Advice on feed for horse currently out

[Bluebelle666]

Hi, my 16.1 sports horse is remaining out 24/7 until November. When the grass went really lush this summer she did get somewhat on the chubby side. My worry now is that every time shes brought in she appears famished. For the past few weeks i've been giving her a few handfuls of fibre nuggets but now feel this may not be enough??

Any advice please

 

[horsemadelsie]

Ad lib hay and a feed balancer is working really well for all mine at the moment- from the skinny welsh to the chubby shetland!

 

[JennBags]

I'd just feed hay/haylage & not worry about hard feed myself unless she needs the extra energy for hard work.

 

[Bluebelle666]

Theres no hard work. I can't put her out with hay as she shares a paddock. will it be enough if she gets it for 30 mins when brought in'

 

[RockinRudolph]

I think giving her half an hour with a haynet would be ok. Just monitor her weight and see how she goes. Mine is just on hay - when the weather gets very cold he will have one small feed a day and I use sugar beet to help keep him warm.

 

[SmartieBean09]

Has she lost weight? Does she have shelter?

If she is famished then chances are she is cold.

I can not put hay out for my Connie x either. He is fed a basic feed of chaff, nuts and balancer. I've tried to leave my boy unrugged and he has been fine but we got caught short the other day and the torrential down pour really got into his coat and he was cold. I have since put a sheet on him but on the days where the temperature is forecast to drop, I have given him a second feed of chaff and speedibeet. This has helped. He hasn't gained weight but certainly appears much happier in the mornings.

Go by how you feel. If she isn't over weight and you feel she needs extra then a high fibre feed in the evening may help her to keep warm through the night.