# Feeding Hay Cubes



## Breezy2011 (Nov 23, 2012)

I recently moved my horses to an old farm site, with no running water (so we have to haul it ourselves), and nobody living there, and no other horses, hay, or anything but a few corrals. I had to move them because the place we were at basically kicked me out, gave me less then 24 hours to move my horses, and didn't give me a good reason why (says it was because 'it wasn't working out and not what we agreed on' however that is not true, but either way...) 

So now I have 2 horses living about 20 minutes away from me. I have no hay yet (fine for now, there is a lot of grass) and can't seem to find any in my area, or within 2 hours, that sells square hay bales that I can afford. 

So I have been thinking about buying hay cubes instead. But I have a few questions. 

The hay cubes I am looking at are Alfatec Alfalfa and Timothy mix. The site has a calculator on how much to give per day, etc, but...

1. Would I need to go out 2-3x per day to give them their required amount, or, would 1 feeding a day be okay for them? I will only be able to make it out 1 time a day, especially in winter. 

2. In winter, would it be sufficient enough to keep them warm and healthy, instead of having them munch on a round bale all day to stay warm? They will have a shelter, with straw. And I am still going to get hay, just not as much as I need. Would probably throw them 1/2 a square bale before I leave, or if I have to, a full bale. And if I can get rounds, leave them a round bale for really cold days. 

3. Can anyone tell me how much 1 big bag of Alfatec hay cubes cost, for those that use them?


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

You would need to call the company that sells hay cubes for the cost. They are probably more expensive than a round bale. Yes you would need to go out twice a day to feed the cubes.
you need to feed ten pounds of cubes per thousand lbs of horse. You need someplace dry to store the cubes. Wet cubes cannot sit around without molding .


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## rookie (May 14, 2012)

I am feeding cubes to my gelding currently to help him gain weight. Its given in addition to 24/7 pasture and grain. It has helped put the weight on him; however, its expensive. He goes through 1 40 pound bag a week. He has access to the cubes in his stall for maybe 40 minutes a day. The cubes are placed in a 5 gallon bucket and he has that bucket refilled every 3 days. One bag costs around 12 dollars which is around the price of one bale of horse hay down here (bad hay season). 

If he was eating only the cubes I could probably easily double that amount. Cubes are nice, but some horses choke on them so you have to be aware. Likewise, keeping them in a clean dry place can be a challenge. It works for my gelding because it has achieved what I wanted which was to help him put on some weight and it keeps him from pacing/rearing in his stall. If he was fat and quiet in the stall I wouldn't buy them and I would not use them as the sole source of forage just because it would be expensive in both cost and time.


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## Chasin Ponies (Dec 25, 2013)

A lot of my friends have tried the hay cubes but ended up using them up as "treats" for their horses and then going back to hay. They aren't even sold in my area anymore as they seemed to be more of a fad than a solution. 
As Rookie has noted, when you do the math and compare to round or square bales, they are incredibly expensive.

Round bales available 24/7 will probably be your best bet given the fact that you can only get out there once a day. Round bales are s_upposed_ to be quite a bit cheaper than individual square bales but some of my friends have been cheated buying those too. They were told that their round bale equaled x number of square bales but that didn't turn out to be the case. You have to know the weight of what you are buying and the normal equivalent of round to square. Ask a couple of hay farmers and compare the answers you get. Round is a lot harder to store but should end up to be your cheapest choice.


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## rookie (May 14, 2012)

Round bales are harder to store and move (as a single person sans tractor) there is also significant hay waste if allowed to free feed which is why a net or feeder is required.


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## Breezy2011 (Nov 23, 2012)

Thanks everyone! Maybe I will skip the hay cubes. Hay in my area is $100 for a round bale and $6-10 for a square. We also don't have a tractor or anything to move a round bale with, so that is why I am wanting square bales, however, no one seems to be making them around here, so we will have to travel. 

If we can find a few decent priced rounds, we may try getting some, and try rolling, or dragging them behind our pick-up truck to get it in the pen, or see about borrowing a small tractor. 

But my plan for the squares is to give them enough to last them until the next day, but putting it into a couple different feeders and hanging a few hay nets (possibly in their shelter), and only give them round bales (if we have any) when it is suppose to be really cold, or I know I can't make it for a day or so.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

My late input, but wanted to add my 2¢.

I used to feed Oat/Alfalfa cubes exclusively for about 12-13 years. My horses did GREAT on them and I loved their ease, convenience, lack of waste and lack of mess. I used to take my truck down to the cube place and they would just load as much as my bed would hold. It would last me about 6 weeks and was about $200, give/take depending on prices when I bought. Unfortunately for me, my cube place went out of business. 

So I switched to alfalfa hay, which, in CA, is VERY pricey right now (about $17/bale - we get the oblong bales that weight anywhere between 90-135 lbs.) I still buy in bulk (thanks to my trainer who I piggy back off his order), so I have enough right now to last me for the year. 

But I much prefer feeding cubes. I am going to look into getting a couple of huge bags 1200#) bags that they can just dump in my truck bed (I have a bigger truck now!) But, as mentioned above, you have to have some place to store them that they don't get wet. I liked them SOO much better than feeding baled hay.

I did start getting some of the 50# bags of timothy/alfalfa cubes for my arab mare (part of her diet plan), but it IS expensive to buy it by the 50# bag. Hopefully it will not last too long that I will have to do that ...


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

"if I can't make it out for a day or so"

Considering where you are, what are they going to drink when the bucket/tub freezes solid? I am a water fanatic.


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## Breezy2011 (Nov 23, 2012)

Dustbunny, they will have a large water trough that is heated in the winter time. Freezing hopefully won't be an issue, however, on -40 C days or colder I will be going for sure to check their water and break the ice if there is any. We also haul water a lot. 

I am not concerned at all about water.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

When horses are relying on hay as their only/primary forage, they need 1.5-3% of their body weight daily, whether it's in the form of baled hay, cubes, or pellets. They will need even more when it's cold (just thinking about -40 degrees makes me want to crawl under my blankets and never come out!)

Cubes are much more expensive than square or round bales in my area, especially if you have the space to buy and store a year's worth of bales at one time.

I've never fed cubes or pellets as a primary forage source, but I can imagine it would be difficult to feed them in a way that avoids long periods without food. My horse is a bit of a hay vacuum, but even with regular hay in a slow feeder hay net it's hard to give him enough at night to last all the way until morning. I don't know if there are any slow feeder solutions out there for cubes at all, so I don't know that they would work unless you could feed at least 3 meals a day.


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