Hay replacer

[kaytenherponies]

Am going to put our lil icelandic on to hi fi senior as a hay replacer.

Do any of you clever NRers know what the exchange rate would be for this?
I.e 10% hay off and 10% hifi added? More or less?

Obviously I know you introduce it gradually but how long and how much please guys. Ta

Ps.. please, if you are making a guesstimate, would you make that clear in your reply. I am interested in everyone opinion but dont want to think "oh yeah thats what I thought it must be right" and we are both only making an educated guess.

Disclaimer... Obviously I know every horse is different blah blah so will use my savvy when making my final decision :) Thanks muchly

[kaytenherponies]

OOOpPPPs wrong section. Sorry mods, feel free to move me if necessary :)

[jaydevon]

LOL at you.... actually if looking for a hay replacer id have a look into simple systems feeds,


whats your reasons for changing, is it the hay is too harsh??

[kaytenherponies]

No he is a bit of an oldie and isn't eating his hay particularly well. He also isn't holding weight as well as I would expect. Had the vet out to do his teeth and thought it would be a good idea when I suggested it. Tried him on haylege but he will only eat it if the bale is freshly open :rolleyes:

[jaydevon]

is it possible for you to steam hay?? if not all thats needed part of,

steamed hay smells nice and is softer, may be worth trying a small amount first.

[kaytenherponies]

Yeah it is probably worth a try. Do you not like hay replacers then? Reasons please? Am always open to new ways of thiinking :)

[Soot]

I tried Billy on Hi-Fi Senior as a hay replacer. I just put a huge bucket of it next to the hay and let him choose which he wanted. He did eat the chaff but on later fecal examination (YUM!) I realised he was chewing less and swallowing whole mouthfuls of chaff. Haylage he cannot eat because his teeth are not sharp enough to cut it so it balls up in his mouth ... so we're back to hay which for now is the best option. It was worth a try though ... guess at 35 years you can't change their habits *lol*.

[kaytenherponies]

Ha ha ha little monkey. Can you use readigrass as a hay replacer?

[sheer bliss]

We have a 31 yr old TB on Ab-lib Graze-on, its like redigrass but cheaper and softer
Our oldies is missing too many teeth and chokes, hence him eating chop and not hay, We have a huge Tub Trug bucket (i think the biggest they do) and fill it to the top, he has that at night, hes never cleared the lot, so were happy hes getting enough fibre, and we just keep it topped up

He's also on Top Spec cool and condition, cubes - soaked theyve really helped to keep his weight on this winter

Jill

[kaytenherponies]

Excellent, have used graze on in the past. Did you do a transition period? How long and how much did you swap please? Am going to go for this instead of the hi fi. I much prefer it and charlie loves it but didn't know you could use it as a hay replacer. :)

[sheer bliss]

We didnt do a transition as our old man was choking on hay so needed a quick change, to prevent further attacks, but 7 days is normally suggested for a feed change

PS. we sweet talked our local feed merchants for a multi-buy discount, and buy it from the best (cheapest) offer, its always worth asking around;)

Jill

[kaytenherponies]

Thanks bliss u have been super helpful will start him on some tomorrow night. Thanks again :)

[Soot]

Yup my oldies have a big bucket of readigrass every day. They get through 1-2 bags a week though so it's quite expensive and they still eat just as much hay ... ;)

[kaytenherponies]

My poor pocket is graning at the thought of it lol. I dont mind, he isn't really eating his hay to well at the mo so will prob stop it and see how he gets on. Ta for all your advice :D