Enough food for a good doer overnight (also in NL)

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Gorgeous George

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George always used to be stabled on straw, but due to an ongoing cough he is now on woodchips. My problem is how to ensure he has enough food during the night to keep him and his gut occuppied when he is such a good doer?

He is out during the day from about 5am - 4pm, and in a muzzle for all of that time. Then in overnight, he has a small feed am and pm (1 small scoop of hi-fi lite, cup of lo cal and joint supplement) and then soaked hay overnight.

He can't really have adlib hay or he would be the size of a house, and previously I didn't worry too much about him finishing it early as the straw is good quality and he would nibble on that to keep himself amused.

Now of course he won't have that option and I can't get up every evening to give him his hay in smaller helpings. I am getting worried about him standing around for ages with nothing to do, and also nothing to eat which could of course lead to behavioural and health problems :(

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I am worried enough about the extra ££ for the woodchips and now I'm still worried about him :( but hey ho at least I don't need to worry about the cough :rolleyes:

Thanks :)
 
Hi GG haven't seen much of you on here lately? although must admit I haven't been on myself that much. Did the munching on straw cause the cough do you think? If he were mine I would give him one full soaked hay or haylage. Wow do you let him out at 5am??
 
Hi FL - no not been on here so much lately, don't seem to have the time! I don't think eating the hay has made him cough, more the dust (even though its good hay) and just snuffling about in it.

Any other advice?
 
you could use smaller haylage nets, so that you have the same amount of hay, but dotted around the stable so he's not just standing eating constantly.

also you can put a stuffed haylage net (smaller holes) inside another haylage net, and it makes it harder for him to get big mouthfulls- makes the hay last longer.

;)

xx
 
One of mine had a cough from when it was very dry and dusty outside, but as soon as the rain came it has vanished. Can you try some of those dangly lick things (or does undo and vandalise things)? A soft football in the stable might keep him occupied too.
 
I am not sure how big he is, but two of my ponies are very good doers, and when they used to be stabled overnight, the 12.1 pony would have one section of hay in a small holed ahynet, and the 13.2 welsh would have two sections again in a small holed haynet. They were put to bed anytime between 7.30 and 9pm, and would be turned out again at 6.30 - 7am. They also had a small feed each at night.

My tb (not a good doer but not THAT bad either) is currently having 4 sections overnight, and a feed. I would give yours less than that!
 
Thanks all, George appears to be showing signs of intelligence :eek: after he realised he couldn't eat the woodchips, he did try and spat them all over the wall :D he has been eating his hay much slower, and some mornings he even has a little left! It's as if he realises that he won't have his bed to munch in later :) Long may it continue....................
 
I have the same problem with my Welsh D lad in that he has to have a dust free environment and limited feed due to him being a good doer and having had laminitis in 2009. We have both had to come to terms with a compromise in management which means he is on limited hay when in at night and when it has gone it has gone.
My lad is out from 5am through to 7pm on a well grazed down paddock where he is nibbling not 'eating' all day constantly and he is then in at night on what equates to 3 pads from a small bale (quarter of a bale) in a small holed haylage net and 500kg healthy hooves for his supplement and to fill his belly a bit when he goes in.
I am well aware that his hay does not last all night but feel that because he is constantly trickle feeding in the day and even when he has run out of hay, his system will still take several hours to process it, then he will be fine.
In the winter he will have a third of a bale but in the summer he does not need this much at all and is holding his weight very well on his routine of nibbling grass blades and limited hay in the night.
So long as you have worked out the correct amount by weight to feed for maintenance then in my opinion they should be fine even when left without for periods. In my experience it is not ideal, but a far cry better than the pain and consequences of laminitis.
I used to worry terribly about how long my lads hay would last but hard though it sounds, with time both horse and owner adapt and learn to get on with it.
 
I agree with Pottamus, I know we are all taught that horses must have ad-lib forage but in reality this is not practical for a lot of horses. In general grass management is so much better these days and a lot of horses would be dangerously overweight if they were givens much hay each night that they always had something to eat.

If you look at horses that are out 24/7 yo u will notice that they spend a fair amount of time not eating!

At the moment my horses come in at about 8.30 am and have a small feed. At lunchtime they have a very small amount of hay (equivalent to about 1 section
Of small bale hay). They ten have another feed at bout5.30 pm and are turned out. 12 horses are on this routine and we have never had a problem with the fact that they don't have constant access to hay.

Use haulage (small holed) hay nets and if possible see if someone could give your horse hay net later in the day so, say, he has a feed when he comes in at 4 but then his haynet at 7ish.
 
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