hay cubes (with questionaire)

[NewToMini's]

I bought some hay cubes for my horses yesterday. They've been acting hungrier and kinda grumpy for the last week or so (it just got really cold again, and there's been snow on the ground), but I don't think I have enough hay to give them extra, so I got them hay cubes to supplement.

I got them an alfalfa/timothy mix. Today they got enough cubes to fill the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket, and then I filled the bucket a little over half full with warm water. I put too much water in it, so it ended up really soupy, but they haven't been drinking as much water since it got cold, so I'm fine with soupy as long as it doesn't cause them any problems.

But I have a few questions.

Do you feed hay cubes? Why or why not?

What kind do you feed? Any particular reason you feed that kind?

How much do you feed?

How do you prefer to feed them? Dry, just wet enough to break apart, mushy, or soupy?

Anything else you'd like to mention about hay cubes? Tips or advice?

 

[Minimor]

I feed them Sometimes. I buy alfalfa or alfalfa/Timothy cubes. Last ones I got were alfalfa, in small size cubes that are better for the ponies and minis to eat. Those smaller cubes break up nicely and I feed them dry. Some of the large cubes are so hard they about have to be soaked--I try to avoid those. Otherwise with the big cubes I take a hammer and break them up onto the thin "wafers". I so not soak. 1--my horses are not keen on cubes a lot of times, and they dislike soaked cubes more than they dislike dry cubes. Soaked cubes do not keep in warm weather. In cold weather they freeze faster than the horses eat them. Either way = wastage.

How much do I feed? as an extra each horse gets 2 lbs. If cubes make up the full hay ration it is 5 lbs each

 

[chandab]

I don't feed cubes, as I have to soak any that I can find around here, as they are rather hard. However... Hay cubes can replace baled hay pound for pound, or even perhaps a bit less of the cubes as there is usually less waste. I usually go for a timothy/alfalfa mix (I usually get pellets), except my senior stallion he gets straight alfalfa pellets.

As to wet/dry and how wet. Soaking is usually to the preference of the horse, some like them just wetted enough to break apart, some like them soupy, some don't like them wetted at all. [The cubes available to me are typically so hard, it's even hard to break them up with a hammer; so they must be soaked, which is too big of a pain in the rear in the frigid north, so I just don't feed them.]

I do feed hay pellets at times, usually dry, but sometimes soaked.

 

[NewToMini's]

Mine seem to enjoy the cubes so far, choosing them over their regular hay yesterday and today (yesterday it was mush, today was soupier). I did read a lot about other horses not liking them right away, but thankfully mine seem to love them. We'll see if the extra food helps make them less grumpy XD

 

I've used the Alfalfa hay cubes many times, and the ones at my Purina feed store are beautiful, smell great and completely break apart in my hands, so I fed them dry. But if they're not drinking as much as you'd like, soaking them is just perfect.

 

[sundancer]

I feed hay cubes during the winter. I generally buy the alfalfa cubes by Standlee. We soak them in warm water. I find by soaking them I am assured they are getting "extra" water in their system during the cold, long winters we get here in Maine. My hope is it will help ward off impaction issues and colic that can sometimes can occur during the winter. Sometimes as an extra treat I crush peppermints in the soaked cubes, they love it.

Julie

Victory Pass Stable

Maine

 

[vickie gee]

I give them as snacks and sometimes just to occupy them while I am getting everyone's food ready. Be aware that they can choke on them. Some people do not give them at all for that reason. Standlee are small enough but I do not like them as well as the other brands which are mini but still larger. I break up the ones that seem to big. Right now I have some set aside that will need to stand in a bit of water in order for me to break them apart. It is not a pretty sight seeing one choking on them even when it is only slightly. I don't put them in a dish just toss them on the ground so they can hunt them and savor them.

 

[Cayuse]

I have never had much luck with my guys liking hay cubes. My old gelding who had dental issues would not even try them, even soaked into a soupy gruel, and the others just said "no." I found them really hard to soak, too. They would not break down with out a fight and took a long time. The ones I tried where from Ontario dehy, and some other kind, maybe timothy balance cubes IIRC.

I am having good luck with SemicanTimothy pellets though, everyone loves those.

 

[AngC]

What are hay cubes? sundancer mentioned Standlee? Are hay cubes the compressed hay bales? I saw those once in a co-op north of here.

(I read this type of thread with great interest, because I feed hay and grass--and after I made Baby fat and gave her laminitis, I removed most of the grass from the girls' diet and relied on hay. Then last year, with the drought and forest fires, I was getting a little freaked out that I might not be able to get enough hay and would perhaps have to rely on compressed feed types. I wouldn't have a clue how/what to feed on such a regime.)

 

[NewToMini's]

It's chopped hay that is compressed into small cubes. I think mine are about 1 inch by 2 inches for the larger cubes in the bag I got. Standlee is the brand. They can be used to replace or stretch your hay supply.

 

[amysue]

I used to buy a bag of alfalfa cubes and feed them dry as treats. They were so crumbly that the ponies munched them right up. Since Tractor Supply put the local feed dealer out of business, I cannot find the cubes that I like any more. The only ones they carry are hard as a rock and my horses wont eat them. I am told (it may not be true but it sounds plausible ) that the hard cubes are made from the left over chaff hay, ground up, wetted into a gruel and compressed into cubes, that's why they are so hard (supposedly). I have been feeding poulin hay pellets in with my ration so I can stretch the hay with much success. They are a small pellet, not big like blue seal hay stretcher, so I worry less about choke. We make our own hay, and it has been so dry here that our fields were over 1/3 short the last two years in a row, so I am feeling the pressure to ration it, but I do not want to short change anybody.

 

[chandab]

picture is bigger than I thought, but here is a picture of hay cubes for AngC

 

[Minimor]

What are hay cubes? sundancer mentioned Standlee? Are hay cubes the compressed hay bales? I saw those once in a co-op north of here.

(I read this type of thread with great interest, because I feed hay and grass--and after I made Baby fat and gave her laminitis, I removed most of the grass from the girls' diet and relied on hay. Then last year, with the drought and forest fires, I was getting a little freaked out that I might not be able to get enough hay and would perhaps have to rely on compressed feed types. I wouldn't have a clue how/what to feed on such a regime.)

As to how/what to feed--cubes replace hay pound for pound. so, if you feed 5 lbs of hay per day you would replace that with 5 pounds of cubes.

The compressed bales of hay--usually bagged--are the same. 5 pounds of hay gets replaced with 5 lbs of compressed hay.

 

[Jean_B]

I've never liked the cubes. I have used hay pellets (Standlee has a bunch of different varieties). Smaller, less chance of choke. If I use them I usually get the alfalfa / timothy blend. They are great for hauling to shows, a lot less mess, easier to haul than bales. Only downside is they eat them a lot faster than regular baled hay and get bored pretty quick.

 

[AngC]

picture is bigger than I thought, but here is a picture of hay cubes for AngC

The cubes look rather yummy--nice and green. To explain my ignorance on this topic.... our local feed store doesn't have hay cubes (as pictured) on the shelf. I guess if you want them, you have to ask. And would have to know what to ask for. People feed beet pellets, but I've never seen them on the shelf at the local co-op either.

I have seen the Standlee compressed bales up at a store in Mount Vernon--the compressed bales looked pretty dry--like straw. I would probably have to let our fat-bombs starve for a day or two before they would eat Standless compressed hay.

 

[NewToMini's]

I think you're supposed to soak the compressed bales.

 

[doniakay]

i dont use cubes, how much hay do u all feed?

 

[NewToMini's]

My two minis and one large pony get half a bale of hay per day (1/4 bale morning and night), along with safechoice grain (1/2 pound for fillly, 3/4 pound and hoof supplement for mare, and 3 pounds for large pony) and full turnout (not much grass, so turnout is mainly exercise atm). They get the hay cubes when there's snow on the ground, or when it's really cold, because I don't have enough hay to feed extra.

 

[chandab]

I think you're supposed to soak the compressed bales.

I don't think so, at least not the compressed bales I'm thinking of, they are just super squeezed regular hay so they fit into a smaller space (easier for shipping). Fed pound for pound like regular baled hay.

 

[NewToMini's]

Oh, ok. I think I read on the package of one at tsc that they're good for hydration (after soaking) or something. Not sure if it was regular compressed hay, or if soaking was just optional. I never really looked at the bale, just kinda read it as I walked past, lol