Hay Substitute Temporarily for Horse Not Eating Hay

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Clare-22

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Apr 30, 2005
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Can anyone recommend something I can feed along the same lines of hay / haylage?

Loki has suddenly decided he doesn't want to eat hay or haylage, he will probably eat around half to one section overnight, which I am worried is not enough, he is happy to eat his hard feed though.

Yesterday he had his mouth extensively examined by our dentist and vet, including xrays and nothing major came to light. His grind is fine, it seems to be a conscious decision that he doesn't want to eat hay or haylage :confused:

Would something like Readigrass work?
 
Could you get some hay from somewhere else in case he just doesn't like what he's being given?

If you can't get hay from a different source I'd be tempted to leave him out if possible but keep putting hay in the field. For some reason hay tastes different in the field :rolleyes: plus he can pick at grass so you know he's eating. Or if you normally feed his hay dry try soaking it & vice versa or feed it differently (on the floor, out of a net, in a different place). I know it sounds silly but tiny things can make a difference to a fussy feeder.

If you can't do any of the above then I'd try supplementing - not replacing - his hay with a big tub of HiFi Lite. By all means mix some Readigrass in but I'd be worried it was too rich to feed on it's own.
 
Does he get any chaff and if so is he still eating that? One of mine is off hay and haylage at the moment too. (Not in your area so not the same supplier/provenance). He gobbles up his chaff, which we have increased by quite a lot to give him as much of what he needs as poss.
We tried not giving any hard feed at all, no chaff, nothing but hay/lage for one of his meals, just to see if he was being fussy but he still left most of it.
Aren't they a worry, these horses ?!?!!?
 
Chaff as already mentioned, ready grass might be an idea too?
If chaff isnt being eaten ether try good doer Hifi, as its got mint added.
But also Badmintion feeds do a Fibire nugget, not sure how much you would need to feed, but we had a similliar prob with an old boy on our yard and he loved them!:D
 
Agree with carthouse, including the fact that Readigrass is very strong, not to be fed to laminitics, unless only a small handfull in a large bucket of hi fi lite just to add a little taste.

As a hay replacement my 11.3, 280kgs gets 2% body weight so when in all the time can have 5 kgs of hifi lite. We did this when he had creosote burns in his nasal passages, throat and lungs for three months.

At the moment he gets 3kgs hay and 2kgs hifilite. Less if there is any grass, not quite all turned to mud yet.
 
I'd go for one of dengie range of chaff and mix in a bit of mint. Some horses (and Joy is one of them) prefer their chaff dampend down a touch.
 
Thanks :)

Yes he eats his chaff fine, and I have been increasing this to make up for his pickiness, sounds like continuing this a better idea than readigrass.

I have tried various different sources of hay, I have tried soaking and steaming it, and tried him on haylage :rolleyes: He has it on the floor, I suppose I could try it in a haynet, can't think why he would prefer it but certainly would make my life easier ;)

Luckily they have just moved to a new field so he does have grass to eat and his weight has improved since then, he can't live out but he does have a good 8 hours out, the field they were in before had no grass at all for a while and it still didn't make any difference to his opinion of hay.

Dooley it is a bit more reassuring to hear you have having the same problem, horses who'd have em!
 
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