Feeding prior to exercise?

T

ThreeWBs

Well-Known Member
Joined
31 August 2016
Messages
183
Visit site
Does anyone feed their horses prior to exercise?

I'm not talking about a regular, large meal, but maybe a handful of chaff and some mash? I've heard pros and cons for both sides and just curious what other people do.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I always give access to hay while I am grooming, some people give a small feed of chaff. I have never heard any cons, what would they be?
Click to expand...

I often feed mine pink mash or speedibeet and chaff in the morning when I get them in after being out all night. I then brush off, tack up and go with no issues. Everything they have is fibre based. They’re better for it imo.
 
I give a small meal of fast fibre & oat chaff, how things change - I was taught that horses should always be ridden on an empty stomach.
So for years I thought I was doing the right thing yet was probably causing them harm.
 
I give my horse her tea when she comes in from being out all day. Chaff and a powdered balancer. She also has a haynet. I give about 30 mins before I ride.
 
mine always has a haynet and water while i am pottering about and while i am messing tacking up. never had any ill effects, good for preventing stomach ulcers
 
Hay and a feed of pink mash.

curious to hear the cons of feeding before exercise though?
 
It used to be considered a big no no, mainly due to percieved risk of colic, which tbf is fairly credible if you were giving your horse a hefty grain feed as it would have been when people started taking that precaution.

But a handful of dried grass or equivalent fibre is not quite the same proposition.
 
turkana said:
I give a small meal of fast fibre & oat chaff, how things change - I was taught that horses should always be ridden on an empty stomach.
So for years I thought I was doing the right thing yet was probably causing them harm.
Click to expand...

As a child we used to stand them for an hour when bringing them in off the grass. It was an absolute nono to even think about riding before the allotted hour has finished. I make a point of ensuring she has grass/hay/feed before work now!
 
If out 24/7 on low grass I feed a small amount of nuts & chaff & then hay while I tack up - ride then hand graze whilst she cools & feed & turnout after.

If out on plenty of grass then nothing before I ride - feed after she's cooled down & then turn out.

In the winter she is fed am & there is haylege in field ad lib - so she has hay whilst I tack up and I feed after and hay before bed.
 
She's normally coming in from the field before being ridden, so has a hefty amount of grass lining her stomach. If she's been in, I'll give her an armful of hay while I'm pottering around and tacking up.

Like others, I was always taught that horses should be ridden on an empty stomach to avoid colic, and you should never ride a horse straight from the field. However, my old share horse had a history of ulcers, so his owner and I always made sure he had something in his stomach. I've just carried on the habit with my own.
 
It WAS a complete no-no when we were young - some people still think that but back then knowledge was largely passed down from hunt yards. They were fed large bucket feeds so it's understandable... I always did wonder why my pony had to stand first after coming off grass??? She never stood for an hour herself before going off on a mad run for no reason snorting with grass still in her gob :D:D:D

I've never done it as an adult. I just can't see the point if they are on grass (what grass??) or hay and having a small chaffy feed.
 
'Little and often' was and still is one of the rules of good feeding practice. I don't think anything much has changed.

I think interpretation of rules is what's muddied sometimes. Or people knowing on one hand how horses should be fed, but somehow not practising what is preached when it comes to the crunch.
 
ThreeWBs said:
Does anyone feed their horses prior to exercise?

I'm not talking about a regular, large meal, but maybe a handful of chaff and some mash? I've heard pros and cons for both sides and just curious what other people do.
Click to expand...

No


Horse comes in from field, then stands there while tacked up. (I never give haynet before riding)don't agree with it
 
Most horses over the years would be ridden from grass/hay, it’s no bad thing. If I had an ulcery one then a scoop of a chaff based feed I’d be happy with, but don’t do routinely (although that said any fatties on minimal token feeds is always ride straight after breakfast).

The only horses I’ve come across I wouldn’t are those like my just sold big eventer who has been tied back. I just make sure he has 10-15 mins with no food before he is ridden.
 
turkana said:
I give a small meal of fast fibre & oat chaff, how things change - I was taught that horses should always be ridden on an empty stomach.
So for years I thought I was doing the right thing yet was probably causing them harm.
Click to expand...


I was taught, well over 50 years ago, that they should not be given a bucket feed (that would have been oats,bran, hay chaff) before exercise but that hay was fine.

ETA, RS horses got a 90 min break over lunchtime with hay provided and then were used in the next session
 
Last edited:
Mine is either ridden straight from the field or stable so always has something in his belly. If it’s from the field he comes in to be tacked up and has a net to munch on then. Of an evening during the week the yard feeds at 4:30pm and so by the time I get to the yard he’s had 30-45mins for this to settle, and hay, to buffer before I ride.
 
Mine comes in off the grass to be ridden, has access to hay which he has a nibble on, and has about 1/3 of his feed before grooming and tacking up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top