Fast Fibre - ingredients

[donnalex]

Talking to a feed rep today he was very scathing of Fast Fibre.
Told me that the highest on the ingredients list is straw (treated) and that it was treated with chemicals.
Fact or scaremongering?
My pones all love it and I like using it as the soak time is zilch so no more frozen beet.

[ladyndibs]

I don't use it but wouldn't be surprised if it was mainly straw, it is designed to be a filler and not much else. I don't like the idea of chemical treatment but that could be poetic licence. Most of the detergents we use to wash clothes contain chemicals but we don't say our clothes have been chemically treated.
Hopefully someone on hear works for a feed supplier and can give an accurate account of how the stuff is treated and what it contains.

[Azrael]

The straw bit is true, not sure about the chemicals but really you can call a lot of things 'chemicals' that are perfectly harmless really

There were a couple of posts on Saddle Up a while ago listing the ingredients:

40% straw fibre, 10-25% unmollassed beet, <10% oat fibre, expelled linseed, grass meal...expelled soya. Plus a few vitamins and minerals etc.

NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS:

Oil 2.5 % Vitamin A 10,000 IU/kg
Protein 8.5% Vitamin D 1500 IU/kg
Fibre 27.0 % Vitamin E 100 IU/kg
Estimated DE 8.0 MJ/kg Calcium 1.1%
Starch 5.0 % VERY LOW Phosphorous 0.4%
Sugar 2.0 % LOW Copper 7 mg/kg


INGREDIENTS:
Cereal Straw - Fibre source provides Fibre for a healthy gut and to satisfy appetite without excess calories

Unmolassed Sugar Beet - highly digestible fibre, slow-release energy source.

Grass - protein & Fibre source.

Oat fibre - digestible Fibre source

Linseed - provides a concentrated source of calories, and omega –3 oils for a healthy skin, and a glossy coat

Limestone flour - calcium source.

Soya oil -provides a concentrated source of calories, and omega –6 oils for a healthy skin, and a glossy coat

Salt - provides essential electrolytes

Vitamins and Minerals - the vitamin & mineral supplement in these feeds provides Vitamin A, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, Copper, Selenium, Vitamin K, Folic Acid, Nicotinic Acid, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12 , Biotin, Iodine, Cobalt, Iron, Manganese, Zinc, Calcium and Magnesium.

Mint - has a natural pre-biotic effect, creating the right environment for bacteria to grow

Yeast - supplies a natural bio-available source of vitamins

Fenugreek - very palatable and stimulates appetite

Garlic - rich in sulphur, aids digestion by supporting the development of
natural gut flora, whilst killing pathogens

[jen1]

i know it stinks when you soak it i dont like the smell at all,

[donnalex]

Jan 8, 2012 1:33:45 GMT 1 jen1 said:

i know it stinks when you soak it i dont like the smell at all,

I love the smell of it!
And so do my ponies most importantly, they all eat it readily.
Apparently its the 'chemicals' that make it swell up so fast.

[BJMM]

Have to say mine love it! Fed it last winter when I couldn't get SS because of the snow.It's cheap and cheerful, very handy, especially in bad weather, and horses find it very palatable. I think there's a lot worse on the market.

[specialized]

Most of the high fibre feeds and chaffs are straw-based.

[jes]

What's wrong with it being straw based? That's what most chaffs are anyway!

[megansmum]

I feed mine oat chaff all wnter as a base to their bucket feed' they all do well on it and come into the spring not too fat which I'm sure all of us want'

[donnalex]

Jan 8, 2012 15:19:33 GMT 1 jes said:

What's wrong with it being straw based? That's what most chaffs are anyway!

Yes I know that but its the 'chemical' or 'treated' bit that Im wondering about.

[sarahbing]

My understanding is that as straw is a by product of the cereal crop, and cereals are sprayed numerous times during their growing season,(with pesticides and herbicides) that the chemicals are concentrated in the straw and the husk, (which is described as oat feed or wheat feed in the horse feed industry.)

There is no clear evidence that these chemicals are harmful to horses, but it is something I would rather not feed, given the choice.

I stick to SS ruffstuff, just chopped grass, as a chaff which I know has not been sprayed

[donnalex]

Im feeding Fast Fibre as it is very good for mixing in vile tasting minerals and getting them to eat them.
A chop type feed would not do the job

[poppyandbea]

i have bea on it as its low protein and oil so suitable for her with her liver , and she also hates speedi beet or kwick beet but loves this

[amber]

....I'm feeding it too...!

[mags]

I also don't know what sort of treatment that straw gets.
I do know that many chaff/chop type feeds are treated with mould inhibitors and to reduce dust (usually, this is an oil+molasses coating). I wonder if the "treated" straw gets the same sort of treatment as that used in a chaff? Just a thought.
I tried fast fibre, but my horse doesn't like it. I do like that it really is low in sugar/starch, and doesn't just claim to be. Many other feeds that are supposedly "low" still have 10+ % sugar and/or starch.

I would take any information coming from a feed rep with an extra grain of salt, especially praise for their own product and criticism for other brands' products.