Product Review: Medalist Sprout Pellets For Horses
Feeding horses forage in pellet form is nothing new. Bags of alfalfa pellets, or orchard grass pellets, teff pellets, cubes and more have been staples on the feed store shelves for years. Pelleted versions of forage serve many purposes for horses – for example, the kinds that do well on a forage-based diets or for senior horses who struggle to chew stemmy hay.
And with the variation of quality and cost of hay bales, pellets can feel like a safe and consistent feed choice.
I like to feed my Thoroughbred, who competes in dressage, free-choice alfalfa pellets in a floor feeder in his stall overnight. Sometimes he finishes the whole bowl and sometimes he doesn’t. My horse still gets two grain-based meals a day plus regular hay, so the hay pellets serve as an additional protein source, and a nice way to naturally buffer stomach acid.
But since my horse doesn’t seem to be overly excited about the standard alfalfa pellets, I recently decided to see if there was something else out there he might like better.
I found the brand “Medalist” on Chewy.com, a great online retailer of pet supplies, including a slew of horse feed and care brands. Medalist makes alfalfa pellets, too. But it was their “sprout pellets” that caught my eye. Maybe you too have seen this trend of some horse owners feeding “fodder,” actual sprouts from seeds like barley or wheat, which is grown hydroponically and fed fresh.
Fodder is a high-moisture, high-fiber and nutrient-dense feed option for horses that is the perfect supplement for what I was looking for: it compliments a hay and grain diet but aids in digestion, among other health benefits.
Medalist is a farm based in Delta, Utah, which produces feed for horses and livestock. They grow barley fodder in a carefully controlled environment. “It’s kind of like making sourdough… if sourdough made your horses and livestock shinier, healthier, and more productive,” reads their website.
The sprout pellets are large pellets but ultra soft. They include barley sprouts, alfalfa and oat hay. These ingredients area great source of protein (12% min.) and fiber (28% max), and barley sprouts are known for being a slow-release form of energy (up to 50% more energy than alfalfa hay), which aids in better digestion.
Medalist does not use any binders or preservatives in their pellets, which means they are fed fresh. But because of this, it’s on the horse owner to store the pellets appropriately and feed routinely to avoid mold contamination. The company recommends buying only what you’ll use in three months at a time, and storing them in a dry, well-ventilated area out of direct sunlight. Since I bought through Chewy, the order came super fast and I had no issues with the quality of my pellets.
The sprout pellets can be soaked like any other hay pellet but are soft to feed as-is without a high choke risk.
When you open a bag of sprout pellets, you are immediately struck by a rich smell of barley and hay, signaling just how fresh it really is.
My horse is obsessed. I free-feed the pellets overnight in his stall just as I did previously with alfalfa pellets, and keep a few in my pocket to offer as treats when I’m riding or caring for him around the barn. His bowl is now always empty.
After just a few months of feeding Medalist sprout pellets, my horse’s coat looks shiny, and he’s even added on a few pounds. I’ve definitely found the forage pellet replacement I was looking for in the Medalist sprout pellets. My horse is a huge fan and I couldn’t be more thrilled about the nutritional benefits he’s getting.