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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | I been feeding my gelding alfalfa cubes. I been wanting to change him to pellets. I can get regular alfalfa pellets from Tractor Supply or a alfalfa and oat pellet. I'm giving it to him for energy so I'm thinking alfalfa and oat would be better but didn't know if that was nessecerly good for him. |
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I just read the headlines
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| I have fed the TSC pellets and added whole oats. I didn't know they made alfalfa pellets with oats in them. If I didn't have access to Omni Cubes, that is what I still would be feeding. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 434
Location: Northwest Florida | I feed the Stanlee alfalfa/oat cubes from TSC. (No access to Omnis). I have fed alfalfa pellets before, but I didn't know they made an alfalfa/oat pellet. This is available at your TSC? |
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | BigStarBound - 2015-11-05 11:46 AM
I feed the Stanlee alfalfa/oat cubes from TSC. (No access to Omnis). I have fed alfalfa pellets before, but I didn't know they made an alfalfa/oat pellet. This is available at your TSC?
No at our feed store. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | I don't think I have ever seen an alfalfa/oat grain pellet before. That certainly doesn't mean there aren't any out there. There are several products that are alfalfa and oat hay mix, but it is the oat hay and not the grain. That doesn't mean they are bad, just different as alf/oat hay is a forage only and will have much less energy than alfalfa hay or alfalfa and oat grain.
For people in the Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico areas, Danco is working on an Omnis pellet that will be just that. Alfalfa, Oats, and Flax in a 3/8" pellet. It will be made from premium alfalfa, as most pellets are not made with the same quality hay as premium cubes or hay.
I don't mean to butt into this post at all.
Edited by Tdove 2015-11-05 12:03 PM
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Common Sense and then some
Location: So. California | I prefer the alfalfa/bermuda pellets myself. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| Tdove - 2015-11-05 11:54 AM
I don't think I have ever seen an alfalfa/oat grain pellet before. That certainly doesn't mean there aren't any out there. There are several products that are alfalfa and oat hay mix, but it is the oat hay and not the grain. That doesn't mean they are bad, just different as alf/oat hay is a forage only and will have much less energy than alfalfa hay or alfalfa and oat grain.
For people in the Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico areas, Danco is working on an Omnis pellet that will be just that. Alfalfa, Oats, and Flax in a 3/8" pellet. It will be made from premium alfalfa, as most pellets are not made with the same quality hay as premium cubes or hay.
I don't mean to butt into this post at all.
What be the reason to feed the pellets vs. the cubes? I am feeding the Omni cubes and I love them. |
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | GLP - 2015-11-05 12:08 PM
Tdove - 2015-11-05 11:54 AM
I don't think I have ever seen an alfalfa/oat grain pellet before. That certainly doesn't mean there aren't any out there. There are several products that are alfalfa and oat hay mix, but it is the oat hay and not the grain. That doesn't mean they are bad, just different as alf/oat hay is a forage only and will have much less energy than alfalfa hay or alfalfa and oat grain.
For people in the Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico areas, Danco is working on an Omnis pellet that will be just that. Alfalfa, Oats, and Flax in a 3/8" pellet. It will be made from premium alfalfa, as most pellets are not made with the same quality hay as premium cubes or hay.
I don't mean to butt into this post at all.
What be the reason to feed the pellets vs. the cubes? I am feeding the Omni cubes and I love them.
I want to do pellets instead of cubes just because as much as he gets it takes forever for them to dissolve like I want them to and he won't eat it if it has too much water in it.
Edited by TessBelle 2015-11-05 12:12 PM
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Elite Veteran
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Location: West Texas | I am a cube person too, but as TesseBelle has demonstrated, some people prefer pellets over cubes for whatever reasons important to them. I feel pellets have some drawbacks and our pellets will be attempting to tackle some of those.
TesseBelle, I have always thought that cubes soaked up water faster than pellets. You might try a different cube, if that is available. Some are even very easily fed dry, as are some pellets. Both are excellent products and I have fed both. Are the pellets you are looking at oat grain or oat hay?
Edited by Tdove 2015-11-05 5:05 PM
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | Tdove - 2015-11-05 12:37 PM
I am a cube person too, but as with TesseBelle has demonstrated, some people prefer pellets over cubes for whatever reasons important to them. I feel pellets have some drawbacks and our pellets will be attempting to tackle some of those.
TesseBelle, I have always thought that cubes soaked up water faster than pellets. You might try a different cube, if that is available. Some are even very easily fed dry, as are some pellets. Both are excellent products and I have fed both. Are the pellets you are looking at oat grain or oat hay?
I didn't know pellets had to be soakes too. I've never used them and don't know anyone that has. I just assumed it was small pellets like feed. I'm not sure about the oat grain or oat hay I will have to call them to check. I didn't think about that. I just assumed it was oat grain. |
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 Extreme Veteran
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Location: Texas | I don't soak the pellets I use except on my older mares. I will typically soak my cubes because the majority of my horses will choke on them (not literal choke, but coughing, etc). So if I soak the cubes they don't fight them as hard going down.
I feel that the cubes provide more true roughage than the cubes, but on my easy keepers the alfalfa/bermuda pellets have worked well to make them think they are getting grain. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | I don't know why, I was just assuming you were going to soak the pellets too. Some people soak them as well. I do not soak cubes or pellets. Pellets generally have a higher likelihood to cause choke than cubes.
Either one is fine, of course. I agree that cubes are better long stem fiber and generally a better quality of hay is used to make them. If you like cubes otherwise, you might look for a different brand that are softer. If you like pellets or the cubes are limited in your area, then pellets should work well also. |
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 Expert
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| Tdove - 2015-11-05 10:37 AM
I am a cube person too, but as with TesseBelle has demonstrated, some people prefer pellets over cubes for whatever reasons important to them. I feel pellets have some drawbacks and our pellets will be attempting to tackle some of those.
TesseBelle, I have always thought that cubes soaked up water faster than pellets. You might try a different cube, if that is available. Some are even very easily fed dry, as are some pellets. Both are excellent products and I have fed both. Are the pellets you are looking at oat grain or oat hay?
I also have access to an alfalfa oat pellet but this particular company also adds a little corn which I want to stay away from. |
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 Extreme Veteran
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| TDove, when do you think the Omnis pellet will be available in TX? |
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | Tdove - 2015-11-05 2:42 PM
I don't know why, I was just assuming you were going to soak the pellets too. Some people soak them as well. I do not soak cubes or pellets. Pellets generally have a higher likelihood to cause choke than cubes.
Either one is fine, of course. I agree that cubes are better long stem fiber and generally a better quality of hay is used to make them. If you like cubes otherwise, you might look for a different brand that are softer. If you like pellets or the cubes are limited in your area, then pellets should work well also.
The cubes I'm using are Stampede brand. I havnt even looking at tracorr supply's cubes. He gets regular free choose hay and feed twice a day. I just have him on the alfalfa for the energy and because he really like them lol. |
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Expert
Posts: 5293
| Tdove, lol Please send OMNIS CUBES to CA!!!!! |
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 Captain Of The Prude Broom
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Location: cincinnati, oh | Tdove how long before we might have Omnis cubes up North in Indiana and Ohio?
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Expert
Posts: 1477
Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | I'm going to go with the regular alfalfa pellets. The alfalfa and oat was oat hay not grain and was meant to be used as a feed. The regular pellets are meant to be used as an additive to feed.
Now, how much do I feed? |
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| I go with as natural as you can by feeding whole oats and flakes or soaked cubes of alfalfa ... and a little bit of chopped or rolled corn... all of this is a perfect nutritional horse feed and balances the ca and phos for young and old alike. Also the function of letting a horse chew his food makes for lots of slobbers which is good for the tummy ..
So many high dollar feeds have too much waste products from human food or ethanol processing in them ... when you can't pronounce it ... don't use it ... lol ..
Alfalfa is typical valued at 16% protein and oats at 12% and corn at 8% ...
If you added a pound of each ... your feed would be a 12% feed ..
My mix works out to be 14%
2 lbs of alfalfa = 32
1 lb of whole oats = 12
1/2 lb of corn =4
add numbers together ... = 48
divide by 3.5 lbs.. = 13.7% protein
On cubes .. remember they are dried and compressed with very little moisture ...
alfalfa is usually baled at less than 20% moisture ..
so feeding cubes dry ... you can figure you are feeding 20% more than by flakes from bales of alfalfa of the same weight ...
When feeding alfalfa cubes .. I will soak them at start of feeding in a 5 gal bucket and then feed them after horses have finished eating ... you have the possibility of choke more so with dry cubes ..
You only wet or soak pellets down when feeding to hogs ... lol ... the paste it makes can clump in a horses gut and give a tummy ache .... same for feeding barley or wheat ... too pasty to be fed to horses ...
I like to use ADM GroStrong minerals too ... correct amount of vitamins to complement the absorption of well chelated minerals
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Miss Southern Sunshine
Posts: 7427
Location: South Central Florida | I used to feed the cubes dry, however after a choke my vet said 80% of his choke cases are from dry cubes.or dry beet pulp. I lost a horse to choke last year and this year I had a very serious choke but it was not from cubes...never knew what caused that. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | TesseBelle,
Depends on what your entire preferred feed program looks like. If you feed grass hay and just want to supplement for protein and energy, about 5-10 lbs is a good number. Remember, it will replace the other hay in your ration so you will feed less of that the more pellets you feed. |
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 Toastest with the Mostest
Posts: 5712
Location: That part of Texas | I buy an alfalfa/oat pellet (or cubes) from Cross Brand Feed in Kansas and have had great success with it. |
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Good Ole Boys just Fine with Me
Posts: 2869
Location: SE Missouri | They are available around here. We have fed them in the past and we do not anymore. Wasn't enough to it and had to feed a lot to get the result we were looking for.
I'm still feeding Renew Gold and alfalfa. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1131
| Horse in my profile pic back in her heavy performing days would get 6 quarts of oats, and 3 quarts of alfalfa pellet/Essential K 50/50 mix 2x a day with free range alfalfa hay. She did great on it. |
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Anyone ever fed a alfalfa and oat pellet