# What chaff to help weight gain?



## Embo (18 June 2013)

Hi all, 

I know there are a number of these kinds on threads at the moment, which I have read, but I wanted to get some specific advice on chaff.

I got my horse in February this year and he came to be a bit lean. And now, you've guessed it, I'm struggling to get any more weight onto him. 

He's currently on Allen & Page Calm & Condition and Mollichaff Calmer breakfast & dinner, stabled at night with ad-lib hay. He's only in light work so not burning too many calories there.

As we all know, the grass is late coming through this year and our field isn't very plentiful. 

I've been doing some reading and I think I'd like to try Alfa-A Oil, but I'm concerned that it might make him hot. Anyone have any experience/advice on this or what is a good alternative? 

He is prone to becoming hot & fizzy, hence all the 'calming' feed! I'm wary of adding any nuts/mix as his feeds are pretty big as they are now. But of course, any advice considered!

Worming is being done over the next few weeks and on the advice of a friend, I'm having his teeth double checked to rule anything out here, too. 

Any advice much appreciated and apologies for yet another weight-gain thread!! Thanks in advance.


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## be positive (18 June 2013)

You would probably be better off adding oil to his feed or even better micronised linseed, this will add calories without fizz and also without adding to the size of the feed but the main difference will probably be when he gets some decent grass.


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## StarlightMagic (18 June 2013)

I would be changing the C+C to something like baileys no 4 first! C+C is not a lot different to Fast Fiber which is for laminitics and fatties


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## Nudibranch (18 June 2013)

Can you switch to haylege instead of hay?

Good, old fashioned, boring sugar beet is good for weight gain - preferably unmolassed. Doesn't come in a jazzy bag or have a catchy name but it works!


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## sonjafoers (18 June 2013)

Spillers Conditioning Fibre - very palatable too


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## JillA (18 June 2013)

TBH the main use for chaff is to stop them bolting their feed too quickly - they would need to consume vast quantities to make any difference to their weight. For weight gain (assuming you have ruled out worms/teeth/ulcers etc) the best thing is micronised linseed, unmollassed beet pulp and either good grass OR top quality hay or haylage, plus maybe a decent vits/minerals  balancer.
Bucket feeds are rather like the icing on the cake of good quality forage - if the forage is insufficient or poor quality the icing isn't going to be a lot of use.


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## PolarSkye (18 June 2013)

Another one voting for oil . . . I would also add either micronised linseed and/or ERS Pellets from Dodson & Horrell . . . both are high oil, low starch, low sugar and non heating but are fab for building condition.

P


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## whizzer (18 June 2013)

I avoid too much alfalfa for my poor doer as it does hot him up. I've used the spillers conditioning chaff for quite a few years now & he loves it(v picky horse) & it seems to help with his weight. I also have used dried grass as a chaff as well,which he did well on & it's very cheap as well!


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## Nudibranch (19 June 2013)

Oil is fine but I don't see why you would add it to something "empty" like chaff for weight gain?! You wouldn't try and build someone up on All Bran with olive oil sprinkled over would you? You'd give something more substantial in the first place before adding a high calorie supplement on top of high fibre. I really would ditch the chaff (unless he bolts) for something non-heating, nutritious and weight building. Like unmolassed beet, micronised linseed, etc. Not necessarily a bag of commercial sugary mix. That's probably my personal bugbear though!

And a good quality haylege, ad lib, will make a big difference.


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## Embo (19 June 2013)

Thanks for the advice so far! 

I don't want to change too much too soon so I will probably go for the micronised linseed as a starting point - just checked with my local feedbarn and they do stock it so will grab some this weekend. 

I just have to be so cautious as he fizzes up at the slightest thing! Nightmare. Thank you all, keep any advice coming!


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## TGM (19 June 2013)

Nudibranch said:



			Oil is fine but I don't see why you would add it to something "empty" like chaff for weight gain?! You wouldn't try and build someone up on All Bran with olive oil sprinkled over would you?
		
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Oh dear, one of the common misconceptions of equine nutrition here!  Humans cannot digest fibre, hence high fibre foods such as All Bran are often used for dieters as it fills them up but doesn't supply lots of calories.

However, horses are different and CAN digest fibre, but some types of fibre are more easily digestible than others.  The fibre in straw, for example, is not easily digested, but grass and alfalfa are both sources of more highly digestible fibre and are therefore a good source of calories.  So whilst you might not want to give a straw chaff to a poor doer, grass and alfalfa based chaffs can be a useful way to get extra calories without feeding cereals.  Chaffs such as Alfafa A Oil and Readigrass, for example, contain as many calories as some conditioning cubes, weight for weight.

However, it is important to remember that chaff is a rather 'fluffy' feed so a scoop of chaff may look a lot, but will not weigh anywhere near as much as a scoop of conditioning cubes.  So if you are feeding chaff for weight gain, then it might be wise to weigh your scoops so you are aware of how much you are feeding.

That said, the disadvantage of chaff can be that it requires a lot of chewing and is filling, so not always ideal if the poor doer has a limited appetite.

And obviously, the most cost effective way of feeding fibre is through grass, hay or haylage, so best to up these first if possible, before feeding bucket loads of expensive chaff!


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## mrsh2010 (19 June 2013)

Embo, email Dengie, I just have, I explained to them that some chaffs make my lad excited, so I've asked them for a sample of their Alfa Oil, explained that it's been recommended to me but I was a little worried and they've happily agreed. Worth trying before spending out on a big bag


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## Embo (19 June 2013)

mrsh2010 said:



			Embo, email Dengie, I just have, I explained to them that some chaffs make my lad excited, so I've asked them for a sample of their Alfa Oil, explained that it's been recommended to me but I was a little worried and they've happily agreed. Worth trying before spending out on a big bag 

Click to expand...

lol thank you! Everyone loves a freebie!


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## wiglet (19 June 2013)

My poor doer is very fussy and won't eat Alfalfa - I've been told it's supposed to have a bitter taste... although I've not actually tasted it 
As others have said, micronsied linseed it brilliant for weight gain, I used it all winter with great results. We have good grazing so at the moment my poor doer is out 24/7 and looking rounder than she's looked in a long time.
If you're looking specifically for a chaff though, I've used Spillers Conditioning Chaff in the past (no problems with palatability) and last winter I used Mollichaff Condition which my girl loved although it does contain barley and soya flakes.


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## 9tails (19 June 2013)

I'm a fan of only feeding stuff that's worth feeding, so I prefer to add Graze On or Readigrass as a chaff substitute.  If the horse isn't getting enough grass, then adding grass can do little harm.  I also feed micronised linseed and rate that.


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## Achinghips (19 June 2013)

On top of your current regime,  add a mug of veg oil a day to add fat as more calories.   To build muscle, on the other hand,  add a protein balancer, some conditioning cubes and take out the c and c, then  exercise more.


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## Embo (20 June 2013)

Thanks all, I will definitely start changing things soon. Getting the linseed this weekend, so will start on that. Then once other feed-stuffs start running out (still got a whole bag of Molli-calmer and half a bin-full of C&C) will start changing these over, too.

He came to me on this diet so didn't think to change anything. Only when his winter coat came away and it got warmer did I realise that it was obviously not working! 

TBH I'm quite suprised that so many of you have said to ditch the C&C - I was always under the impression that it was really good! Obviously now I can see for myself that it's not really worked for my boy... but hey ho, you live and learn!

Thanks for advice, all. Really helpful.


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## katiebalmer (21 June 2013)

My gelding can be excitable but is a poor doer, losing condition and weight in winter. He was on Alfa-A Oil, winter just gone, which put weight on and didn't fizz him up. I would highly recommend it!


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## Nudibranch (23 June 2013)

TMG - what, horses can digest fibre? Really? You mean they might actually need high levels of fibre for gut health? Never....

My point was that there is no point feeding either a genuine chaff nor a highly processed, sugary conditioning feed. There is a middle way involving decent levels of fibre but with accessible, digestible calories which would be something like the already mentioned ad lib forage, unmolassed beet or adding linseed, etc, etc.

The All Bran comparison may not be an exact model to compare but the message is that feeding many of the commercial chaffs then topping them up with a product like oil for this purpose is throwing money away, especially when the op has said her horse responds badly to some.

Personally, I avoid alfalfa based products ;-)


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## Tnavas (23 June 2013)

be positive said:



			You would probably be better off adding oil to his feed or even better micronised linseed, this will add calories without fizz and also without adding to the size of the feed but the main difference will probably be when he gets some decent grass.
		
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Very good idea - Oil is a slow release form of energy and also great for putting on weight.

Chaff in itself is not that fattening - you'd be surprised how little amount of hay is in a bucket of feed.


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## Pinkvboots (23 June 2013)

I feed alpha oil to my arab and as long as his worked everyday his fine but yes i think it can hot some up its like feeding a conditioning feed, i would try unmollassed sugar beet i also feed this mainly in winter great for weight and cheap.


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## 4x4 (24 June 2013)

I had the same problem in the winter, not wanting to feed commercial 'sugary' feeds but it was so cold and so wet for so long that my normal beet/linseed/chaff/oil/hay diet wasn't providing enough calories, I do put the chaff in to make the feed a bit more chewy, I stepped down from alfalfa as I thought it was making her more spooky in the quantities I was feeding.  So when she really dropped off I got a bag of A + Ps Veteran (non heating) and added to it Baileys outshine, but didn't feed in the quantities they recommended as I was still feeding my 'normal' diet - result, now we have a little bit of grass, horse looks healthy again, also been wormed and teeth done, so it's put my mind at rest, not cushings or anything else scary, just a cold winter and a very late spring!


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## MagicMelon (24 June 2013)

I'd try Alfa A Oil.  I've never had any of mine go fizzy on it (and I have one in particular who was very prone to fizziness).  The only way to tell is to try it, you can always stop it.


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