20 Best Hay For Insulin Resistant Horses (2023 Updated)

I was so excited to use this for mulch and had looked at other reviews. It did very very well to help keep the water in my garden. However, I have so much sprouting from the seeds that were in the bail that I would not recommend it for your garden if you can’t manage that.

I’m sure it’ll be okay once I’m able to turn up all the soil. But that won’t be till the fall and in the meantime there’s so much grass growing in my garden it’s ridiculous It is a good soft quality product.

I would definitely recommend for animal bedding. However, if you can’t have lots of grass growing in your garden you might want to try another product.

Short Version – I will never buy this product again. Used it as mulch in the garden and in 40 years of gardening I’ve never had straw with so much (wheat) seed trashing the garden. Might as well have used hay.

Long version. My wife and I started gardening nearly 40 years ago and we vividly remember one of those early years when we decided to try mulching to control weeds. We picked up a couple hay bales at a nearby farm and mulched away.

Needless to say we learned we needed to use,straw (not hay) and vowed never again to put hay in the garden. Over the years we’ve found local farmers where we’ve been able to get clean straw and have had good luck using that.

This year was different, between Covid and the straw bale garden rage our local farmers were sold out. We were up the creek. So, when I saw the compressed bales at TSC, I thought great, this is perfect – the packaging made them very easy to carry and kept the trunk clean even without a tarp! I was thrilled.

Plus I could get contactless pickup. The bales were mighty convenient and dang, they looked clean. It was great and at that point was a 5 star rating Ar home, I had just replanted our strawberry beds and applied corn gluten to help keep the weeds down – this has worked well for us in the past.

Then I applied the straw as mulch – the beds looked great and we looked forward a weed free harvest. Now, in fairness we didn’t have problems with traditional weeds but a couple weeks after mulching their was wheat everywhere I had mulched.

Adding insult to injury ‘weed wheat’ was setting root in spite of the gluten. Given this experience, I cannot recommend this product for use as a garden mulch. (Now, if you wanted to mulch grass seed with it and wouldn’t mind a wheat grass yard.

then sure, go for it. ) For me it was a waste of money and it created a boatload of work. Never again.

it is definitely not seed free. the straw was used as a mulch for winter soil protection and is presently sprouting an abundant crop of wheat. The growth isn’t as dense as the non certified straw used in other parts of the garden.

The one benefit of that wheat growth is that the cut wheat will help to preserve the nitrogen in the soil when the cut green stalks are turned into the soil next spring. However it is extra work that we would have liked to avoid.

Not that great of quality by any means. My rabbits would barley even touch it. I can’t blame them considering it smelled like vinegar and left a weird dry and greasy film on my hands after touching it.

Very weird. I do not recommend this hay at all.

Our bunny is waiting for this every single morning when we freshen up his hay holder. He gladly sits in his litter box and chomps on this. I am taking one star off because as you get to the bottom of the bag, the hay is just a bunch of small pieces and this tends to make a mess.

Our birds love playing with this hay. We have finches and a small parrot. We bought them some of the smaller chicken hay balls and we stuff them with the hay. Within a couple days, they have pulled out all the hay and beg us to stuff their hay balls again.

It’s became a fun toy for them and keeps them busy most of the day. And it keeps me busy too.

My icelandic came down with laminitis. I started this product along with icing feet twice a day for 10 min, put on soft boots, soaked his hay and removed all sugars from his diet. Today is day 5 on this product.

I noticed an improvement on day 4, today day 5 is even better. I am convinced this product made the difference. His feet are no longer warm, he isn’t limping anymore and is back to looking like his old self.

Thank you so much for this product I cannot say that enough.

Dottie our new Molly Mule came to Penna from Idaho, she became foot sore. Blood work by her veterinarian showed Equine Metabolic Syndrome. Penna cool season grass pasture is too rich. The hyperinsulinemic equine is intolerant of certain types of diet and management.

This is a management and care issue with no real cure. The solution is to avoid the triggers that can get her into trouble. Treatment for equines with EMS and for equines with Insulin Resistance, is a low-carb, low-fat, and mineral-balanced diet and exercise.

Heiro has the minerals needed to help balance her diet. After 30 days use Dottie is sound. We just purchased more.

I put two of my overweight mares on this stuff and they both dropped weight in the first month. Super impressed with it! I thought maybe I was imagining it, but my daughter came home from college and she noticed their weight loss also.

Their coats still look great and they seem to love the taste, so I purchased more. I?m going to keep them on it as long as they need it. Anything to help them be happy & healthy! Now. If they?d only make it for us humans?.

I love this feed however I order 2 bags from chewy at $60 a bag. (Mind Blowing)…. What a received was 2 bags of old outdated feed. They have to be at least a year old. The bags I received have the old label/bag with a bay/brown horse on them.

Blue seal changed bags to what chewy has displayed with a white horse over a year ago. I have been feeding my horses this feed for over 5 years so I know the difference. Not to mention I can smell the rancid feed without even opening the bags.

Now I’m stuck with 100lbs of bad feed. I will be call Chewy Monday morning.

Sentinel Performance has proven to be an all around food source for all of our equine. It’s balance of supplements meets our needs, not just for our working equine but also our senior. The protein, fat, and low starch content are ideal, not just on the performance level but for our older herd members.

Plus, our horses have amazing coats year round.

Thankful for this feed! I have a picky 17 y/o Thoroughbred who is a very hard keeper. She refuses to eat oil, powders or anything that is a mash. She hates beet pulp, hates hay pellets, and will pick through her soaked hay cubes.

I have tried every other high fat feed out there that she would just turn her nose up to or not finish her food. Started using the Blue Seal Sentinel LS and she gobbles up her food! She gets a powder joint supplement and before she would leave the powder behind.

Now she licks her bowl clean.

I grow my garden no-till and these pellets are critical to my success in canning months of food every year. Same thing as alfalfa meal (but in pellets). Google it. Soak pellets in water for 30 minutes or grind them and it becomes meal.

Anyway, put these pellets in your beds in Fall then water them in. Repeat in Spring. Add a little in each planting hole to attract worms (bc worm castings are the best fertilizer). Also contains trace minerals & some hormone that greatly enhances growth/bloom.

RKO has the best price by $2 and they’ll even load it for you. So get some!.

Kaytee Timothy Hay in their Plus series are all excellent! At least according to Mokita, my Huge Black Wabbit. Mokita likes all the Plus series. To be honest carrot is his favorite, but they are all good.

It seems that since Wabbit’s diet is like 95% hay that making it more interesting is a good thing. None of the Plus varieties are rich enough too be a problem. The mango is perhaps one you might limit a bit.

Thanks, Kaytee for the great products for our exotics!.

My bunny likes this hay specifically because of the carrot treats mixed in. I used to buy this kind often but stopped when I noticed the price increased. I decided to buy it again and noticed there are BARELY any carrots.

I’m not sure if I got a bad bag or if they are really skimping on the carrots. Either way, I thought with the price increase there would be the same amount of carrots as there used to be but that is not the case.

Won’t be buying it again.

I have been using this product for about 4 years on a Shetland pony mini cross and a mini horse they have been overweight and now they are at a perfect weight. Both my boys have ended up with laminitis in their senior years.

One is 29 and the other is 28. I also give them a few handfuls of equine senior so they will take their medication (just a sweet bite) lol. I highly recommend this product I believe its the best one on the market! I just wish there were more coupons available for these products ! ALL of my animals eat purina Rabbits,dogs,cats,goats and my mini’s Thanks as always for making amazing products for ALL species ! We also use your lamb and swine with our 4-H kids too !!.

I have a 20 yr old Paso Fino mare who is an extremely easy keeper. She became quite obese on grass hay/pasture and a diet “balancer”. I put her on this feed along with a little less rich grass hay – WEIGHING everything as required, and she lost weight in the first 30 days.

Because I’m using a weight tape, the weights, I’m sure are only numbers and not 100% accurate – but she taped out on day 1 at 1142 lbs and 30 days later taped out at 1003 lbs. I do not think she actually lost 139 lbs in one month, but she LOST weight and that is what matters.

I will continue to monitor her at 2 week intervals now and adjust the feed program as necessary. Very pleased with this product as she does not chew down the fences being “starved” on less feed. This product keeps her appetite satisfied with less calories.

My horse is on a thyroid medicine, but otherwise sound and healthy. I don’t ride very often and thus he battles weight gain. Basically, he needs NO DAILY GRAIN. I am concerned for his overall health, longevity and his hoof health.

So, at the boarding stable, I requested that he only be fed a cup of the feed they use to provide him something when the other horses were being fed. Again, he doesn’t NEED to be grained at all, but I understand feeding time woes if one horse doesn’t get fed.

Plus, he needed something to mix the powdered thyroid meds with and water down. Switching to a low-fat food meant that I had to provide the product to the barn. I went one step further, and provide containers of this product for each day of the week.

I also provide a vitamin supplement. My horse still battle weight, but has slimmed down quite a bit. Plus, he eats all the food (wet with his meds), and therefore I know he’s getting his meds.

Very very fine chopped and dusty and then some. Tried putting it in a hay feeder and it just all fell threw. The bale I received was nowhere near green or soft. It is yellow, brown, and hard on the ends.

This is awful hay. I wasted money on this terrible hay. The dust was overwhelming to me and my fur babies. My goats were sneezing so badly and would not eat a bite of this dust in a bag. Unacceptable.

HI! I ordered over 50 hay bales to keep supply since I have 4 percherons (massive 18+ hand drafts) 4 andalusians (around the 16 hand range) 4 mini donkeys (30 inch range) and 2 Lusitanos (16 hands) So I have quite the equine animals, please do this trick i ALWAYS do and recommend, soak your hay.

It lowers the sugar content and ALL of the dust. ITS STILL LIKE NORMAL MUNCHY HAY, JUST WETTER WITH A LOWER SUGAR AND DUST CONTENT. its alot of work so to speed it up I hang all the hay nets at once (since I have a washroom indoors) and fill up 12 hay nets then drop them in buckets and let them soak for a good 5 minute, by that time all my horses are indoors and ready to go, then I hang them all up and get started with filling up there water buckets and make there food and clean there stall, since it’ll be a little lighter then freshly taking it out of the water I carry it to there stalls and they all love it.

Highly recommend!!!.

First off, let me begin by saying I bought these hay bales for our guinea pigs as it was more a more economical way to feed them than the bags of hay. The first couple of bales I bought of this hay were excellent.

They were a beautiful green color, had a wonderful smell, easily broke off into flakes and with minimal dust. The best bale I received was molded all the way through, dried up, and very dusty. I was not able to feed it to our guinea pigs, and it ended up being used to soak up the mud in our chicken run.

For the money, it is personally not worth it to me to buy again when the bales are going to be inconsistent like this.

These compressed bales are perfect for my senior pony with aged teeth. 🙂 Due to the compression process they have been chopped, cut in multiple directions and then compressed into small, tidy, tote able bales.

This does produce more dust or “fines” as Standlee calls it, so I do soak the hay before feeding but I would do that for my senior regardless of what forage is fed. The quality is very consistent and if there is an issue with any of their products Standlee is always happy to make it right! The bales are expensive so it is not an economical choice for a full sized, hungry horse, but they are convenient and come in handy for the right situation.

I highly recommend for unique feeding scenarios.

In a pinch, I needed a few bales of hay real quick. So. I bought a few bags of this compressed hay. I wasn’t familiar with this type of packaging and after reading negative reviews, I was a bit dubious.

It looks so small for the price, but is very heavy with highly compressed excellent quality alfalfa. My horses love it! None of this product is wasted. it is gobbled up entirely. I will warn you that directly out of the packaging it is very very dry, presumably necessary to prevent spoilage in the packaging.

I always soak/wet my horse’s hay anyway, so I soaked this alfalfa as well. It is the most beautiful fresh green and smells so wonderful when I moisten it. I am considering using this product instead of buying and storing dozens of bales of hay.

It is expensive for sure, but I will say that it goes farther than you might think after re-hydrating it. I think this will work well for me because I have a lot of good pasture that the horses access at will 24/7 and do not need to feed a lot of hay.

This is a very good product for my specific circumstance.

Purchased a bundle previously and was not bad and pur goats seemed to enjoy product. Just purchased another bundle this week and wow what a big disappointment. Contents was extremely dusty and dry barley any leaves.

Goats did not eat product this time. Not sure why the big difference of content from when I purchased last month to this month.

Check the date. The bales from May 21 were amazing, full of leaf and in great condition. The bales from Oct 21 were probably from the last cutting. Very loose straw in appearance with very little leaf.

I would give the May bales a 5+++ but the Oct 21 bales were not worth the cost and give them a 2+ or 3-. I will wait until the first cutting to get my next order as it was Very worth the price.

I actually bought this last spring for a sick mini and I thought I could use when at a clinic or traveling to encourage eating and drinking. Mini was sick, and wouldn’t eat it and the traveling horse was so picky, she wouldn’t eat it either.

Now to current time, it’s been cold and I have some powdered supplements for an old pony. I soaked some to try and all three horses loved it. Like obnoxiously love it. I cold temperatures it it ensures they get their electrolytes and other supplements.

I just wet enough over night for the next feeding. Then start the next for evening. It stays inside so it doesn’t freeze.

Originally bought this for my horse as a treat during the winter. He stays in pretty consistent work all year round and I bought this to ensure he stayed hydrated properly throughout winter and this does just what I needed it to! I do feed this to him year round as he loves it and it keeps him hydrated during those hot summer days! I just throw it in a bucket of water and let it soak while i tack up and then flip the block before i get on.

By the time I get off, it has soaked up all the water and it ready to give him after he is cooled down. I like to add a little more before I put it in his bucket as my horse just likes it really soupy, but it is really just personal preference.

Although i originally purchased this for my own horse, we have a few older horses as well as an OTTB who was just recently brought off the track that we started feeding this to them for lunch. They all really like it and it helps keep them hydrated as well as it being easy to munch on as it is soaked in water and turns into a soupy mush.

I really like it for our OTTB to help put a little weight on him. Every horse I have presented this to has absolutely loved it and licks the bucket clean! If you have a picky eater, hard keeper, older horse, or really any horse, this product is a go to! Really great for hydration, easy for them to eat, and a very nutritious snack!.

I bought it because my vet recommended it and we are having a hard time getting good hay in my area. I love it, the ancient burros love it and the mustang mare loves it. I crumble it first, so that it soaks easier and it’s a super way to add supplements that the burros would pick out of dry feed.

The auto ship is a wonderful service.

Hay is in short supply right now and it’s expensive. This product is so affordable and I’d give it 5 stars just in that category. Great low cost formulation. I thought because it was low cost it would be best pulp based but it’s actually wheat hulls and alfalfa which was great.

Unlike a lot of hay stretches, this one is balanced to be complete, so you dont have to worry about having to feed a balancer. I only wish that there was some yeast or probiotics in the product. I know its not necessary but it’s just an ingredient I like to have.

I’d really only take a half star for that, so in reality, a 4. 5 is my rating. My horse is doing well on it, and I’ve formulated to use it as. 5% of his bodyweight. I soak it to slow down consumption, but its not necessary.

For years during inclement weather, I fed hay pellets (e. g. , Estrella). Then, one day, out of the blue, one of my girls refused to eat the pellets. I tried giving her a few by hand a day after her initial abstention to see if the response was temporary, and she literally spit them back at me (she is a Haffie – they can be rather demonstrative).

What to do!!?? Today, I bought and offered them both Purina Impact Hay Stretcher feed – and both my girls are crazy about it. I’m saved!!! Shwew! The feed is in the form of cylindrical pellets which seem a bit softer and are smaller (estimated to be ~1/3 to 1/4 / the diameter) vs Estrella hay pellets, or the like, and shades of brown/beige in color, not green.

I purchased an off the track quarter horse about a year and a half ago and have been struggling to find a feed that would keep weight on her. I spent countless dollars on feeds that just did not help her gain weight.

Finally, with the recommendation of a friend, I tried Impact and could see a clear difference in a week. My mare started filling out and has continued to do so for the 60 day challenge. I honestly cannot believe the change that I have seen in how she looks.

She also acts like she feels much better as well. I love this feed and would highly recommend it.

This is a great feed for my old overweight PPID mare. It checks all of the boxes I need for her including low NSC, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics. It’s not super palatable on its own – she finishes her hay before she’ll touch this feed – but with no added sweeteners, that’s not surprising.

My major criticism is how much this feed has gone up in price during the last 2 years. I’ve stopped buying it entirely and switched to cheaper hay pellets and shredded beet pulp to carry the mineral mix from my local vet.

TL;DR: good feed; bad pricing.

I switched to this feed because of the way its processed. No grain. My other feed claimed to have NO CORN and I kept finding corn in several bags. Mistakes happen but this was an on going problem for me.

My horse can gain weight by smelling water. I have no problem using this feed with her weight. Switched to Triple Crown chopped forage because she developed heaves. This has helped with that issue a lot.

I do mist each feeding with a little water to just slow down her eating. She is like a Hoover vacuum cleaner sucking it up. Great products. So thankful TS starting selling this product.

Our 20 year old mare was exhibiting some signs of Cushings and we had her tested. One test was pre-Cushings positive but two others were negative. Even so, we decided to be proactive about her condition and start her on a regiment of feed and hay containing less sugars.

Triple Crown Lite fits the bill. She did not seem to mind the switch from her other feed, and eats it fine. Plus her weight had evened out, her neck is much less crested, and she appears to be feeling her boss mare self.

Highly satisfied.

I found this feed when I couldn’t get THRIVE in my area. This is a great second and have been using it for 5 + years. Extrusion is a process in which feed is cooked under high pressure with high temperatures for a short time.

The steam process breaks down the feed structures to make the nutrients more available. This pre-digestion process can make feeds up to 30% to 40% more digestible than standard pellets or whole grains.

This is how TOTAL EQUINE processes their feed. This is more soluliable and better than pellets IMHO.

This is the best feed. I have been feeding it for almost 2 years. It has helped with coats, feet and even a horse that had severe sweet itch. It is good for my old horse who has teeth issues ( I soak it) and pre Cushing’s.

Can’t say enough good about this feed. The regular feed (non low starch) is excellent too and I can switch between the two with no gastric issues. Thrilled that chewy has it. Makes it super easy to get.

Both farrier,trainer and vets told me to get this food for my older horses. They want me to give them the senior variety and chewy doesn’t carry it so far. Why is this coming from Florida and Kansas when it is made in Weatherford Texas and coming in 2 different deliveries.

The freight costs make this very expensive for us here in Oklahoma. It makes us turn to Tractor supply because of the cost. Stillwater has it there but not in OKC area.

I have a 19 year old Tennessee Walker/Quarter horse gelding that has ALWAYS had a hard time keeping weight on, especially during the winter. I found out he doesn’t have a lot of teeth left, so he couldn’t eat his 20lbs of dry matter in a day.

This grain has helped fill the gap for him! I feed him 4lbs a day. He is a foodie but eats everything slowly. But this grain he actually can eat at a normal speed. I also love how it easily mashes up with water or leave it dry but is still easily chewable.

The price isn’t too bad either compared to other complete feeds. 10 outta 10 would recommend.

He really likes it and I have the pickiest horse ever. I love that it’s low sugar, low starch as we have too much green grass. He holds his head up really high trying to catch my eye when I bring the bucket out.

I think he’s afraid I’ll forget and give it to one of the other horses.

Just what my senior highly metabolic horse needs. Low sugar and starch. Easy to chew.

I have used this product for 3 years on my cremello gelding. Ultium competition works phenomenally!! My gelding has never looked better! Covered in dapples, thick, healthy mane and tail. His weight and muscle tone are balanced, we LOVE this product! The product is high quality, consistent with consistent results- I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who want their horse to look and feel it’s best!.

I had great success with this feed for a gelding in his 30’s when combined with Equine Senior and Amplify. He bloomed on this combination as his teeth were failing over time as he “ran out of tooth”, so to speak.

Now I am adding Ultium feed for my 23 year old TB who is a very picky eater. She loves it! She is also fed Enrich Plus and Amplify. Recently she is not consuming enough Amplify but is finding the Ultium more to her liking.

I will likely phase out the Amplify as I increase the Ultium.

We tried my horse on multiple Purina feeds but he wasn’t putting on weight. 40 pounds of hay/day plus 9 pounds of Omelene 200, then Strategy, then switched to Triple Crown Senior before giving up and coming back to Purina Senior at my vet’s advice.

Wowza! Not only did he put on 150 pounds in 3 1/2 weeks, but we were able to drop his hay intake to 20 pounds/day. Purina Senior is a game changer. He’s now on Senior Active and loves it. Thanks Purina!.