By Theresa Gibilisco, owner, The Hungry Puppy
Some winters the phone starts ringing in January with the same problem. The hay guy is sold out, the loft is half empty, and spring grass is still months away. When that happens, people ask us about three things: hay stretcher, hay pellets and hay cubes. They aren't the same, and the differences matter. Here are the questions we actually get, answered the way I'd answer them at the counter.
What's the difference between a hay stretcher, hay pellets and hay cubes?
Hay cubes are chopped hay pressed into cubes about two and a half inches across. They're still hay, just compressed.
Hay pellets are hay ground fine and pressed into pellets. Still forage, but with no long stems left.
A hay stretcher is a complete feed with roughage built in, plus added vitamins and minerals. It's part feed and part forage in one pellet, and it's labeled to stretch your hay or, when it has to, replace it.
The University of Kentucky's extension service puts the plain hay products simply: a pound of cubes or pellets can replace a pound of hay, and processing doesn't change how digestible the forage is. A hay stretcher works a little differently because it's a fortified feed, so you follow its label instead of swapping pound for pound.
What is Purina Impact Hay Stretcher?
Purina Impact Hay Stretcher is a pelleted complete feed with roughage built in, made to stretch or replace hay and pasture when forage is short or poor. Purina says it suits any life stage and is fortified with vitamins and minerals. According to Purina, one pound replaces 1 to 2 pounds of the hay your horse would have eaten.
The guaranteed analysis is 11.5% crude protein (min), 2% crude fat (min) and 26% crude fiber (max). If you're using it to replace all of the forage, Purina's table for a 1,000 lb horse is 16.5 lb a day at maintenance, 18.3 lb in light work and 22 lb in moderate work. Purina also says to weigh the feed now and then and adjust by up to 10% to hold your horse's condition.
What are the ingredients in Purina Impact Hay Stretcher?
People search for this one a lot, and the honest answer is that Purina doesn't post the ingredient list on its website or its sell sheet. The full list is printed on the feed tag sewn into every bag, and Purina will answer questions at 800-227-8941. You'll see ingredient lists for it floating around online, but we can't confirm those match the current formula, so go by the tag on your own bag. If your horse is on a low sugar diet, read that tag with your vet before using any hay stretcher.
Is Nutrena Triumph Complete a hay stretcher too?
Yes. Some people know it as "the Triumph hay stretcher." Nutrena Triumph Complete is an all in one 12% protein pellet that combines fiber and grain, and Nutrena sells it to stretch or replace hay. It has controlled starch with prebiotics, plus lysine and methionine, organic trace minerals and biotin.
The label rates are by body weight. At maintenance, feed 1.5 lb per 100 lb of body weight as the whole ration, or 0.5 lb per 100 lb when you're feeding it with hay. For a 1,000 lb horse, that's 15 lb a day with no hay, or about 5 lb a day alongside hay.
Should I buy a hay stretcher or plain hay pellets?
It depends on what else is in the bucket.
- If you're replacing a big share of the hay for weeks, a hay stretcher makes sense because the vitamins and minerals come along with the fiber.
- If your horse already eats a fortified feed or a ration balancer and you just need more forage, plain pellets or cubes are usually the better fit. We carry Standlee Timothy Grass Pellets and alfalfa pellets.
- Alfalfa is richer than grass hay, so if your horse is an easy keeper, timothy is usually the safer place to start.
Don't stack fortified feeds on top of each other without a reason. If your horse is getting a full ration of hay stretcher, ask us or your vet whether he still needs the balancer you were feeding.
Are hay cubes better than hay pellets?
Cubes keep more of the fiber length, so they're closer to hay. Pellets are easier to measure and store. Either way, horses have to chew them properly, and choke is the real risk. Kentucky's extension recommends soaking cubes or pellets for 30 to 60 minutes. That softens them and gets extra water into the horse, which is a bonus in winter.
Our cubes are Triple Crown Alfalfa/Timothy Cubes, Triple Crown Timothy Balance Cubes and Triple Crown Alfalfa Cubes.
Can a horse live on pellets with no hay at all?
Hay stretchers are labeled to replace all the hay, and in a true shortage that's what they're for. Still, Kentucky's extension advises against plain pellets as a horse's only forage because they have no long stems. A bucket of pellets is gone in minutes, while hay keeps a horse chewing for hours. My advice: keep at least some long stem hay in the diet if you can find it, and if you truly can't, follow the stretcher's label for full replacement and keep your vet in the loop.
How do I switch my horse over?
Slowly, over a week or two. Swap a little hay for the new product each day. Weigh what you're feeding, because pellets and cubes are much denser than a flake of hay and it's easy to guess wrong. When the daily amount gets big, split it into several meals instead of one or two large ones.
How should I store hay stretcher, pellets and cubes?
Treat them like any bagged feed. Keep the bags dry and up off the concrete on a pallet, and keep what's open in a metal can with a tight lid so mice and moisture stay out. Buy what you'll use in a few weeks rather than a whole winter at once. If a bag smells musty, has clumps or shows any mold, don't feed it.
Which one should I pick for my horse?
- Hay is short and your horse is on an unfortified feed or none at all: a hay stretcher (Purina Impact Hay Stretcher or Nutrena Triumph Complete)
- Hay is short and your horse is already on a balancer or fortified feed: timothy pellets or cubes
- Senior with poor teeth: soaked cubes, or a complete senior feed (see our Triple Crown guide)
- Hay is fine but dusty: soak or steam the hay, or swap part of it for soaked cubes, and talk to your vet if he's coughing
Can you deliver it before the snow?
That's what we do. Our drivers bring hay stretcher, pellets and cubes to the barn in our own trucks Tuesday through Friday on your town's route day, free with a $20 minimum, and they carry the 50 lb bags so you don't have to. Order by 5pm the day before your delivery day. For route days and bulk orders, see our farm feed delivery page, or call 732-938-4470. For the rest of the cold weather plan, read feeding horses through a New Jersey winter.