Hay cube questions from a newbie

[dmalbone]

Not to horses, but cubes... I've had horses for 14 years and have never fed hay cubes. My COPD horse apparently cannot have hay anymore. Wetting it doesn't help and only makes his stall mats icy when it's 5 degrees out. I cannot find any chopped hay around me anywhere. I thought I could get the Triple crown chopped grass, but it's a no-go. I tried the safe starch and he hated it. I CAN get hay cubes though.

- Do you feed at a 1:1 ratio? Since they're dehydrated (are all?) would you feed less? I have a 20 year old super easy keeper. He also can't get banamine so I'm super afraid of colic. I'm a bad horsekeeper and only know the weight of his hay by feel, but couldn't tell you what it was. 2 light flakes am and pm. Would weigh before I switched to make sure I knew.

- When people mention weight is it before soaking or after? I know it's just water, but it adds a TON of weight and I wasn't sure how that would affect it.

- I've seen some people soak theirs overnight but I've also heard mention that this can make them rancid. What gives? It would be best if we could soak overnight since the horses would be at home and I don't have water in the barn.

- How long do they keep? Like regular hay or shorter? Once the bag's open does it have to be used up within a certain time?

- Are there brands that are better than others or are they fairly comparable? I have some near me but couldn't tell you the name of them offhand. Also a TSC within reasonable distance.

[sk_pacer]

Hay cubes have roughly the same moisture content as 'real' hay. that being 12-14%, of course that can go down in super dry storage as it can with hay. You feed it pound for pound like regular hay but can feed somewhat less as there isn't any waste - no shatter, no weeds, no coarse stems as they watch the quality pretty closely. If you must soak it, you weigh before you soak, no point in weighing water. You will find cubes less dusty than regular hay.

Cubes keep about the same length of time before the nutrients degrade, opening a bag is no different than opening a bale, I would put them in a container, though, it gets old fast trying to scoop cubes out of a bag. I had the best luck so far with a large coffee can flattened a bit on one side of the rim, not perfect but it works.

Can't help you with a brand, but when I need cubes, I get either Master Feeds or some company from Bowden, Alberta. There are standards that should be met, at least in Canada, and nutrients seem consistant between those two brands for the same forage mix, straight alfalfa cubes will be different than alfalfa/grass mix and that different than straight grass.

[bvsporthorses]

check out this release on feeding guidlines from Alfatec

http://www.alfatec.ca/Calculate%20Cube%20Feeding%20Rate%20for%20Horses%2 0Jan%2008.pdf

hope that's helpful :)

[jn4jenny]

When people mention weight is it before soaking or after? I know it's just water, but it adds a TON of weight and I wasn't sure how that would affect it.

Well strictly speaking, you don't HAVE to soak. Many people do. But in the southwest US, it's common practice to feed them dry. Soaking is not reasonable down there because it would turn the cubes rancid.

Regarding rancid-ness, that's a function of weather. In hot weather, with hot water, the cubes can turn rancid within hours. In cold weather, even with hot water, it would take a long while--at least 24 hours IME. A lot of people take them into the house (or a semi-insulated tack room) and pour cold water on them, then let them soak overnight.

You will get a faster soak with hot water, like 10 to 15 minutes versus 30+ minutes for cold water. Some people feed them with so much water that it's like soup, but you don't have to. It doesn't take much water to get the cubes fluffy enough combat choke.

[equineartworks]

We soaked a handful for Dumplin' to quid everyday. Like Jn4jenny mentioned, we added enough water a bit at a time to make them fluffy like hay.

[AnotherRound]

What is dumplin to quid? :confused:

[equineartworks]

What is dumplin to quid? :confused:

lol!!!!! We soaked them for little Dumplin' the horse to eat and quid for the shear happiness of thinking he was eating hay instead of just his senior mush. :lol: He was missing more than a few teeth so nothing other than mush made it into his belly. :sadsmile:

[nightmoves]

TSC company has the best price on alfalfa cubes I have found but they only have alfalfa no timothy cubes. I feed LOTS of cubes here in Florida because they are my cheapest option and TSc is a mile from my house where I get them for 10.99 a bag Mine get approximately 8 pounds at a feeding (twice daily) and for those that need them soaked I cover the cubes in water and leave them 5-10 minutes, dump off the excess water and dump them in their tubs. It usually softens them enough they eat them easier but not too soft that they pack into the feed tub and they have problems getting them out. You may also try beet pulp for another roughage source for your COPD horse.
In warm weather I make sure to only soak an amount I know they will consume in an hour or so. In really cold weather you might resort to alfalfa pellets.

[dmalbone]

Thanks everyone so much for the info! I will have to go on the hunt for timothy/alf cubes though because my old lazy guy doesn't need much alfalfa! He's gotten pretty much straight grass with a TEENY bit of alfalfa for a long time now.

[AJHorsey]

I like Timothy/ Alfalfa or just plain Timothy cubes myself. A littler pricier in this area, but well worth the low dust and extra forage in the belly! I also soak mine year round, as I have too many visions of horses choking on it and not finding out until the next AM. Never worry about rancid- they get soaked and placed in a temperature controlled area- my tack room. (Heated in winter, cool in the summer.)

[dmalbone]

About those who soak overnight... what does that do to the nutritional value? I know you normally wouldn't do that with regular hay.

[jn4jenny]

About those who soak overnight... what does that do to the nutritional value? I know you normally wouldn't do that with regular hay.

Assuming you feed it with the water you soaked it in, nothing. Whatever you leached out of the hay will still be in the water.

[dmalbone]

Assuming you feed it with the water you soaked it in, nothing. Whatever you leached out of the hay will still be in the water.
Wow, can we forget I asked that question? :p That never crossed my mind. I'm used to soaking and rinsing my hay and then draining it.

[Pony Soprano]

We have fed cubes for almost 30 years and had great success with them. We are in an area where it is hard to get good hay consistently and cubes are the solution. I have used mostly alfalfa, but recently switched to timothy because that is what my current herd needed. I have only had 2 horses that had to have them soaked regularly, and that was because they were the type that would try to eat everything in front of them as fast as possible. Even then, the cubes only needed to be soaked for a short period to soften them. I do usually soak for a new horse in the barn that has never had them for a few days while they adjust.

They are really nice because they are easier to store than hay and the barn is much cleaner. I do buy hay when we are going on long trailering trips or a horse that has too have something to keep them busy.

[Hampton Bay]

I soak them more for the human peace-of-mind than anything. My boarder has had some darned bad luck with horses, and I do everything in my power to assure that her mare will not get injured on my property or under my watch! I would feel horrible if that happened.

In the winter, soaking them takes several hours, and they don't go rancid even if left overnight. During the summer, they will soak within 30 minutes with water from the barn. If it's below freezing, then I carry hot water from the house because I don't want to give them frozen soaked cubes.

I just use the alfalfa cubes from TSC, and they have always been consistent. We keep them in a RubberMaid tote, as the mice have no interest in them. The horses also get a good bit of nice coastal hay, so they are not getting just straight alfalfa.

My mare is actually in the best condition she has been in, even though she is 18 or 19. I do add SmartVite since they don't get any bagged feed and everybody is either working or growing.

[Leather]

I've feed them without soaking without a problem, but I think part of that is they were fed free-choice so there was no bolting of food.

If you can't do free-choice, here are some great ideas for feeders. They help spread the eating time out so the horse isn't starving between meals.

http://paddockparadise.wetpaint.com/page/Hay+Cube+Dispensers

[pines4equines]

We used to feed a lot of hay cubes. For one horse in particular, we had to feed them at ground level or he'd choke on them. We used a regular feed bucket and just set it on the floor in his stall.

If your horse is an easy keeper, stick with hay cubes rather than alfalfa cubes. The alfalfa can be way too fattening.

[nightmoves]

Sometimes I take them out and just throw them on a nice patch of grass and the horses can "graze" and pick them up. Then I call them "range cubes" lol Don't see why you couldn't do the same thing in the snow. I've never had to soak them for hours or overnight usually within 10 minutes if you cover them with water they'll swell up over the top of the bucket and break apart very easy.

[dmalbone]

I finally tracked down timothy/alfalfa cubes. straight timothy were an absolute no-go and nobody seems excited to even order them for me, even if they carry the other kind from that brand. Surprisingly it was a small farm type feed store that caters mostly to cows, sheep, etc. (basically everything but horses!) and I ran in there on a whim. They carry "bio cube" which I hope are ok. I did just notice looking on their site that I don't think they're the "select ones", but the sun-cured. Hope that's ok. http://www.bio-cube.com/products.php

Regardless, he got his first mush tonight and liked it. He wasn't super excited about it, but he did actually eat it. He's surprisingly addicted to his spirulina right now, so he was so obsessed with licking that bucket clean... I gave him 1 lb (I was shocked how much one little pound of cubes fluffs up to be!) and hope that's not too much since he's not on any alfalfa right now. Hopefully this will work out. If these aren't the greatest, I do have some feed stores that could order other brands for me (I think the triple crown alfa/tim cube maybe) but it needs to be a large order and I guess I wanted to make sure he'd eat them first.