Do your horses have hay at all times?

[musical comedy]

I'm curious. Do your horses have something to nibble on 24/7, be it hay or grass? If not, how many hours pass without any food.

[Tsavo]

Yes. Hay or grass.

[kande50]

Yes, although the easy keepers still act like they think they're starving because the pickings are not plentiful. I no longer worry about them overgrazing the sacrifice areas though, and that makes it a lot easier for them to find something to put in their stomachs between meals without getting too much.

It was easier in the past, before we knew about stomach acids and ulcers, so just kept the easy keepers in dirt pens and fed them a couple meals a day.

[StraightForward]

No. I'd say they go about 8 hours at night without food. Annabelle has a slow feeder, but she has gamed the system and it doesn't slow her down all that much. We've had to cut her back because she was getting really fat. She has a Hay Play Ball too, but I only fill it a couple times a week because it seemed to be causing her to build weird neck muscles when she ate out of it every day (it's hung on the side of the stall). She does get a scoop of Outlast morning and night, so that hopefully helps, and despite having a history of ulcers winter before last, she has been just fine on this schedule.

Tesla gets a lot of hay, and so I think she sometimes has some leftovers that she can nibble later into the night. During the day, she gets breakfast, then gets turned out and nibbles on the weeds in the pasture, then comes back to her leftover morning hay around 1, so there's not much time during the day that she doesn't have hay.

[Abby Kogler]

Yes, they have hay nets 24/7. I have no grass or pasture.

[blob]

Mine are out all night with grass. And in during the day with hay that is more or less supposed to last them until turnout. Though some eat fast and end up going 2 hours or so without. In the winter the turnout schedule flips and round bales are added to pasture to make up for less grass

[Josette]

This has been a challenge because I've always had hay in front of my horses. I have 3 turnouts where one is a dry lot and the others have moderate grass. However, this year with all the rain has made the grass grow like crazy and we have had to cut it several times. Hay has always been the our primary forage (straight timothy). Now my pony is on a restricted diet with medications (Thy-Lo, Prascend, lots of supplements) and I need to control his weight (not easy). He sees me and calls for a treat or more hay. He knows my truck and when I come down the road to turn up the driveway he gallops to see what if I went shopping. A grocery bag may contain an apple. Likewise, hay bales in the back of the truck. So regrettably I've conditioned him to be obsessed with food. Now I am trying to space out small flakes of hay through out the day with the target of 3 large flakes or 4 smaller flakes max. He gets a small coffee cup of LS pellets just enough for all his supplements AM / PM. I feel cruel but I have to control the excess weight (for me too).

[Chisamba]

Yes, round bales in turnout, or grass and enough hay at night that there are still scraps in the stall at morning.

I have some who cant be on round bales, need soaked hay etc, these guys might run out because if you soak too much to far ahead it sours.

[westisbest]

Mine has his own round bale covered in a nibble net. Almost all our horses except a laminitis prone pony do. We have no staff per se at our place my coach is only there a few full days a week so we had to make it as self sufficient as possible.

[Kyra's Mom]

No. Where I board they get fed twice a day. I have tried a myriad of slow feed things. Few would the barn owners even try (they do all chores and feeding is walk and toss so if they could not do it from outside the pen, no go) and the ones we did try frustrated the horse terribly, didn't slow her down much at all or caused really weird eating postures so I gave up. I cannot get to the barn every day and have had my own health issues and have had some long periods without a barn visit so pre-loading hay nets just hasn't been doable. I realize this is far from ideal but it is how I have kept horses for about 40 years and never have any major digestive issues. Even when I had pasture available, they could not be on it for long as one was insulin resistant with multiple laminitis episodes...eons before we knew what caused "grass" founder. They were fed hay 2x/day and got 30-60 minutes of pasture once a day (sometimes twice) during the summer months. They were out more in the winter picking at the brown grass but still kept in paddocks at night (due to some poor fencing) still getting hay 2x/day.

Every barn I have boarded at since I started boarding (early 80's) has fed twice a day. Current barn feeds ample hay twice a day. The only thing that really bugs me about this is when they sometimes feed the PM feed early so they could have 12 hrs from the time they finish dinner until AM feed. I would say 'normal' without food is about 8 hrs from finishing PM feed until next AM feed. The early feeding doesn't happen often (maybe once or twice/month) In the winter, the owner is very good about increasing the hay if we have really inclement or cold weather. I supplement with a smaller additional feeding when I go out (usually midday-early afternoon) and if she is being worked I always make sure she has something in her stomach so she gets a pre-ride snack while I tack up if her previous feeding is gone. She has never acted like an ulcery horse. She has had a couple minor colics which I am pretty sure were mild impaction colics. Both happening in hot weather with one being a tooth issue (retained colt cap) and insufficient chewing due to pain from said tooth and one being inadequate water intake.

We don't have round bales readily available around here as I think that would be great under a net but alas, not available here.

Susan

[StraightForward]

N

We don't have round bales readily available around here as I think that would be great under a net but alas, not available here.

Susan

Well, we almost got a chance to pick one up off the road yesterday.

[Kyra's Mom]

Right that...only it was straw but most definitely round and very precariously hanging off the side of the truck . I don't understand why you and the driver in front of you didn't want to follow more closely

[musical comedy]

Every barn I have boarded at since I started boarding (early 80's) has fed twice a day. Current barn feeds ample hay twice a day. The only thing that really bugs me about this is when they sometimes feed the PM feed early so they could have 12 hrs from the time they finish dinner until AM feed. I would say 'normal' without food is about 8 hrs from finishing PM feed until next AM feed. Susan

This has been my experience as well, and I've boarded at and been a lot of facilities.

I asked this question because I was in a discussion with another horseperson about it, and she thought it was common for horses to have hay most all the time. I think that for those owners keeping horses at home, it may be. I think knowledgeable horse owners, such as most on our forum, also try to board at places where there is turnout and some grass. My experience is boarding at more show barns and they rarely have turnout.

In my early years of horse ownership (before I had internet or horse books), I was clueless about what my horse got fed. I left it up to the stable management. I never had a horse with colic. As far as I know, they didn't have ulcers either. But...how did I really know? Just because a horse isn't acting up doesn't mean it doesn't have ulcers. Maybe some nervous/tense horses do have ulcers and could be nicer rides if those ulcers where treated. Just a rambling thought.

I think the reason boarding barns don't feed hay is because of money and work. The more hay, the more manure, the more cleaning. I was told that at a place when I offered to bring in my own hay. Same goes for bedding. If you offer to bring in more bedding, they say "no" because it makes stall cleaning more difficult. All these reasons and more are why some of us bought our own place.

[Josette]

What I use to observe in boarding situations years ago was feeding large amount of sweet feed and less hay. The pastures were not maintained and poor food sources IMO. Hay is expensive and takes up space for storage. When a boarder brought in extra hay to supplement minimal hay given then the barn would sometimes cut back on their hay (defeating the purpose). Any hay left in a stall might result in that horse getting less hay - all bad feed management. I do recall horses getting colic too.

In recent years when I boarded the horses had half day private turnout with moderate grass. There was always hay in the stall 3x daily and grain 2x daily. Boarders had access to toss in an extra flake. The boarding situations were greatly improved by better management and was likewise reflected in the higher boarding cost.

It was why I rough boarded for 20+ years to control what my animals were fed and how much bedding I added to stalls. It was always my goal to keep them at home for complete control and access by me to monitor and feed. Very lucky to have been able to do that the past 20 years.

[heddylamar]

No. But they have regular meals, spaced out throughout the day, because BO feeds several times when they are in the barn. In the summer (out at night), it's 3 times: right after breakfast, more around lunch, then mid afternoon. In the winter (out during the day), it's twice: right after dinner, and a larger serving after 11 PM.

[blob]

I've also only boarded at barns that feed 2x a day, but with enough hay and turnout that horses more or less have something in front of them all day

[westisbest]

I think ? Possibly our hay costs here in the great Canadian west are probably less than many areas where most of you all live. Although we have had a really rainy summer so good hay will be pricier this year one barn has just had to buy from Idaho. We have 14 horses all in fairly regular work training turned out in two huge natural grass pastures 4 mares 4 geldings in each of those fields both with the hay bales and nets. My old guy is in a mostly dirt paddock hot wired because he doesn’t play well with others lol. Horse on each side in similar. I’m out 5x a week and he gets some soaked alfalfa then also has beet pulp 16% Senior CF in the am with his supplements. Even with all the turnout (we have no horses inside in summer at this place) the constant hay the supplements we still have several mares that are ulcer suspect. So horses! No perfect solution ever.

[Imperini]

Unfortunately no. Most boarding barns around here that aren't DIY feed 2 or 3 times a day. Mine feeds twice and I buy my own bales of hay and give her hay a third time in a slow feed net. A lot of her time is spent without anything to nibble on and she's a really fast eater which makes it even worse.

I was always pretty happy to board in the north east because most of the barns I boarded at had ample pasture and fed plenty of hay in the winter or when the horses were in their stalls plus I personally wanted an indoor arena in the winter. Here even though my barn is great I am starting to want my own place with my horse and a buddy at home but I'm not sure how likely that is to actually happen.

[redsoxluvr]

Mine gets hay 4x per day, plus he gets grass in turnout. His hay gets fed in a slow feeder in the AM, then a flake around three, then turnout, then hay when he comes in via the slow feeder again, then another flake around midnight or so. if he had hay in front of him 24-7 he would be wider than he is tall.

[Chisamba]

I've never had a problem with overweight horses in unlimited hay. If they know its always going to be available they moderate their own intake. Now unlimited pasture is different. I've seen insulin resistance etc on the very rich grass here in the northeast. If a horse needs less sugar I soak the hay for 30 minutes to dissolve the soluble sugars

[blob]

I've never had a problem with overweight horses in unlimited hay. If they know its always going to be available they moderate their own intake. Now unlimited pasture is different. I've seen insulin resistance etc on the very rich grass here in the northeast. If a horse needs less sugar I soak the hay for 30 minutes to dissolve the soluble sugars

I agree with this, the exception being something like alfalfa. If I wasn't boarding, I would keep free choice grass hay available at all times for my horses.

The hay my horses currently get the 8ish hours or so that they're in the stall is through a slow feeder and MM does a good job rationing her hay to last her the whole day. RP eats much faster, so occasionally he's without hay/grass for a few hours. They both get alfalfa as well, but that amount is rationed.

The barn I'm at cuts/mows their pastures. If they didn't, i would be worry about the amount of pasture access for my two, who are not IR, but are breeds that are more commonly IR than some other horses.

[musical comedy]

The barn I'm at cuts/mows their pastures. If they didn't, i would be worry about the amount of pasture access for my two, who are not IR, but are breeds that are more commonly IR than some other horses.

I don't think I understand this statement. Mowing the pastures makes for better grass, not worse.

[blob]

The barn I'm at cuts/mows their pastures. If they didn't, i would be worry about the amount of pasture access for my two, who are not IR, but are breeds that are more commonly IR than some other horses.

I don't think I understand this statement. Mowing the pastures makes for better grass, not worse.

Without mowing, the grass in our parts would be up past the horse's knees and thick--the neighboring pastures are proof of this. By keeping it mowed the horses actually do eat away at the grass, so it becomes sparse and not that dense. With grass up to the knees, there would be no reduction of grass and a LOT of it. The total volume of grass consumed when a pasture is that high and dense is substantially more than a pasture that is trimmed all the way to the ground.

[musical comedy]

The barn I'm at cuts/mows their pastures. If they didn't, i would be worry about the amount of pasture access for my two, who are not IR, but are breeds that are more commonly IR than some other horses.

I don't think I understand this statement. Mowing the pastures makes for better grass, not worse.

Without mowing, the grass in our parts would be up past the horse's knees and thick--the neighboring pastures are proof of this. By keeping it mowed the horses actually do eat away at the grass, so it becomes sparse and not that dense. With grass up to the knees, there would be no reduction of grass and a LOT of it. The total volume of grass consumed when a pasture is that high and dense is substantially more than a pasture that is trimmed all the way to the ground.

Yes, but my understanding is the shorter grass is sweeter and more nutritious. If I didn't mow my pasture, it would be high but not with great grass. Mowing keeps the weeds down.

[exvet]

No. My horses used to be fed 4 x's a day; but, now I am feeding just 3 x's a day consistently and 4 x's a day on my days off. My parents and kids helped with the fourth feeding and it's just not possible to maintain any more when I'm at work. My horses have destroyed every slow feeder imaginable. They have gone up to 8 hours without hay. I have no pasture but I do my best to keep the hours without hay at a minimum. They are still out 24/7 and can meander around at liberty.

[kande50]

Yes, but my understanding is the shorter grass is sweeter and more nutritious. If I didn't mow my pasture, it would be high but not with great grass. Mowing keeps the weeds down.

Mowing does help keep the weeds from taking over, but I think it also prevents the grasses from going to seed so they continue to grow at a faster rate for longer. So in some ways mowing contributes to faster growth and likely higher feed value, which is not always what we want when we have easy keepers.

[westisbest]

No. My horses used to be fed 4 x's a day; but, now I am feeding just 3 x's a day consistently and 4 x's a day on my days off. My parents and kids helped with the fourth feeding and it's just not possible to maintain any more when I'm at work. My horses have destroyed every slow feeder imaginable. They have gone up to 8 hours without hay. I have no pasture but I do my best to keep the hours without hay at a minimum. They are still out 24/7 and can meander around at liberty.

Oh my guy rips big holes in the nibble net have to patch them all up regularly. Still holds the hay in place less waste.

[redsoxluvr]

I find keeping my pasture mowed helps to control the weeds. I cut the bermuda before irrigation but do not bag it. The seed heads end up germinating and make the grass thicker. Otherwise with our harsh climate we would be overrun with weeds. I find my horses will not eat the grass when it is very tall. It either tastes bad to them or they think there are snakes, mosquitoes or bees in it.

[kande50]

I find keeping my pasture mowed helps to control the weeds. I cut the bermuda before irrigation but do not bag it. The seed heads end up germinating and make the grass thicker. Otherwise with our harsh climate we would be overrun with weeds. I find my horses will not eat the grass when it is very tall. It either tastes bad to them or they think there are snakes, mosquitoes or bees in it.

If we want more or better pasture we mow and fertilize more often, but with our current herd more weeds and coarser grass is a good thing so we only mow the pastures once and then let them go. Not that letting the grass go to seed helps a lot, because the horses just eat the new growth under the coarser grass so we still have to restrict access, but just mowing once does save a lot of time and fuel.

It's not difficult to bring pastures back in this climate (New England). All we have to do is start mowing and fertilizing more often and pretty soon the weeds die out and the grass takes over again.

[musical comedy]

If we want more or better pasture we mow and fertilize more often, but with our current herd more weeds and coarser grass is a good thing so we only mow the pastures once and then let them go. Not that letting the grass go to seed helps a lot, because the horses just eat the new growth under the coarser grass so we still have to restrict access, but just mowing once does save a lot of time and fuel.

I get it mowed just to keep things looking decent. At this point I don't care about quality grasses as my horses are too fat already.

Kande, a few years ago we spent 7k on fertilizer, seeding, and weed control. A professional farmer did it. There was no improvement whatsoever. Money down the drain. Right now, my fields look lovely from a distance. When you get up close, there is this 'stuff' growing that isn't grass. It's probably some kind of undesirable greenery. It's growing all over the farm.

Now we're in a drought. It's feast or famine in NJ. I guarantee you when the rain starts, it'll go on steady for weeks. I'm starting to worry about now 2nd-3rd cut hay this year. <sigh> If that happens, old guy is going to have to go on 100% senior and fat mare is going to have to eat bagged stuff from tractor supply.

[kande50]

Kande, a few years ago we spent 7k on fertilizer, seeding, and weed control. A professional farmer did it. There was no improvement whatsoever. Money down the drain. Right now, my fields look lovely from a distance. When you get up close, there is this 'stuff' growing that isn't grass. It's probably some kind of undesirable greenery. It's growing all over the farm.

Fertilizer is expensive, but we can double or triple the amount of hay we get if we fertilize. Trouble is, it's a lot easier to get hay in the barn dry when it's thinner, and I'd rather have the extra space in my indoor, so we've been cutting back on the amount of hay we put in.

Our weeds change from year to year. We've had false baby's breath (Gallium) for years, and it seemed like it was taking over the pastures for a long time because the horses didn't eat it. But then we fertilized with cow manure one year and the Gallium went away, and we had all kinds of Plantain growing. Now the Plantain's pretty much gone and we have some other weed taking hold. I think which weeds grow has a lot to do with when and how often we mow.

Now we're in a drought. It's feast or famine in NJ. I guarantee you when the rain starts, it'll go on steady for weeks. I'm starting to worry about now 2nd-3rd cut hay this year. <sigh> If that happens, old guy is going to have to go on 100% senior and fat mare is going to have to eat bagged stuff from tractor supply.

We just put second cut in and aren't going to do any third because our hay customers all want first--and none of my fatties need second!

I've had a toothless old horse on complete feed for years and she looks really good, so I know there's no reason to waste any time worrying about getting enough hay in because there are alternatives. Not that we've ever failed to get enough hay in, but when it's still raining in June I always start thinking about where we're going to get our hay if this is the year the rain doesn't stop.

[musical comedy]

Kande, which complete feed to you use? Does the manure get soft without long stem forage?

[kande50]

Kande, which complete feed to you use? Does the manure get soft without long stem forage?

I'm feeding her Nutrena Triumph, and her manure is normal. In fact, I'm surprised at how much manure she makes because I don't think she gets much out of the forage and is only getting 10 lbs of pellets a day (more in the winter). But then, I don't know whether she only swallows what dissolves in her saliva, or if she gets some solids?

She must be getting something out of the forage because she grazes and spits out many, many boluses, but I just don't know how much ?

[Ryeissa]

hay or grass all the time, except the very overnight when they finish the PM hay.

[PaulaO]

Depends on the time of the year. The standard feeding is morning hay and grain (between 5 and 6), lunch hay and grain (horses come in between 3 and 4), then bedtime (9 ish) hay. Summer they are on pasture during the day and Miss A. goes back into pasture after lunch (around 7). Winter she stays in all night. During daytime in winter they nibble on whatever grass is in the pasture.

[piedmontfields]

Just about all the time. She gets night turnout in summer (pasture, and in early/late summer hay, too) + hay in a slow feeder in the stall. In winter, she gets day turnout on pasture with added hay. I am very lucky to board at a place that is generous with hay and with turnout. For the 24/7 turnout horses, there is abundant pasture much of the year, plus a hay hut or two with good hay once the pasture is past prime.

[Josette]

https://thehorse.com/178397/your-horse- ... -at-night/

[musical comedy]

https://thehorse.com/178397/your-horse-needs-forage-even-at-night/

No brainer for anyone that reads about horse health. Most people on this board either have their horses at home or are more hands-on owners. My experience at the big (and fancy) boarding barns is that even ones that feed 3x a day, feed the last hay around 5 at the latest and then no more hay until 6-7 in the morning.

I have a question about those slow net feeders. Now don't laugh. I'm afraid of them because I worry the horse with catch a tooth in them or my old guy have trouble getting hay with his eotrh which could cause some incisor pain.

[piedmontfields]

It's the overnights in winter which are most vulnerable at many boarding barns, I think.

Some horses do have trouble with the slow feed netting. Sometimes you can address this with differently sized netting holes. If I had my horse at home, I would have a built-in slow feeder in my stalls, rather than use a net (a box is easier to fill up and holds more hay--and you can adjust the size of the mesh or grate on top of the hay).

[AmityBee]

Am I missing something or are none of your horses kept on straw?

My horse gets about 9-11 Kg of grass hay in hay nets. 2kg per day per 100kg "ideal" body weight. Around 9Kg when he's on pasture, 11kg when not. This doesn't quite last for 24h but almost. He goes without hay for 2-4h at the most.

AND he will always have something to nibble on because around here horses are bedded on straw. He doesn't know different and I never had issues.

[StraightForward]

I don't know anywhere around here that beds with straw.

[heddylamar]

I've only seen straw at foaling facilities, and, occasionally, a vet hospital.

[Chisamba]

In areas where mushroom growers take bedding for free if they use straw, people pay for straw bedding because they save on dumpster costs

[westisbest]

I boarded at a place for almost 10 yrs that bedded with straw. German owner. The “snack” factor makes it appealing and it may? make it harder for horses to get cast, but it’s tiresone work mucking and difficult to keep stalks dry. Had a few horses with thrush there.

I don’t see how a horse could get a tooth caught in nibble nets they pull the hay thru the holes. Hence nibble . Unless they rip giant holes like my bossy boy then I worry about him getting a hoof caught. Cause worry is apparently the major component in horse life for me.

[khall]

Don't use straw here unless foaling out. HATE to clean it!! I can get a tractor trailer load of shavings that will last a year plus and store it easily in our shavings bin.

I hay my horses 3-4 times a day. In the heat they are in their stalls with their fans on, small holed nets don't work that well with one of mine she can eat 2 flakes in a 1 inch hole net in 30 minutes so I just throw hay throughout the day or my board will throw hay as well.

During winter I also throw hay 3-4 times a day, from breakfast to late night check between 10-11 pm.