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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
  
| In light of all the feed information we have been exposed to I want to try the recommendations from Dr. Schell. But I am down on the Gulf Coast in South Texas. My access to quality alfalfa is not great and any grass hay will only be Bermuda or possibly Jiggs. TSC sells the Standlee alfalfa/grass compressed bales here. So I ask if any of you have fed them and did you find them to be a good source of hay? |
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I AM being nice
Posts: 4396
Location: MD | feed them a lot while on the road. Both the Alf/Grass and the straight Alfalfa. Good quality hay and very consistent in quality, as well. |
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  Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
 
Location: NE Texas | I can only get the Standlee or Halls compressed alfalfa also, GLP. Sometimes I find they can both be a bit "stemmy" but better than nothing!  |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| WrapSnap - 2015-07-24 12:20 PM
feed them a lot while on the road. Both the Alf/Grass and the straight Alfalfa. Good quality hay and very consistent in quality, as well.
Thanks! I have missed you on here this spring/summer but I am sure you are to busy this time of year to be on here much. I went to the clinic you taught in Texas and learned a lot. That was a good clinic. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| Herbie - 2015-07-24 12:48 PM
I can only get the Standlee or Halls compressed alfalfa also, GLP. Sometimes I find they can both be a bit "stemmy" but better than nothing!
Thanks, Herbie. I am so ready to get my feed program going in the right direction. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| My horses did not eat it very well and I have bought a couple of them that were moldy. I have no way of knowing if they came like that or got wet somewhere along the way in delivery. I finally bought some bags of the Omnis cubes and love them. They do not look at all like other cubes, very soft and easy to feed. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| rodeomom3 - 2015-07-24 1:03 PM
My horses did not eat it very well and I have bought a couple of them that were moldy. I have no way of knowing if they came like that or got wet somewhere along the way in delivery. I finally bought some bags of the Omnis cubes and love them. They do not look at all like other cubes, very soft and easy to feed.
I am trying to decide between the Danco Omni cubes and the Standlee compressed bales. The cubes are 2 hours away, but the Standlee is close and I can get the alfalfa/ grass mix and the straight alfalfa. Ugh. I guess I should shoot an email to Danco to find out how they make them and another to poor Dr. Schell to see what he thinks. I was totally leaning towards the cubes when I read how he prefers premium hay. But getting that kind of hay maybe hard for me to do down here. |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | I've never had a moldy one and the horses LOVE them. They do tend to have a lot of alfalfa dust though so I try to shake as much off as I can before giving it to the horses or I will soak it for a little bit. The worst thing about it by far is the price. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| Down here I pay $20 for a small bale of alfalfa and the store gets it from multiple sources which I am not crazy about. My sister had a horse die from blister beetle poisoning many years ago. The Standlee bales are not that high in comparison.
Edited by GLP 2015-07-24 1:23 PM
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 The Color Specialist
Posts: 7530
Location: Washington. (The DRY side.) | I was given some compressed alfalfa, it was TERRIBLE. Very bleached out (inside), and very stemmy. Even my goats didn't want to eat it. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2604
Location: Texas | The compressed bales I tried had a lot of loose, powder texture, green, what I am guessing to be pulverized alfalfa. Also had some white rocks in it. |
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 Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | I would drive the two hours to get the Danco cubes, you could easily get a ton in the back of your truck, maybe two. I have a semi load of the Omnis cubes in my barn, I have been feeding them for about a month now and I could see a difference after about two weeks. Like you, our grass hay is mediocre at best, pretty much just a filler, these cubes have been an awesome addition to our feed program. We have cut our grain usage by about 75% and the horses are gaining weight. I was hoping to maintain their condition, the fact they are all gaining weight in this heat is a nice suprise. |
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Expert
Posts: 1207
| I'm the same with the Omnis cubes, I would have to go on a Saturday and it would be like an hour drive one-way then an hour back, but it would probably be worth it. I have used the compressed bales before and my horses ate it like it was a candy treat. I mixed it with their grass hay in the winter time. They are on pasture 24/7 now and I don't need for them to gain weight. I use the cubes to put their supplements in. |
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | I have bought the Standlee Alfalfa and they sucked. So dusty...stemmy and I also got some moldy ones. When I couldn't get good alfalfa I fed the Standlee Alfalfa pellets. I'll see if I still have pictures of the Standlee Alfalfa. I was told that the dust was crushed alfalfa leaves but my thoughts is dust is dust and I had to wet it down to feed it.
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Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | Nevertooold - 2015-07-24 3:18 PM I have bought the Standlee Alfalfa and they sucked. So dusty...stemmy and I also got some moldy ones. When I couldn't get good alfalfa I fed the Standlee Alfalfa pellets. I'll see if I still have pictures of the Standlee Alfalfa. I was told that the dust was crushed alfalfa leaves but my thoughts is dust is dust and I had to wet it down to feed it.
Yuck! Makes you wonder what the quality is of the alfalfa they put in thier pellets. |
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I AM being nice
Posts: 4396
Location: MD | I'm amazed at how much trouble y'all have had with getting bad/dusty bales! Now, I have definitely gotten some that have had a bunch of loose/fine leaves, but nothing that I would ever consider dusty, no bleaching and certainly no mold. Maybe my store just goes through more... or I've just been very lucky? |
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 I Want a "MAN"
Posts: 3610
Location: MD | WrapSnap - 2015-07-24 3:53 PM I'm amazed at how much trouble y'all have had with getting bad/dusty bales! Now, I have definitely gotten some that have had a bunch of loose/fine leaves, but nothing that I would ever consider dusty, no bleaching and certainly no mold. Maybe my store just goes through more... or I've just been very lucky?
Have you gotten them all from the same place or different stores? I think I may buy a few too. |
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I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | I've tried them at different times of the year. I see they now have them wrapped in green wrapping where before they were clear. Never again..
I've been feeding the Mustang Sally Cubes and I love them. I just fed my last flake of alfalfa yesterday. |
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Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| GLP - 2015-07-24 1:14 PM rodeomom3 - 2015-07-24 1:03 PM My horses did not eat it very well and I have bought a couple of them that were moldy. I have no way of knowing if they came like that or got wet somewhere along the way in delivery. I finally bought some bags of the Omnis cubes and love them. They do not look at all like other cubes, very soft and easy to feed. ] I am trying to decide between the Danco Omni cubes and the Standlee compressed bales. The cubes are 2 hours away, but the Standlee is close and I can get the alfalfa/ grass mix and the straight alfalfa. Ugh. I guess I should shoot an email to Danco to find out how they make them and another to poor Dr. Schell to see what he thinks. I was totally leaning towards the cubes when I read how he prefers premium hay. But getting that kind of hay maybe hard for me to do down here.
I would be interested in what your vet saids. I asked mine and his concern was the quality of the alfalfa used for cubes. Like you, I prefer good baled alfalfa but I can't always get it. Last year I biught gorgeous alfalfa from a friend whose husband drives to New Mexico to get it. This years was pretty good but some of it was really stemy, always had a bunch of waste. The Omnis look great, I would love to have them analyzed to see exactly the quality. I prefer the Omni to the Standlee. |
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I AM being nice
Posts: 4396
Location: MD | CE's wrapn3 - 2015-07-24 3:54 PM
WrapSnap - 2015-07-24 3:53 PM I'm amazed at how much trouble y'all have had with getting bad/dusty bales! Now, I have definitely gotten some that have had a bunch of loose/fine leaves, but nothing that I would ever consider dusty, no bleaching and certainly no mold. Maybe my store just goes through more... or I've just been very lucky?
Have you gotten them all from the same place or different stores? I think I may buy a few too.
I normally just swing into a TSC wherever I am if I run out while I'm on the road. |
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