19/07/2026
A great post re feeding chaff and the importance of horses having ad lib hay available ❤️🐎
1) It’s short and prickly and gets stuck between teeth where it irritates the gums, causing painful inflammation, tooth decay and infection.
2) It’s short and prickly which irritates the stomach - it’s important to have forage in the stomach to prevent ulcers, especially before exercising, but chaff is a bad choice. Hay produces up to 50X more saliva than chaff and silva is a super buffer to the acid in the stomach.
3) Feeds don’t need fibre - your horse only needs vitamins/minerals and protein when extra calories are needed. They don’t need fibre in their feeds as they should be eating ad-lib (or as close to) fibre all day. Adding beat to balancer/cubes is much better at reducing the risk of choke and absorbing supplements/medication.
4) Feeds don’t need “bulking” - the smaller the feed the better it will be digested. The more you feed, the quicker the gut moves it along. Adding a load of chaff to a feed causes the horse to empty its stomach into the hindgut quicker, often before it’s been fully digested and nutrients absorbed. Not only does the horse not get the full benefit of the feed (wasting your money) but partially digested food upsets the hindgut.
5) It’s really expensive for what it is - why are you paying so much for fibre? Hay is vastly cheaper per KG!
6) Many commercial brands of chaff are coated to make them less dusty, less coarse and palatable. These additives - even if not molasses - often aren’t good for your horse.
