Who feeds nuts/mix and chaff/beet ?

[Jay.o]

My yard owner and I were talking and she doesnt feed mix/nuts (cant remeber the name for that type or food - concentrates ?? :confused: ) with chaff/speedibeet, a filler.

When I asked why not, she said because the 'fillers' are dijested in the large intestine and the nuts digested at the small intestine first. But, if they are fed together, then the nuts go to the large intestine with the 'filler' and not digested properly.

Now I have never heard this. Am I just completely dense and never heard of this ? Or am I an ignorant horse owner ? :(

I have always believed and been told that adding chaff/beet will make them chew their food which helps digestion. And horses that seem to bolt their food dont chew properly and can get balls of munched nut and choke ??

Please - any help ?

[Mehitabel]

well none of the books i read for my stage 3 feeding module said so, neither did the instructors or the examiner, and a friend who is a vet student feeds nuts, chaff and beet.
apart from anything else, all the food is broken down by enzymes in the stomach anyway, and only after this does it travel down the intestines where the different types of nutrition have their different areas.

[nat17]

I have never heard anything like that, i always have been taught to feed chaff with concentrates as it helps stop the horse bolting their feed and helps aid digestion!:confused:
I have been doing research into horse feed recently for a project on a course and i have leanrt alot about which feeds do what etc and what to feed when etc and i have not come across not mixing chaff with concentrate.

[Yann]

Same here, I was taught (BHS stages) that it slows the passage of the food through the gut and improves digestion. Might be the case if you feed too much at once, ie bulk up the food too much with chaff but other than that it sounds like an 'opinion' to me:)

[Bebe]

From what I remember, fibre feeds are digested in the large intestine whereas more starchy feeds (mixes, nuts) are digested in the small intestine (caecum). Because the small intestine is small, it can only cope with small amounts of starchy feed. If you feed too much at once it can't be digested properly and just comes out the other end without having been used, so you're wasting money. Because fibre is mostly digested in the large intestine and is held there for longer, the horse can eat lots and lots of fibre and gets full use out of it all. So, if you feed both at the same time they'll pass through the small intestine at roughly the same rate, but the fibre will continue to be digested in the large intestine whilst the mix/nuts won't be.

Could be that your yard owner is thinking along these lines and has just got a bit confused somewhere along the way?

I don't know anyone (and have never known anyone in 18 years of being around horses on a regular basis) that has separated out nuts/mix from chaff or s. beet for these reasons. I know people that feed minimal mix and lots and lots of chaff or other fibre product, people that feed equal amounts of both and people that only feed fibre based feeds. All the horses seemed equally healthy.

[artemis]

Jay o - if you think about it ,when you have a meal of meat potatoes & veg & then a pud afterwards all washed down witha drink. Everything that you have eaten is digested at different rates & you dont get stomach ache, neither does a horse.

What your yard owner says will only happen if you feed your horse so much concentrate thate its digestive system cannot cope. In that case it could pass undigested food (seen this happen) get colic or have the trots.

I was always taught that a horse should never be given a feed of more than 4 lbs concentrate in one feed.
Everyone I know mixes concentrates & beet in the winter.

[H & Bailey]

Hey Jay .o course you can mix concentrates with chaff etc or else why would they make a feed called'all in one' its by badminton and has nuts/mix,chaff and speedi beet in one bag so you dont need to buy lots of bags!The chaff helps digestion by slowing down the gut process making it work harder keeping the horse fuller for longer the concentrates are usually a source of energy and vitamin.My vet said concentrates are like mars bars,very tasty will make you fat and full of quick energy but not healthy whereas a chaff/hay is like potatoes pasta full of slow relaese energy and alot more healthy.A nice mix is good.

[Jay.o]

Thanks everyone for your help and information. Mysy has her chaff (that she doesnt like) and pony nuts - oh and her stroppy mare supplement;)

I guess if i thought about it more, I would ahve realised :rolleyes:
Thanks again

[Yann]

Just a thought, if Mysy is bored with her chaff you could try adding a bit of garlic to it, some horses love it, Rio included:)

[H & Bailey]

what type of chaff are you feeding as you can get different flavours,ie apple chaff...
Mollichop and herbal mollichop....mine prefer happy hoof which has a vitamin pellet in it. or alphalpha

[*Sez*]

Sorry, I don't know the techinicalities behind it all, but my mare has coarse mix, cool nuts and bran on a daily basis with a little vegetable oil. She's been on the same feed for years, and occasionally, i.e. when we come home wet, or gets an injury, she gets a warm bran mash.

[Jay.o]

Thanks again everyone.
Yann - She has her garlic alright, she likes it until she runs out and its just chaff. She just doesnt like it. Shes happy enough just eating nuts or mix without the rubbish i give as extra :rolleyes:

HandBailey - I vary it each time I buy chaff. Last time we bought a bag she had Mollichop/chaff and this time Happy hoof. I tohught she would appreciate a change too and she does, until shes bored of that one.