Cubes keep longer hay particles, so they give a horse more chew time — the closest thing to baled hay in a bag. Pellets are denser and finer: easiest to measure, quickest to soak into a mash, and simple to mix with other feed.

Nutritionally they follow the hay they’re made from — see the guaranteed analysis table above.

Same hay, smaller cube. Minis are easier to portion, soften noticeably faster when soaked, and are gentler work for seniors and horses with dental issues. If you soak every feeding, minis save you real time.

Most horses handle cubes and pellets dry. Soaking is recommended for senior horses, horses with poor teeth, and horses prone to bolting feed or choke — a 10–30 minute soak (shorter for minis and pellets) turns them into a soft mash.

Semican formulates its cubes and pellets low in sugar and starch — 4.5–8.5% — and rates them suitable for all horses, including those with EMS (Equine Metabolic Syndrome) or Cushing’s. They’re also low-dust, which helps horses with heaves or COPD.

For a metabolic horse, always confirm the total ration with your vet.

As a full forage replacement, horses typically eat 1.5–2.5% of body weight per day — roughly 15–25 lb for a 1,000 lb horse. As a supplement to hay, 3–10 lb per day is typical. Split into multiple meals, introduce over 7–10 days, and keep fresh water and salt available.

Storage and consistency. Semican’s compaction cuts the storage footprint by up to 75%, the bales ride clean in a car or trailer, and every bale is the same product — pure alfalfa (1st or 2nd cut) or pure timothy (1st or 2nd cut) in 40 and 70 lb sizes.