couple of management q's

[Deltofe2493]

Feeding - If I want to ride in the morning I know I should wait an hour after horse has finished to ride. would there be any harm in feeding chaff first so I can speed up my morning routine? & then feed breakfast after? I am conscious as the field is bare so not sure how empty her stomach is?? Her feed is scoop alfa a w/ oil, 1/2 scoop ulcer kind & gut / joint supplements

Rugging in summer rain - this evening it is due to rain continuously over night. What do people do?

Horse was on full livery last year so didn't have to worry about these things!

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Feeding before work is fine as long as its fibre and not grain so chaff is perfect. Just make sure she is not puffing before giving her her normal breakfast. I put a no fill waterproof sheet on mine if it's warm and raining, they are very fine skinned.

 

[Lamehorses]

My vet recommends a scoop of chaff before riding for ulcer prevention. I feel mine a chaff / speedibeet mix with a powdered balancer when I arrive. Then groom tack up & ride, no issues to report ?

 

[Red-1]

1. I wouldn't worry about feeding chaff before normal exercise.

2. A rainsheet is good if you intend to ride so the back isn't wet. However, in this heat I don't usually rug even if wet.

 

[Deltofe2493]

Feeding before work is fine as long as its fibre and not grain so chaff is perfect. Just make sure she is not puffing before giving her her normal breakfast. I put a no fill waterproof sheet on mine if it's warm and raining, they are very fine skinned.

thank you, she's only in light work atm due to injury so this works!

 

[Deltofe2493]

My vet recommends a scoop of chaff before riding for ulcer prevention. I feel mine a chaff / speedibeet mix with a powdered balancer when I arrive. Then groom tack up & ride, no issues to report ?

that's exactly what I'm trying to prevent as she is prone and just battled 4 1/2 months of them.

i forgot to add she also gets 1/2 scoop speedibeet. it's like a bloody potion! so would you say breakfast first or chaff would be ok?

 

[sport horse]

I have just thrown a summer sheet over one of mine to try to keep flies off while shoeing. Horse was in a muck sweat - defo does not need a rug!!

 

[milliepops]

I have always fed mine breakfast before work, my feeds are fibre based and even if they have a small scoop of balancer in it, its nothing like the big bowls of hard feed that the rules of feeding were written about.

I don't rug the field potatoes, if it's gone cool later i might put my Summer Series on the ridden one, like a waterproof fly sheet really. We are forecast 14 deg and rain most of the night so that is quite a good compromise as his field is very exposed.

 

[Esmae]

Fibre based feed is fine before work. As regards the rain, she'll not melt.

 

[Caol Ila]

Like the others have said, the "don't feed immediately before or after work" rules were written when everything was given huge buckets of grain and oats. A small amount of fibre-based feed is fine.

I don't rug anything at the moment. The Highland is a Highland, and he can tough it out, and the PRE can manage better without one at the moment. She isn't that close to where I live, and she's out 24/7. I think she's better off being a bit wet than overheating because she has a rug on, and I can't get to the field.

It all depends on your horse. My old horse demanded constant rug faff. She thought she would melt if her back got wet, so required a rainsheet if it was raining. She also thought one cleg fly would be the death of her, so required a fly rug when it wasn't raining.

 

[AntiPuck]

As others have said, it's fine to feed fibre before exercise - it's actually recommended as it supposedly helps prevent their stomach acid sloshing about (it's probably a lot more scientific than that).

I wouldn't rug in such warm temperatures just for rain, but if it were very cold out, a no-fill sheet would go on.

 

[Barton Bounty]

My vet recommends a scoop of chaff before riding for ulcer prevention. I feel mine a chaff / speedibeet mix with a powdered balancer when I arrive. Then groom tack up & ride, no issues to report ?

What this says ??

 

[Carrottom]

If your field is really bare I would give a small haynet whilst grooming then feed after.

 

[Peglo]

As above I always give mine a handful of hay or haynet to munch on while I groom and tack up as she’s not on much grass.

I rug up with a rain sheet when it’s wind and rain but we’re forecast 8 degrees tonight so haven’t had the heatwave that’s been doon south. If it’s warmer I wouldn’t bother.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Feeding - If I want to ride in the morning I know I should wait an hour after horse has finished to ride. would there be any harm in feeding chaff first so I can speed up my morning routine? & then feed breakfast after? I am conscious as the field is bare so not sure how empty her stomach is?? Her feed is scoop alfa a w/ oil, 1/2 scoop ulcer kind & gut / joint supplements

Rugging in summer rain - this evening it is due to rain continuously over night. What do people do?

Horse was on full livery last year so didn't have to worry about these things!

You absolutely should feed hay or chaff before riding (unless the belly is full of grass!) to stop the acid splashing around and causing acid burns in the stomach.

Mine has gone out over night in his no fill rain sheet.

 

[Winters100]

As others have said feeding fibre based foods is fine either before or after riding. Regarding rugging i really hate 0 fill rainsheets for anything more than a couple of hours to keep them dry before riding, mine sweat under them if the sun comes out, and if it does not they are left standing in a cold rug. Appreciate that others may have different views, or indeed have found better products, but this is my experience. If your horse is living out with adequate shelter this should be quite sufficient. I would also note that in the summer rain mine very rarely choose to use the shelter, mostly they go inside when it is very hot, or very cold and windy, which would seem to indicate that they quite enjoy a warm summer shower.

 

[ponynutz]

Mine has a morning hay net while I tack up and ride - less expensive than chaff and does the same thing as lining their stomach.

 

[maya2008]

No rug, it’s warm. More likely to overheat under the rug than to get cold in the rain.

 

[Birker2020]

As above I always give mine a handful of hay or haynet to munch on while I groom and tack up as she’s not on much grass.
.

I have always done this, in fact I don't think I have ever tacked up my horse without having a net to munch on prior to a ride, same when I used to compete, horse tied to trailer with constant access to hay.