Amazed at difference in hay fed!

pottamus

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I was talking to a friend the other night about feed routines etc and was a bit shocked at how little hay she uses in a year compared to me!
Both horses are similar age and height...mine a Welsh D and hers a cob cross. Both on grazing in the day - although hers has more access than mine and my lad is on restricted grazing. Both horses in at night all year round.
She buys in 100 bales to last through the year and I get through more like 200 per year - with no wastage!
Currently my lad is in from 7pm through to 5.30am and has 4 pads small bale hay in small holed nets - hay soaked and eats every scrap.
Now either I am feeding too much - although he is maintaining his currentl slim weight on this diet (no fat pads and a faint outline of ribs) or her horse is happier standing with nothing to eat for longer periods?? Perhaps my lad is more greedy and her horse paces the food better? Her horse does get hard feed and mine does not.
So what does everyone else feed hay wise for a night in the stable?
 

immoralorchid

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hahaha heya noisygirl i just read ur sig and burst out laughing sorry i know off topic but i think u made my day

however on topic i feed mine ablib so i think your feeding the correct amount some horses do eat more than others though
 

Mike007

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Hay bales vary dramaticly in weight ,and the number of sections in a bale is determined by how fast the baler is driven through the crop.Typicaly a conventional bale would have about 14 sections , if you feed 4 a day ,100 bales would last a full year .I would expect 100 bales to weigh two tonnes,so that is 12.5 pounds of hay per day.Conversely if your horse was actualy getting through 200 bales he would be eating about 25 lbs of hay per night.:eek::eek::eek:Are you sure no one is nicking your hay?
 
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_MizElz_

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My girl has two normal sized wedges of small bale hay a night, and she normally has some left by morning! So by that reasoning, I would probably only use 100 bales a year also. It's tricky to work out exactly how much I use as my hay is included in my livery and it is big bale stuff, but I bought some small bales of my own in February as the yard hay was not good...I'm back feeding the yard stuff now as we're on new hay, but I still have three of my February bales left. When I'm using only my own hay, I get through about two or three bales a week if she is turned out in the daytime.
 
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ofcourseyoucan

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to compare hay usage you would really need to weigh the hay consumed! there is no such thing as a normal small bale section or wedge! bales vary enormously in weight and density and quality and nutrional value. as does haylage. to be accurate you need to weigh your horse, work out his calorie requirement per day, weigh his bucket food and hay requirement and try to accurately guess his grass and fibre intake when grazing. again grass varies enormously in nutitional value and fibre.(and the hours which it is available). then you need to work in his work quota, his rugs or lack of rugs, his type and very important;y his temperament. and whether he is a good doer or not. his worming programme and his dental maintenance, and his age. and whether his turnout has natural shelter or a wind blown hill. there are so many variables which makes it almost impossible to compare what one horse needs to the next one. and prices for hay are also very regional and quality varies to grass types, fert applied time of year cyt, how well made etc etc etc.
 
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