Feeding hay in fields on a DIY yard?

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chocolategirl

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Hi everyone, hope you've all had a lovely Christmas! Just wondering what you guys all do when there is snow on the ground and horses can't graze as usual. Do you throw hay out for them, and if you do, do liveries supply it or YO.. The horses on our yard go out EVERY day in winter no matter what the weather, which is great as it means they at least get to walk about, get some fresh air and have a play! But for this reason, the fields are now wrecked and there is little grass left. Mine come in a bit earlier if weather is rubbish as I worry about them being out for long periods without much to eat but most people on the yard don't seem to worry about this. Nearly all the horses are out for at least 8 - 9 hours! I make sure my 2 have a big chop based breakfast and a small net ( if they'll eat it!) What do others do?
 
We don't put hay in the field, it's a yard rule (we have her turnout though).

Personally, I just make sure P has plenty of hay overnight & accept that there is very little in the field. When I'm at work my YM brings him in whenever he wants to come in - he makes it well known :D

It's easier for me though, as he's such a good doer, I use winter as a chance to get some weight off him :)
 
Last DIY yard I was on through winter had the rule of no hay in the fields, if you want them to have hay then bring them in. An exception was made for the horses in the 24/7 fields when it snowed, and the owners would group together to buy the hay that went out so they all paid equally per horse.
 
I'm on 2 yards

Horses are out 24/7 at one yard and I private rent it, so I put hay in the field shelter, usually get a round bale delivered so they can eat in the dry, but I still have enough grass at the moment so they aren't having hay yet! if it snowed, they would get a bale in the morning and again in the evening.

Other horse is currently on box rest but when he goes out he will be in a herd, so would be difficult to work out which horse has eaten the hay so I believe they don't put hay out, which I'm going to find hard if there isn't much grazing
 
On my DIY we have 6 horses on about 10 acres split into paddocks. There's always plenty of grass in the summer but in the winter to save grass I always put hay out. My two are in a field together and I have three fields to do what I want with. I'm saving the biggest paddock at the top for the summer and I'm currently using the two nearest to the stables (one with an automatic water). The one with the automatic trough is trashed, though I expected this to happen and will be leaving it over the summer. But to keep my youngster out of mischief (as he will climb through electric fencing to get to other paddocks), I put hay out for the both of them. I buy a big round bale (£20!) stick it on a pallet and it will last the two of them almost a month. That way I can save my nice, more costly, square baled hay for when they come in at night and give them less as they've been stuffing their faces all day on the round bale. There's not a lot of waste really. And as they're not disturbing the grass they've got something to nibble on too. Plus I'll then pop them in the slightly smaller winter paddock as there is plenty of grass in there for them to keep their heads down.

Horses are grazing animals and need to keep eating and it's the best way for keeping them warm. I'd feel bad putting them out into a field with barely any grass and expecting them to just stand outside all day in the cold with nothing to occupy themselves with. Plus with the round bale hay not being exceptionally high quality they can eat as much of it as they like without getting obese. My livery rate is pretty low which is why I'm happy to supplement with my own hay. If I was paying £100 + per month I would expect to not have to put hay out or for the owners to provide it.
 
We have plenty of grass in most fields so we don't hay even in deep snow - they can - and do - dig while they're out, then get plenty of hay at night. The one field without much grass is hayed by the YO as needed.
 
At my last yard there was a hardcore area with a hayfeeder on. The YO put big bales out, kept a tally of how many he put out each month and then split the cost between the number of horses in the field.

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I'm a YO who has a DIY yard. There is only one livery here and she has their own separate pasture; and if she wants to she can feed hers hay whenever and however she wants.

Mine are separate.

I don't supply the hay, livery buys it in herself. Unless there is an emergency, i.e. livery can't get here because of snow etc, I don't feed hers at all, or put out the hay.
 
We never feed hay in the fields and at the moment we have loads of grass. We bring in at night so if there was deep snow and we didn't have much grass, they would have go out later or come in earlier but at the moment they're finding plenty to eat.
 
Penny Less said:
Why don't yards put out hay in the fields, is it because of fights, or hay gets tramped in. Never been on a yard where you couldn't put hay out.
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I think there are most likely many reasons for not putting hay out in fields. On our yard what usually happens is YO will use the 'spoilt' bales from the bottom of the stack to put out for liveries horses when weather is frosty or snowy and There is no charge for this. I just think when there isn't any of that available, liveries should get together and organise between themselves to put their own hay out as I think it's way too long for horses to go with little or nothing to eat and some of the horses on the yard only have a handful of hard feed for breakfast too! Ulcers and colic are my main worries in respect of this practise. All I can do is make sure mine have a nice full tum when they go out I guess.
 
At current yard Kal is out with three others - two mini shetlands (owned by YO) and a trotter (owned by YO's young nephew) - they live out 24/7, Kal is stabled at night. Until now, they've had plenty of grass, but now the field is depleted and they need hay so I have bought a large bale that is kept by the gate (outside the field) and distribute in five, well-spaced piles every morning. Next bale will be paid for by YO. Next bale by me. And so on . . .

Previous DIY yards have varied wrt needing hay - at our last yard the paddocks were very small and overstocked so needed hay pretty much year round . . . first to turn out took hay up for all of them (three to a field) and fieldmates split the cost of a big bale specifically for the field three ways - replenished as required.

I know some YOs don't like feeding hay in the field - it can contribute to poaching if not picked up regularly, can cause fights if not spaced out properly, etc., but I'd rather do the extra work to manage hay in the field properly and make sure the horses are not hungry while they are out (and turn them out rather than have them in) than risk fighting or boisterous play because they are bored and hungry. Ulcers are also a factor . . .

P
 
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A well fed horse is a well behaved horse in my mind - although I have the luxury of having mine at home so can manage them as I like.

I still have some grass, but the ones out 24/7 have hay put out 2/3 times a day depending on weather. The hay is spaced out and put in different places each day, with any wastage raked up.

The horse do not fight as are relaxed and in a routine.

I imagine in the case of DIY, it is very difficult to regulate putting hay out in a field as there are multiple horse owners on different routines - therefore possibly easier for every horse to be fed individually, which inevitably means in a stable at this time of year.
 
I also have mine at home, the field is pretty much trashed, no grass and plenty of mud, I also don't like hungry horses standing out, so I put hay out morning and night, I've been known to take them a top up after midnight, when the temps suddenly drop, it doesn't help that my lot get very bored standing in, even with ad lib hay
 
Colic is a factor too. Leaving horse out with nothing to eat just means they are ravenous when they come in and can lead to digestive problems.
 
At our yard, everyone buys 'winter field hay'. It's paid for in summer so cheap hay off the field. Everyone gets 20 bales and these get put out as needed. My mare is out with 3 others and they get a bale a day out.
 
Penny Less said:
Why don't yards put out hay in the fields, is it because of fights, or hay gets tramped in. Never been on a yard where you couldn't put hay out.
Click to expand...

Some liveries have horses that can not eat dry hay, or eat haylage. The horses fight over it, it makes a mess in the field,People with good doers may not want the expense as they perceive it uneccessary, some people would be hard to get money off and would not pay their fair share. Some of these are bad reasons, and I would not want to defend them, but that is why.
 
At my previous yard horses out together during the day, unless weather absolutely horrendous, and in at night. A section of hay per horse is put out in the mornings when grass is low, frost or snow.

At new yard you have your own field (shared with another horse/owner) and you can pretty much please yourself. Some owners rarely/never turnout, others put a netful of hay/haylage out and others big bales. We've decided to keep ours out 24/7 and as such have a big bale of hay always available.

Initially a big bale lasted the three horses 7 dats but as the grass has died back a big bale is only lasting 4 days.

It's up to the liveries to arrange/pay for their own hay. Current yard produces own hay, haylage and straw so it's just a case of putting a note on their order board asking for what you want and when.
 
When I was feeding a large number of horses and ponies I ran an electric fence a couple of metres in along from the gate - this way I could go along with the wheelbarrow and drop piles of hay all along the other side of it.

Though by the end of winter the strip was pugged the hay had left seeds behind that germinated and grew, rejuvenating the damaged area.

9 hours is far too long to go without feed, have you discussed with the YO as to why hay is not fed out. It's not easy putting out hay for a large number as you tend to get mugged while moving round the field. Our alternative method was hay on the trailor, pulled by tractor with someone on the back dropping off slices at well spaced intervals.
 
My horses are at home , I don't put hay in the winter turnout field , the horses tend IMO not to move as much when there's hay in the field and that's what I want them doing moving foraging not standing stuffing their faces .
If horses are stabled they don't need wonderful grass while they are out as long as they have something to eat .
I also don't like fit horses with shoes on feeding on piles of hay it's just to dangerous .
 
when I had my yard I never put hay out in the fields. All horses were DIY and were in at about 4pm and out at 8 am, with ad lib haylage through the night. THe fields had huge hedges and plenty of grass under the snow. If I tried putting haylage out there was always fights, and the haylage ended up being trampled into the mud. Without it the herds were happy meandering around digging through the snow for the grass and foraging in the hedgerows. We never had an issue with colic or ulcers.
 
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