does your horse/pony eat all of their hay/haylage in one go?

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emfen1305

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As the title really! Most of the horses ive seen on my part of the yard stand at their night net and eat until it is empty and then sleep (presumably they sleep!) however my horse seems to pace himself - he will eat a bit and then rest for an hour or two, then eat a bit more and repeat throughout the night, he doesn't ever seem to be eating for more than 30 mins at a time - at the risk of sounding a bit strange, is this normal?!

The only reason I've taken such an interest as have always been advised to give his ulcer medicine on an empty stomach and therefore first thing in the morning but it was only when I was checking the cameras that he would be happily stood there munching on what was left from what I had put in from 7pm the night before at 6am the next morning!
 
Your horse is totally normal, they should eat, rest, eat, rest throughout the 24 hours period and most horses that have genuinely ad lib forage will pace themselves, there are always exceptions who won't stop until it has all gone, as long as you give the medication before feeding it should be fine, one of mine had it and he never ate all his hay overnight.
 
Yes, it's normal. They're all different. I've been a groom, had my own horses and run my own yard for many years. Some horses can devour their hay in a very small amount of time, whilst others pick at it through the night.
 
Excellent - thank you both! I am so used to everyone around me double netting and weighing, soaking and all sorts and it is not unusual for me to be leaving at 7:30 and some having almost finished their night net. I just shove as much in the haybar as I can fit and there is always about half left over though some nights he does eat more. He could probably do with losing a little bit of weight but feel like we have reached a happy medium where I can feed him adlib and him not put on more weight (touch wood!)
 
Your horse is eating in a much healthier pattern, the worst thing for ulcers anyway is not eating for prolonged periods, as for the meds just check with the vet how long the horse should not have eaten for before giving.
 
Yes, completely normal. I've never owned a horse that would eat all its hay in one sitting. At the moment I have one who will eat a fair bit in one go but then will sleep for a fair while before eating again, and the other two shuffle through the pile to find the best bits, drag the rest halfway round their beds and then spend the rest of the night picking it out of the bed with short bursts of sleep in between. One of my mares also frequently drags it into her bed, lies down next to it and then spreads it around her to nibble while resting - she is a bit of an odd job though :D
 
I have an all in one go eater, and a fast one at that... She's the odd one out on our yard where they are all fed truly adlib. Apart from my mare I never see a horse without some haylage in front of it in the stable at this yard. Mine is slowly, slowly, slowly slowing down a bit and has started to take the occasional break while she still has some left! I think she's realising that she gets enough so she doesn't need to pig. It's taken 2 winters though! I expect it'll take a couple more before she really stops pigging.
 
It’s fifty fifty on my yard. Some horses pace themselves and have a little hay left in the morning. Some will eat half a bale in two hours and kick the door for more as if they’ve eaten nothing for a week.
 
I have both. My mare eats a bit then rests and so does the shetland. The cob however can’t leave his hay until it’s all gone. Given that they all live it makes things difficult and he invariably gets too much to accommodate the other two. They are a nice weight and hes fat.
 
Mine all pace themselves, but they have more than enough so they never run out. Some horses learn to pig out I think if they don't get as much as they think they need/want!

I did know a horse at my last yard though who gorged without pause no matter how much she had. All the horses were out 24/7 with a ring feeder that never ran out. She had to be moved to a paddock on her own in the end.
 
My IDH takes a age to eat as he washes every mouthful in his water bucket before swallowing it. On the up side he is the only horse of ours without a cough.
 
I have one of each one eats a bit then normally lies down he often still has hay left when I go out late to give them the last net of the night, the other one eats the lot in one go and often has nothing left but I have never known a horse to consume as much as he can his always been the same.
 
My mare paces herself but her cob chum inhales it in one sitting and then looks longingly at hers. She have him even if he made a slight move towards it (he couldn't get it anyway). She probably does it to taunt him.
 
My current one just picks through the night. I love it, so much easier to manage them that way. My other horse was a guzzler and a complete fatty - much cheaper to feed but impossible to keep slim!
 
Mine paces herself like yours. I aim to have a handful left in her net in the morning but not a big pile on the floor because she'll pull it through her bed. Occasionally she's eaten the lot, but she's always chewing when I arrive so can only conclude that she scoffed that last handful quickly when she heard me coming.
 
I've got one who inhales her hay. She was an orphan foal and its left her with 'issues' around food. She could do with therapy.....

She's had ulcers (also common in orphan foals) and to make sure she has enough to eat without turning into a hippo I soak her overnight hay. She knows the sound of my car so the first thing I hear at 7am in the dark is the sound of her yelling for breakfast. Poor, starved pony ;)
 
Wow lots of replies - thank you all! I just had this mad moment last night where he was just stood snoozing with a full haybar and wondered whether he was alright, so paranoid at keeping his ulcers away! He's the opposite with a bucket, I tried soaking a full grass block to give him to keep him entertained on weekends and the first one I gave him he stood in, front of the bucket and ate it all until it was gone so have to ration the soaked grass blocks now!
 
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