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Discussion on Eureka! Breaking up hay cubes
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Member:
1sally
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Posted on Sunday, Nov 12, 2006 - 10:51 am:
For my senior horse with no teeth, I have been feeding soaked hay cubes for 6 years due to the added benefit of longer fiber. Unfortunately, many brands of cubes are similar to golf balls and require being broken up by hand both before and after soaking. I have tried methods for breaking up these cubes more efficiently in the past. Like running my car over the bags of cubes and slamming them with the bucket on my front end loader. But nary a cube was broken and I had the added joy of picking the broken bags out of the cubes.
Yesterday, the light bulb in my head finally lit up and I tried using a hand mixer on those little concrete "@*@"! It works GREAT! After soaking the cubes in VERY hot water for about a half hr, you just take the hand mixer to them and Voila! they're all broken up. I still go through then by hand to make sure I didn't miss anything, but that taken less than 5 mins.
For all of you out there that are getting carpal tunnel, tendonitis and bone splints from hay cubes, give the old mixer a try.
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Member:
petsu
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Posted on Friday, Jan 18, 2008 - 10:12 am:
I have an 35+ pony without back teeth. He will mouth hay and leave hay "cigars" in the pasture. I have been giving him forage cubes in the afternoon during the winter months. I also have a hard time with breaking them up, I usually soak them for two hours in Cold water, because someone told me the hot or warm water will kill the enzymes needed for digestion and he will colic. I did try warm water once ( i was in a hurry) and he did colic. Coincidence? I would really like to know , because a little warm forage during 0 degrees temp. sounds like a treat for an old retired pony. He also gets a senior feed 4 cups morning and night. I put in corn oil to help move through his digestive track easier. Otherwise he seems to DrOp manure in one huge ball that seems very dense. He is doing great so far. I would also be interested in any other "treat" he could manage. Thanks for any input.
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Member:
rockin
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Posted on Friday, Jan 18, 2008 - 11:34 am:
Hmm... well, we soak just about everything in hot/warm water before feeding it to our horses here in the winter (beet pulp, senior/pelleted feeds, hay cubes, etc.) and I've never seen an issue with it, so I would say yes, coincidence. The only reason I can see warm water being a problem is if you let the stuff sit for quite awhile and it got moldy.
As for other treats, anything that soaks to a soft texture is great for older horses, and beet pulp is a favourite for most horses I know. I even know people who soak beet pulp, hay cubes, and senior feed together as a huge mash for their oldies! Oh, and you could try adding ground flax seed to any of the mashes for some extra calories if he needs them.
Good luck finding some creative snacks 
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Member:
campr2
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Posted on Friday, Jan 18, 2008 - 2:54 pm:
Hi Debra,
I have been using warm water in my horses pellets for years and never a colic. When its cold out he loves the warm water mixture.
As far as the treats, I had a pony once that was older and we shredded up carrots and he loved them with no problems..just a thought.
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Member:
mysi
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Posted on Friday, Jan 18, 2008 - 9:47 pm:
Once a week I give my horses bran mash and in the winter always with warm water. It's supposed to be good to clean them out and keep everything moving along. I add molasses, sometimes fruit or apple sauce. In the summer I add frozen fruit as a cool treat. It's their favorite, they get so excited when they see it coming.
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