Thoughts on cubes vs pellets? I have always fed cubes soaked. Have been curious to try pellets because they are easier to deal with. I have heard alot of people do not like pellets due to choking.

Also, what are you feeding your horses? Right now mine are getting 1 full scoop soaked cubes with 1 full scoop Triumph Professional in the AM and in the evening they get 1 1/2 scoops of professional and always free choice hay. 

Out here in CA we have tons of alfalfa hay but as of late it's been super dusty and my horses were coughing from it. Bought couple bags of cubes and they just are not as happy about those. I wish I could get a soft cube out here. Tried some pellets to and they just don't like those either. Lol so for now I've been just dunking the dusty alfalfa and rinsing before feeding until I come up with some better hay 

If you need to feed one or the other, pellets are easier to manage, scoop, etc. The horses who get them where I board have them soaked. One gets a handful of alfalfa pellets dry to slow down his feeding to accomodate another pasturemate, but soaked is the norm for the barn here.

I feed both, soaked and my horses love them.  But both the cubes and pellets are a mixture of Alfalfa/Timothy and/or Bermuda.

I prefer pellets, but I still soak bc they can definitely choke. They're just easier to manage and handle I think, and faster to soak. If you have access to hot water it puffs soft within 5 minutes. In the summer I leave a gallon jug of water in the sun to get hot and it does the trick. I feed them right now to my 29 year old just to add some weight coming off winter, he didn't winter quite as well this time. He gets 3/4 scoop soaked and he will pick at it for awhile. He's a typical grazer, he doesn't really like meals. He'll eat his grain and then he will munch a little hay, go take an hour nap, munch a little hay, nap, etc. He will take hours to eat a couple flakes of hay. He does the same with the pellets. I only give them in warmer temps bc otherwise they freeze before he eats them in the winter 

As far as what I feed they all get Tribute Kalm N Ez, 1/2 of the 3qt scoop 2x a day, it weighs right about 3lbs a day. And a flake of alfala 2x a day free on the ground, and mix hay in the slow feeds free choice. The old guys gets his in just a metal feeder outside and he has a hay chix net with the stock holes in his stall. He has no front teeth so slow feed nets are too hard for him. He downs around half a bale a day. The others probably eat half a bale a day in their nets too on average. They're 8, 23, and 29. The 8 year old is in moderately heavy work, the 23 year old just gets ridden for exercise, and the 29 year old does nothing but eat & exist lol 

I have fed cubes since 2017. Started with the Hayrite Mini cubes and recently changed due to the dealer I was buying from, no longer doing that.

For a few weeks, my feed room looked like a science expirement. I had 4 different brands and let them decide....

I offered them Hayrite, Standlee, Omnis and Daurio Brothers cubes. They did NOT like the Omnis. Even though they are a very soft cube. They pushed them around their feeders and then would pick at them. Surprisingly they liked the Standlee cubes. I thought no way because they are 2x2 cubes and hard. Preference has been the Daurio Brothers cubes though. Im happy too at 13.25 a bag.

My pregnant mare even refused to eat hayrite anymore after adding the Daurio Bro cubes. She peed in her bucket when I tried to slip some hayrite in the last time....  I was like.... You have ate those for the last 5 years!!!!!!! 

I do not soak mine anymore. I was adding a little water to the hayrite on a few. But I dont have to do that anymore with the Daurio Bro cubes. They are a 2x2 but softer than hayrite. In the 5 years I have fed cubes, I have not had one choke. I feed 1/2 # of renew gold plus 6# of cubes to most of mine. My old mare and a harder keeper broodie get 8# of Triple Crown Senior and 6# of cubes. My 2 pregnant mares also get 5-6 flakes of fresh alfalfa in the AM when I turn them out. 1 is overdue and I want to keep her up, the other is due for next year and keeps the overdue mare quiet. The others go out on pasture during the day. 

Mine burn out on cubes quickly. I've tried several kinds. The horses usually gobble up the first bag or two but push them to the side on bag 3. They are weirdos.

I am not sure that pellets qualify as long stem forage if that is what you are using solely for forage purposes, therefore I use cubes. 95% of all the horses I have fed are able to free feed and eat them dry with  no problem. I love taking them on the road and its a quick, tidy snack. minimal dust as well for those competitive days (not that I want dust any other day!)

I do have one mare that is HUNGRY. She takes on probably 20-30% more forage than any other horse on the place daily without weight gain. It is just her genetics. But for cubes she will choke because she is gulper. She gets loose hay, and only cubes that are soaked. It did not take me long to figure out that she wasnt chewing the cubes properly and I have not risked it with her since. 

I see a benefit using soaked cubes to supplement their grain, especially if they are ulcer prone the alfalfa can buffer some of the adverse reactions you can get in the gut due to grain. Grain should always be fed after forage regardless. But mixing soaked cubes with their grain also soaks up any powder if you feeding that which can be beneficial as some horses can nose around powder and be picky. It also enables them to feel like maybe they are getting more grain than they are, instead of a scoop that takes all of 2 minutes to eat up. 

I don't really see the benefit of pellets over cubes to be honest, other than they are easier to scoop maybe. They don't munch on cubes as long as they do loose hay, and pellets even less. I don't have pasture, so I am trying to keep mine able to munch more hours of the day and pellets are not conducive to that. 

It is 90 % preference but I live in the deep south so forced water is a priority. I don't soak them but by the time I get to the stall they are softer. I have an older guy who's teeth need soft and I dump their grain on top so it gets a little wet too. I'd be interested to know how the pellets are made. Like are they the sweepings from the cube making process?

I recently ditched hay because lack of quality and consistency and the price keeps going up regardless of quality. I've found whole dirt clods in the alfalfa 3 strand I was buying and it's been so dusty, dry and stemmy. Went with Cubeit alfalfa cubes and so far it's been an excellent choice. I don't soak. I pour 2 10lb bucket full a day to each horse. They also get turned out on pasture throughout the day so technically the cubes aren't their only forage source. We've been really happy with the switch.  Zero waste, low to no dust and a much MUCH cleaner feed room without having to sweep up all the loose hay.  2 horses get Renew Gold along with their cubes plus a scoop of platinum performance. The others that aren't in much work just get the cubes, a little rice bran and turnout. Haven't quite figured out if I'm actually saving a ton of money with this but it's definitely easier and they are thriving. I don't feed any other grain. One thing I've really noticed is no more fighting, kicking or ill behavior at feed time. Everyone waits patiently and calm for their cubes in the morning and evenings. It's definitely a nice change from the chaos that once was. I hated feeding.