Feeding fibre for keeping warm - how long before it works?

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Crazydancer

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I was just wondering..... at our yard all the horses live out all winter. Some we can feed ad-lib, they will eat what they need. Others never seem to learn, and will gorge, and of course these typically are the ones who put on weight anyway!! Last winter I had a part-bred hippo to deal with going into spring..... :rolleyes:
SO.... trying to keep a balance of feeding to keep warm, without bloating, I was wondering how long it takes, from point of ingestion, before the gut starts to produce warmth from the digestive process?
So if the coldest part of the night is, say 3 - 6am, when would be the optimal time to feed?
There is some grass to pick at in between times, please don't think my horse would stand starving for hours on end, and in the winter we do feed at least twice a day.
 
Is your horse still fat? If so it doesn't matter when you feed, he will use his fat reserves to keep him warm and thats no bad thing!

TBH I've never thought about it and I haven't a clue of the answer! Mine live out on fair grazing and manage fine, never lose weight, never put it on. I just feed between 6.30 and 7am and again around 4pm.
 
I hadn't thought about it before either!! He is just about right now, so I just want to feed enough to keep his weight as it is, hence the wondering about best time to feed.

At the mo, they get fed between 6 - 8pm, just once a day. When it gets colder they will get a morning feed as well. It just occurred to me that he hoovers the haylage up in about an hour, so he may have lost the benefits of the heating effect by the time the temp drops. But then I guess I'll notice because he'll drop a bit of weight.

Oh, maybe I'm just over-thinking this!!!
 
It's pretty instant. Think of it as stoking a fire with new wood. It burns as soon as it goes on but once it's all burnt, it needs re-stoking again or it will eventually go out.

Thats not to say he'd be stood cold all night but I'd certainly like to think he had something to eat for a couple of hours or until say midnight if the grass isn't brilliant as he'd probably get a couple of hours of heat from what he has previously eaten...

I'd imaging after the initial gorgeing on the first section or so he would slow down so I'd probably put out 3 or 4 sections for a small horse in ok condition... you can adjust if he gains or looses weight quite quickly...
 
I've just read that you feed haylage... although he'd probably need more for the fibre content I'd err on the side of caution and feed slightly less from a callorie perspective...
You may be worrying a little too much but it is good that you are thinking about these things!

Just keep an eye on his waistline and that will tell you if he needs more or less!
 
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