soaked or even watered down which he goes nuts over bc he lovesss it. |
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9991
 
Location: Kansas | I agree with soaking the pellets. Sometimes they can be hard. I soak alfalfa pellets/cubes everytime I feed them. |
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Don't Wanna Make This Awkward
Posts: 3106
Location: Texas | Has anything else changed in the last 3 months behavior/personality wise? Does he still finish his hay and everything? You might just be feeding too much alfalfa if you are feeding 2 different kinds. |
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Veteran
Posts: 133
Location: texas | well not really except i started working him a bit more and going on more trail rides. thats a shocker bc even if Mojo was completely full he would still try to eat more. and yea he finishes his hay |
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Don't Wanna Make This Awkward
Posts: 3106
Location: Texas | Ashlen1515 - 2015-10-07 1:39 PM well not really except i started working him a bit more and going on more trail rides. thats a shocker bc even if Mojo was completely full he would still try to eat more. and yea he finishes his hay
Well it doesn't really sound like ulcers to me. I would say he is probably just bored with the alfalfa and giving it in pellet and flake form is probably just too much. I would just cut the pellets and give him a full flake of the compressed hay and see if that works for him. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12834
| Did you just open a new bag? |
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Veteran
Posts: 133
Location: texas | no this bag isnt new ive been using for about 2 or 3 weeks now |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | My horses aren't super crazy about the pellets either. They eat them, but pick the "good" stuff out first. My trick to making them exciting and yummy is adding a handful or two of SOAKED beet pulp and mixing it in. The horses LOVE that combo. A bag of the beet pulp pellets is really cheap and will last you FOREVER using just a handful or two. |
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | I had an "emergency" a few weeks ago and the feed store was closed, had to borrow some pellets instead of cubes. they wouldn't touch them unless I put some HealthyCoat on it. I swear they would eat garbage if I put HealthyCoat on it. |
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Veteran
Posts: 133
Location: texas | its just so weird because my gelding used be crazzzzy for the pellet! |
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Veteran
Posts: 133
Location: texas | cavyrunsbarrels - 2015-10-07 3:05 PM
My horses aren't super crazy about the pellets either. They eat them, but pick the "good" stuff out first. My trick to making them exciting and yummy is adding a handful or two of SOAKED beet pulp and mixing it in. The horses LOVE that combo. A bag of the beet pulp pellets is really cheap and will last you FOREVER using just a handful or two.
To start feeding beet pulp. do you slowly have to introduce them into it or can you just start feeding it? and what brand of beet pulp do you feed? and how much is it for one bag lol |
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Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9991
Location: Kansas | I buy beet pulp from the local store instead of TSC. I believe it's like $14 a bag at TSC, and I pay $11 for a 40lb bag of it at the co-op. I started feeding a scoop (3lbs dry) of it, and soaking it, never had any issues with it. |
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 Saint Stacey
| Could be he decided he didn't like the binder they use. Most alfalfa pellets have to use bentonite to dry the product out. If it's too wet, you get crap pellets that turn to dust. The bentonite (also known as swell clay) is sometimes added to improve the quality. But animals can't have more than 2% bentonite. So if the batch the plant makes is 1,500 pounds, they can add up to 30 pounds of bentonite. Some mixers don't blend real well and you get an inconsistent spread of the various additives. My guess is thus particular bag has something in the mix that is a higher concentrate that isn't palatable to him. I'd look at ingredients and trust my animal if he doesn't like it. |
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Don't Wanna Make This Awkward
Posts: 3106
Location: Texas | SKM - 2015-10-07 4:02 PM Could be he decided he didn't like the binder they use. Most alfalfa pellets have to use bentonite to dry the product out. If it's too wet, you get crap pellets that turn to dust. The bentonite (also known as swell clay) is sometimes added to improve the quality. But animals can't have more than 2% bentonite. So if the batch the plant makes is 1,500 pounds, they can add up to 30 pounds of bentonite. Some mixers don't blend real well and you get an inconsistent spread of the various additives. My guess is thus particular bag has something in the mix that is a higher concentrate that isn't palatable to him. I'd look at ingredients and trust my animal if he doesn't like it.
Totally agree with this |
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I Am a Snake Killer
Posts: 1927
Location: Golden Gulf Coast of Texas | Look closely at the pellets and smell the bag. They might be starting to get some mold on them. I just opened a brand new bag on Sunday and it was moldy. |
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Veteran
Posts: 133
Location: texas | i think im going to start feeding him beet pulp. it sounds like a good source of forage and alot of people seem to be happy with it! do i have to slowly transitions into feeding it or can i just start feeding it to him? and which one is better the beet pulp pellet or the shredded or cubed? |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Ashlen1515 - 2015-10-07 10:29 PM
i think im going to start feeding him beet pulp. it sounds like a good source of forage and alot of people seem to be happy with it! do i have to slowly transitions into feeding it or can i just start feeding it to him? and which one is better the beet pulp pellet or the shredded or cubed?
We feed the shreds and I always do ANY feed changes slowly. I'm upping my old man on his beet but still doing it about half a cup every two days. He'll be where I want him this weekend, but it's taken a week for me to get him there. (Went from 3 cups to 6.) |
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Veteran
Posts: 133
Location: texas | Chandler's Mom - 2015-10-07 10:51 PM
Ashlen1515 - 2015-10-07 10:29 PM
i think im going to start feeding him beet pulp. it sounds like a good source of forage and alot of people seem to be happy with it! do i have to slowly transitions into feeding it or can i just start feeding it to him? and which one is better the beet pulp pellet or the shredded or cubed?
We feed the shreds and I always do ANY feed changes slowly. I'm upping my old man on his beet but still doing it about half a cup every two days. He'll be where I want him this weekend, but it's taken a week for me to get him there. (Went from 3 cups to 6. )
ALrighty! im gonna start him slowly on beet pulp and make sure i soak it really well! thanks! |
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | What is Red Cell Electrolytes scoops? Red Cell isn't an electrolyte supplement so I've never heard of that one |
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 Expert
Posts: 3782
Location: Gainesville, TX | Just to say, beet pulp is a great forage but if you were depending on the alfalfa for protein I'd make sure to fill in some nutritional holes because the beet pulp is not quite as high in that area. |
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Veteran
Posts: 133
Location: texas | Yea red cell makes alot of different products such as equine electrolytes, hoof supplement and a couple others! |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | Ashlen1515 - 2015-10-07 3:35 PM cavyrunsbarrels - 2015-10-07 3:05 PM My horses aren't super crazy about the pellets either. They eat them, but pick the "good" stuff out first. My trick to making them exciting and yummy is adding a handful or two of SOAKED beet pulp and mixing it in. The horses LOVE that combo. A bag of the beet pulp pellets is really cheap and will last you FOREVER using just a handful or two. To start feeding beet pulp. do you slowly have to introduce them into it or can you just start feeding it? and what brand of beet pulp do you feed? and how much is it for one bag lol
ETA I don't remember the exact cost but it's something like $12-$16 a bag, which feeding at the rate I do would last a single horse probably 2 months.
Edited by cavyrunsbarrels 2015-10-08 9:04 AM
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Veteran
Posts: 133
Location: texas | yes i will still feed him the shredded alfalfa as well. i might use the beet pulp pellet instead of the stredded because i heard the shredded you have to soak for a longgg time and it expands ALOT. so pellets sound easier! |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | Ashlen1515 - 2015-10-08 9:44 AM yes i will still feed him the shredded alfalfa as well. i might use the beet pulp pellet instead of the stredded because i heard the shredded you have to soak for a longgg time and it expands ALOT. so pellets sound easier! Either one takes maybe a half hour-45 minutes to soak. Shreds are faster than pellets. Hot water will break up the pellets faster. If you go with the pellets, they are SUPER hard so you have to make sure they're soaked through completely (they will expand and break apart when they're done) or else your horse won't be able to chew them/might choke. I always get the pellets soaking first thing when I get to the barn and leave them while I do get hay, let them out, ride etc. and they eat after I'm done. Gives the BP plenty of time to soften up.
Edited by cavyrunsbarrels 2015-10-08 11:09 PM
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My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Ashlen1515 - 2015-10-07 11:08 PM
Chandler's Mom - 2015-10-07 10:51 PM
Ashlen1515 - 2015-10-07 10:29 PM
i think im going to start feeding him beet pulp. it sounds like a good source of forage and alot of people seem to be happy with it! do i have to slowly transitions into feeding it or can i just start feeding it to him? and which one is better the beet pulp pellet or the shredded or cubed?
We feed the shreds and I always do ANY feed changes slowly. I'm upping my old man on his beet but still doing it about half a cup every two days. He'll be where I want him this weekend, but it's taken a week for me to get him there. (Went from 3 cups to 6. )
ALrighty! im gonna start him slowly on beet pulp and make sure i soak it really well! thanks!
Good luck, our whole herd loves it! |
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My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Ashlen1515 - 2015-10-08 9:44 AM
yes i will still feed him the shredded alfalfa as well. i might use the beet pulp pellet instead of the stredded because i heard the shredded you have to soak for a longgg time and it expands ALOT. so pellets sound easier!
We soak the shreds about 20 minutes or so before feeding. Never used the pellets. . . Shreds about double in size I'd say?!! |
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My horse all the sudden stopped eating alfalfa pellet?