HAY CUBES AND CHAFFS

WHY THEY ARE SO HELPFUL

Ponies should have a diet based around forage. Forage includes hay, grazing, high-fibre cubes, chaffs, and even super fibres such as soya hulls and beet products. Without fibre, which is the main type of nutrition in any form of forage, your pony's digestive system cannot function as well as it should.

Energy from forage

Fibre meets your pony's need for bulk and is broken down in the hindgut via a process called fermentation. Fermentation is performed by the billions of microorganisms that live in the hindgut of your pony, and this fermentation converts plant-based carbohydrates into volatile fatty acids (VFA), which provide energy for your pony.

Trickle feeders

Ponies are trickle feeders that rely on continual forage intake, with fresh grass and high-quality hay being the best places to start to ensure a healthy pony.

Chewing

Another great benefit of forage, particularly to stabled ponies, is the length of time and the number of chews it takes to eat both long-stemmed (hay) and short-stemmed forages (chaffs, cubes). This not only helps to mirror natural grazing behaviours and satisfy their natural need to chew, but it can also help to reduce stereotypical behaviours, such as cribbing.

Saliva, which is a natural gastric acid buffer, is only produced when our ponies chew, but gastric acid is produced all the time. So, the longer ponies are kept chewing, the more they can buffer the gastric acid their stomach produces. This is really important in ponies struggling with gastric ulcers.

Why hay cubes?

The quality of grazing in South Africa can vary wildly, and at certain times of the year, grazing within paddocks may be reduced and/or it may be hard to find good quality hay. Therefore, using a consistent, easy-to-digest forage alternative such as hay cubes or chaff to support the pony's amount and quality of forage may be worthwhile.

Hay cubes are an ideal alternative for many ponies as they can be used in situations where large amounts of long-stemmed hay is not ideal. For example:

• They can be used for ponies with respiratory issues as they limit their exposure to dust and spores.

• They are ideal for ponies struggling with inflammatory disorders of the bowel, as long-stemmed hay can irritate the gut.

• They are great for older ponies or those struggling with dental issues. These ponies benefit from hay cubes as they often struggle to chew and fully digest long-stemmed hay and chaffs.

• They can be useful for hard-working ponies who sometimes lose their appetite during competition, leading to reduced forage intake. This reduced intake of forage may expose ponies to digestive upsets and lead to a loss of weight. Hay cubes can be ideal under these circumstances as they can provide additional fibre for better digestive health.

• They are easy to store and transport, making them an excellent option for performance ponies.

Chaffs are particularly useful for adding bulk and, thus chew time to a pony's diet. Chaffs can be particularly helpful in several circumstances, including:

• For feeding ponies that rush to eat their concentrate feed, as it means more chews per bite, which ultimately slows them down.

• They are also helpful for good-doers as the bulk from chaff provides something for the bucket, which satisfies the pony's chewing needs without adding large amounts of calories.

• For the high-performance pony, chaff can be a useful way of adding a little extra fibre to each meal.

Final thoughts

Forage is essential for a healthy pony and with the current grass shortages, it is definitely worth considering the benefits of using a good hay replacer cube or chaff to keep your pony's gut working as it should!