Are Grass Pellets Good For Horses?

Grass pellets are a widely used and nutritious feed for horses which we use as a beneficial ingredient throughout our feeds. Grass pellets are highly palatable, help support digestive health and provide your horse with the benefits of fresh summer grass all year round!

Are pellets better than hay?

Horses often eat hay pellets faster than traditional hay because the smaller, ground particles are easy to chew and swallow. Hay pellets also do not provide any long-stem forage. However, for horses with poor teeth, soaking these pellets can still provide important fiber and nutrients.

Do you soak grass pellets for horses?

To reduce the risk of choke when fed as the sole feed without chopped fibre alongside and for those that struggle to chew please soak Grass Pellets prior to feeding – as a pure fibre pellet, at times the Grass Pellets can absorb lots of water and swell. To soak Grass Pellets you can use hot or cold water.

Is pelleted feed good for horses?

Pelleted Feeds
However, pellets blend the ingredients into “nuggets”; this makes equine pellets perfect for horses who tend to pick through their feed, eating the parts they like, and leaving behind the parts they don’t like.

Are hay cubes or pellets better?

There is no nutritional difference between alfalfa pellets and cubes, so the choice between the two is based on which type your horses prefer and which you prefer to feed and store. Alfalfa pellets, cubes, and hay provide the same essential nutrients per pound.

Can I feed my horse hay pellets instead of hay?

Like forage cubes, forage pellets can be fed just like hay, at a 1:1 ratio to replace hay. Forage pellets are the fiber choice for horses that have lost teeth or have poor dentition since forage pellets can easily be soaked in water to form a mash or slurry.

What can I feed my horse instead of hay?

Six Hay Alternatives for Horses

• Bagged chopped forage. It can replace all of your horse’s hay, if necessary.
• Hay cubes. Chopped cubed hay (usually alfalfa or timothy or a combination) is another 100-percent replacement.
• Hay pellets.
• “Complete” feed.
• Beet pulp.
• Soybean hulls.

Is it cheaper to feed hay or pellets?

More Expensive
​Pelleted, cubed and chopped forage costs more per pound than baled grass hay.

How long do grass pellets last?

Generally speaking, a pelleted feed stored in ideal conditions won’t begin to lose nutritional quality until it is approximately 6 months old. That’s a long time for a feed to still be good! On the other hand, textured feed tends to lose nutritional quality around 90 days from date of manufacture.

Are grass pellets good for weight gain?

For those with poor teeth Dengie Meadow Grass with Herbs, Hi-Fi Senior and soaked products such as Alfa-Beet or Grass Pellets are highly digestible, promote weight gain and are soft and easy to chew.

What pellets should I feed my horse?

Grain based pellets are not as healthy for your horse as hay pellets are. Beet pulp is fine if you prefer it, but has lower protein and higher sugar generally than alfalfa pellets. I prefer hay pellets (NOT cubes) because they are ground and pressed which makes them very digestible.

What is the best feed to feed a horse?

Many pleasure and trail horses don’t need grain: good-quality hay or pasture is sufficient. If hay isn’t enough, grain can be added, but the bulk of a horse’s calories should always come from roughage. Horses are meant to eat roughage, and their digestive system is designed to use the nutrition in grassy stalks.

What do pellets do for horses?

Nutritionally balanced pellets to support horses with high workloads as well as growing young horses. Containing superior calcium and phosphorus levels, coupled with high vitamin A, D and E, this versatile feed is highly digestible and palatable.

Do horses need pellets?

Forage is the base of all horses’ diets, and all horses need at least 1% of their weight per day in a high quality forage such as grass, hay or alfalfa pellets.

Do hay pellets need to be soaked?

Hay cubes can be fed wet or dry. When first introduced it may be advisable to wet the cubes as the horse will have easier time biting off small chunks to chew at one time. As a horse becomes accustomed to eating them, they can typically be fed dry. With that said, wetting the cubes should not be discounted completely.

Can alfalfa pellets replace hay for horses?

These pellets do not have particles big enough to stimulate the horse’s digestive tract. This means that alfalfa pellets, while good for the horse, do not promote a healthy tract. They lack long-stem fibers and cannot replace hay. However, they can replace the calories that hay provides safely.

How many pounds of pellets should a horse get a day?

Answer. The quantity of pellets fed depends on how much the horses will eat. You could start with adding 1 lb (0.45 kg) per day per horse and see how well they tolerate it. Then you can slowly increase the amount as desired.

How many pellets do you feed a horse?

For most horses, it is recommended they recieve 2-3% of their body weight in feedstuff per day. For a 1200 lb horse, that would equal 24 to 36 lb of feedstuff per day. Of this, a minimum of 1.5% of body weight in forage daily is recommended and many horses will benefit from feeding above the minimum recommendation.

Can horses choke on hay pellets?

You will hear all kinds of myths that pellets, cubes or beet pulp cause choking, but in reality a horse can choke on any type of food under the right conditions. Horses have been known to choke on hay, apples and even grass!

Do horses prefer grass or hay?

While most horses do well and thrive on a grass hay diet, other horses with different needs and medical conditions are better suited to being fed a diet of grass/alfalfa mix, or an exclusively all alfalfa.

What’s better for horses hay or grass?

And sure — it’d be nice to have access to green pastures year-round, but feeding your horse hay is nearly as good (and sometimes better) than feeding grass. It’s convenient to feed, helps your horse maintain a healthier digestive system, and can help keep him happy and occupied if he does have to be stall-bound.