Hay Pellets for Horses vs. Food Pellets

When it comes to your horses, you want to make sure the food they eat is the best it can possibly be for their bodies and minds. These days it seems like there are a million options on the market to choose from, including hay feed, hay pellets and food pellets. So, how do you choose?

Food Pellets

Food pellets are often praised as an efficient alternative to baled hay, which is both heavier and produces more waste. Food pellets are richer and more full of nutrients than hay and they can be provided in lower quantities, especially if the horse has access to a decent amount of grazing land to supplement their diet with foliage.

The taste of these food pellets also tends to be much more appealing to horses than hay or hay pellets, and can sway even the pickiest of horses to try a little nibble.

Hay Pellets

Hay pellets for horses are an effective alternative to baled hay, and a less rich alternative to regular pellet feed. With hay pellets, your horse has access to all of the necessary foraging nutrients they would receive from baled hay but with much less effort or waste. Especially in damp environments, hay pellets are much less likely to go bad than baled hay. On top of that, choosing hay pellets for horses prevents them from sorting through the ingredients of their rations, leaving the hay while lapping up all of the sweeter feed.

While hay pellets for horses are often more expensive than baled hay, they are significantly more affordable than plain food pellets. On top of that, some sort of hay (whether it is baled or pelleted) is absolutely necessary for horses who don’t have much opportunity to forage for themselves.
Different Feeds for Different Horses

All in all, there’s no definitive ‘better choice’ for your horse. Each type of feed has its place in a horse’s diet, and most horse-owners choose to feed different portions of each nutrient to their horses rather than sticking exclusively with one type of feed over another. Before purchasing feed for your horses, consider consulting your local feed expert on what combination of food and hay pellets would be best for the lasting health and happiness of your equine friend.