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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1056
 
| curious if anyone forgoes feeding hay in lieu of soaked cubes.............pros and cons. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
 
| I have lots of friends who just feed hay rite, no cons that I know of other than I am the odd man out and I think cubes are a pain. I think it is a lot easier to throw a couple of flakes then try to scoop cubes out. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 889
| Horses need forage. Whether that's bales or cubes...I am not sure it matters? I have a mare that only gets alfalfa pellets. Hay irritates her allergies/COPD and she chokes, no matter what I do, on cubes. So, I think you have to see what works best for your particular horse AND evaluate the quality of hay you're able to provide. |
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | rodeomom3 - 2018-02-26 2:46 PM
I have lots of friends who just feed hay rite, no cons that I know of other than I am the odd man out and I think cubes are a pain. I think it is a lot easier to throw a couple of flakes then try to scoop cubes out.
I bought some cubes yesterday to see if Lulu would like them... She tried eating them like feed and gave up. I soaked them after that and she snorted at it like it was something foreign and snubbed it. Rude. |
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Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| casualdust07 - 2018-02-26 3:33 PM rodeomom3 - 2018-02-26 2:46 PM I have lots of friends who just feed hay rite, no cons that I know of other than I am the odd man out and I think cubes are a pain. I think it is a lot easier to throw a couple of flakes then try to scoop cubes out. I bought some cubes yesterday to see if Lulu would like them... She tried eating them like feed and gave up. I soaked them after that and she snorted at it like it was something foreign and snubbed it. Rude.
Mine won’t touch them if I wet them if they have even a few drops of water on them. |
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 Namesless in BHW
Posts: 10368
Location: At the race track with Ah Dee Ohs | rodeomom3 - 2018-02-26 2:46 PM I have lots of friends who just feed hay rite, no cons that I know of other than I am the odd man out and I think cubes are a pain. I think it is a lot easier to throw a couple of flakes then try to scoop cubes out.
Isn't it that with the hay rite and also the Omnis that you don't have to feed hay because of the alfalfa content in them? |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | rodeomom3 - 2018-02-26 3:42 PM casualdust07 - 2018-02-26 3:33 PM rodeomom3 - 2018-02-26 2:46 PM I have lots of friends who just feed hay rite, no cons that I know of other than I am the odd man out and I think cubes are a pain. I think it is a lot easier to throw a couple of flakes then try to scoop cubes out. I bought some cubes yesterday to see if Lulu would like them... She tried eating them like feed and gave up. I soaked them after that and she snorted at it like it was something foreign and snubbed it. Rude.
Mine wont eat wet stuff either, hay, feed, cubes just nasty to them like raw Oysters are to me.. LOL..
I bought some hay cubes for my really old donkey and they are soft and hes eating them really well. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Con with cubes is they can eat them faster than baled hay. |
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Gettin Jiggy Wit It
Posts: 2734
| I have two horses with respiratory issues that can't have hay. How did I get so lucky! Ugh. Anyways one is 25 and has heaves really bad. The other is 9 and has inflamed airway disease so to prolong his career he is off of hay. Anyways... I'd much rather my horses be on hay. Oohhh how I wish I could feed them hay... Feeding solely cubes is going to be long life for my one 9 year old. I feel bad when he is out of food in a half an hour while my others are eating hay out of slow feeders for 5 hours. It's what I have to do but it's not easy... And so flipping expensive. I live in Wisconsin so they are only on pasture for 7 moths out of the year.. And snow the rest... so it's a long winter for them. I worry about ulcers. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 972
Location: Texas! | I feed omnis only no soaking and loose mineral they have free choice coastal round bale. I will soak their cubes bcthey are so hard and I'm afraid they will choke. |
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 Ms Bling Bling Sleeze Kitty
Posts: 20917
Location: LouLouVille, OK | Three 4 Luck - 2018-02-26 6:26 PM Con with cubes is they can eat them faster than baled hay.
Pro is none is wasted  |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 974
Location: USA | I soak mine overnight and they’re ready to go when I feed. When it freezes or when it gets really hot, I bring the buckets to soak in my house. I worry if they sit out in the heat it’ll get rancid |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1056
| i think they have to get used to it. cubes need to break up from soaking before feeding. i pour cubes from the bag because they are too hard to scoop.......then drown them in water.....mine like it
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Gettin Jiggy Wit It
Posts: 2734
| Dreamingofcans - 2018-03-01 3:14 PM
I soak mine overnight and they’re ready to go when I feed. When it freezes or when it gets really hot, I bring the buckets to soak in my house. I worry if they sit out in the heat it’ll get rancid
have you tried using hotter water? I used warm to hot water out of My kitchen faucet and with in 20 min they are broken up and mushy. |
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  Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4557
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | less waste with cubes and they do smell funny to a horse.no dust.slows the horse's eating down.con hard to see mold, if the horse never touches it at all assume the worst and toss it.horses can smell it and taste it,trust them. they cost a bit more and you have more room to stack a ton of cube vs a ton of hay. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1056
| plus................prevents colic
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Gettin Jiggy Wit It
Posts: 2734
| cow pie - 2018-03-02 10:28 PM
less waste with cubes and they do smell funny to a horse.no dust.slows the horse's eating down.con hard to see mold, if the horse never touches it at all assume the worst and toss it.horses can smell it and taste it,trust them. they cost a bit more and you have more room to stack a ton of cube vs a ton of hay.
how does feeding cubes slow the horses eating down? My two eat 8 lbs of soaked cubes per feeding in about a half an hour or less. I'd much rather them eat regular hay out of a slow feeders for 5 or more hours per feeding like my other horses do. Feeding cubes has to be done in my situation due to respiratory issues but it's very frustrating in -10 below degree weather when they need constant forage to stay warm... I don't have a stall barn either. Just run in sheds. |
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Expert
Posts: 3514
| I don’t know where you live, but Cubeit Alfalfa Cubes are soft and don’t have to be soaked. |
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Duct Tape Bikini Girl
Posts: 2554
| I have changed over to Hayrite minicubes from baled alfalfa over the last two months. I began adding the mini cubes to their diet by soaking them in water. Each time I fed, I would go ahead and pour the water on the next feeding portion. Now I have dropped the baled alfalfa completely, and feed just the Hayrite with no soaking. Horses are happier, and seem more satisfied.
It is important to read the feeding instructions, and weigh the cubes when you feed. Cubes and neglected teeth are not a good idea. Lastly, it's not just cubes, it's Hayrite cubes. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 974
Location: USA | WetSaddleBlankets - 2018-03-02 3:27 AM
Dreamingofcans - 2018-03-01 3:14 PM
I soak mine overnight and they’re ready to go when I feed. When it freezes or when it gets really hot, I bring the buckets to soak in my house. I worry if they sit out in the heat it’ll get rancid
have you tried using hotter water? I used warm to hot water out of My kitchen faucet and with in 20 min they are broken up and mushy.
I have but they aren’t mushy enough =\ |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 974
Location: USA | luckyjo - 2018-03-03 8:57 AM
I have changed over to Hayrite minicubes from baled alfalfa over the last two months. I began adding the mini cubes to their diet by soaking them in water. Each time I fed, I would go ahead and pour the water on the next feeding portion. Now I have dropped the baled alfalfa completely, and feed just the Hayrite with no soaking. Horses are happier, and seem more satisfied.
It is important to read the feeding instructions, and weigh the cubes when you feed. Cubes and neglected teeth are not a good idea. Lastly, it's not just cubes, it's Hayrite cubes.
I use hayrite minis as well! They won’t eat any other brand now. It’s out of my way to get them but if it makes them happy and healthy I’m all for it. I love doing soaked cubes in the winter bc I know they’re getting “some” water. I try to have heated buckets for everyone but they break and intermittently work. |
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soaked cubes instead of hay??? any cons?