I've been hearing a lot about a product called Chaffhaye. It's basically fermented alfalfa in a plastic bag and is said to have good probiotics. Our feed store has started carrying it and I just bought a bag and am feeding a measured amount to the herd each day. They seem to love it.
Generally after deworming day I use a prebiotic like Ration Plus to encourage probiotic bacteria to thrive in the equines' digestive tracts.
I'm using this instead this go round and will see how it goes.
Anyone use Chaffhaye for probiotic reasons?
I'm considering using it instead of the alfalfa pellets I use for Keil Bay. Seems like the actual forage would be better than processed pellets.
billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
Is this the same sort of thing as haylage - used a lot in the UK?
ReplyDeleteKate, probably similar. It's alfalfa hay that is chopped and lightly sprayed with molasses, then inoculated with probiotic bacteria and bagged so it can "ferment."
ReplyDeleteIt is slightly moist and has a pleasant fermented smell. I won't be feeding it as a huge part of their diet at all but am hoping it could serve both as a probiotic "supplement" and since it's closer to forage I like the idea of using it instead of pellets. Once you open the bag you need to get through it within 10 or so days depending on the season and climate, so that will be the deciding factor here.
I have heard people say they love it and their horses do really well on it locally and supposedly people are buying it in neighboring counties by the truckload. It's also dust free so for a horse that has COPD it might be a really good option too.
Here in New Zealand, we call it haylage (made from hay)or chaffage (made from lucerne/alfafa). I'm a huge fan and think it is just the best thing to feed. We can get variations where they add timothy grass (lower energy) or grain, and the lucerne-only one has been proven to help with healing gastric ulcers. My coach's horse was on the trial that proved that and it has made him a much happier horse.
ReplyDeleteAwesome stuff!
Sharon, thanks so much - I would love to know more about the lucerne study. How wonderful for your coach's horse!
ReplyDeleteI have myself been on a fairly extreme "paleo for autoimmune disease" diet for the past month or so and part of what I have been eating on a daily basis is fermented foods and coconut kefir. I feel like the fermented stuff has made a big difference in my digestion. I'm now at the point where I am relaxing a bit and figuring out what things I can add back in, but when I opened the Chaffhaye and smelled the fermentation it gave me a good feeling. :)
I hope to be able to report some benefits soon.
I'll have to check this out. Or should I say have my horses professional dietician check it out (j) and see what she knows about it.. It sounds good.
ReplyDeleteWould love to hear what j thinks, Arlene!
ReplyDeleteBillie - have a look at their website www.fibrefresh.com. While I can't see a link to the ulcer study, you may be able to ask them for a copy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sharon, will do!!
ReplyDeleteJ. said that they had something like this in Scotland when she was there with Nate. I guess it was the haylage. And the horses in the barn there loved it. She would like to find it here for our horses.
ReplyDeleteArlene, Chaffhaye is the brand name and it is coming to small town feed store in NC so I feel sure you can get it up there. I like too that it has the nutritional breakdown on the bag so you can balance with the rest of the diet if you choose.
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