Feeding when out 24/7?

C

chasingmytail

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 June 2010
Messages
116
Location
on my way
Visit site
Do u keep same routine but reduce feed or cut feed out. Our boy was having breakfast and tea and ad lib hay when on 8-10 hrs turnout up until a month ago. Now out 24/7 have kept same feed routine but reduced quantity. He's only In light work. Would u reduce to one small
feed a day OR keep to 2 small ones OR none at all. Advice appreciated.
 
Depends on how good your grazing is. At the moment our grass is really great, and Zoom is in medium work. She gets a token amount of feed a day with supplements in.

Even if she doesn't 'need' it I like to get her out once a day even if I'm not riding so she can have a good groom and check over. I tried keeping her on two feeds a day but she won't come over in the mornings since the grass is so tasty :D So I just go over and check she has four legs!
 
When my mare is stabled at night she gets two feeds a day and ad lib hay. She is now living out 24/7 but occasionally coming in from about 11am-5pm and gets a haynet. She only gets one small feed a day as she has plenty grass to eat. Although currently I have had to give her 2 feeds as she has to have two sachets of anti biotics a day.

If he is only in lightwork then i'd suggest giving him one feed a day perhaps after you have worked him before he goes back out in the field. My mare seems to be settled for the night after having her tea and if i'm late she is waiting for me to bring her in for her tea.
 
Last summer my mare was in medium work, turned out 24/7 with good grass. I didn't feed her at all as she was slightly overweight when she came to me and hadn't been fed in the summer by her owner. We have good grass and soil (has been tested) and she did really well. If anything she was still quite plump at the end of the summer, but was a healthy happy horse.

however the horse I ride at the moment has mild arthritis so he gets a handful of chaff or mix with his cortaflex.
 
My boy is out 24/7 and gets fed two times a day, breakfast and dinner, same as when he was in. This is because he's rising 3 and still very much growing. I did think about cutting it down but he seems to be using it all up and not putting on any fat but great condition, so didn't seem a need to change it. As soon as I notice it getting stored as fat, it will be cut back. And it's something I'm keeping a very close eye on :)
 
Last edited:
Depends on your horse and why he is getting a hard feed. If he's a skinny horse then I'd probably keep feeding but otherwise I'd cut it out.

Mine is going out 24/7 next week (in during day ATM) and he will still get a small feed daily to have his joint supplement in. Only a bit of chaff and high fibre nuts though.
 
Surely it depends very much on the horse?

I have 3 horses at present, all currently out 24/7
1 is a retired TBx on adequate but not lush grazing. He looks well and gets no hard feed.
1 is a 6yo competition horse on an enforced break, on good grazing but still gets 2 hard feeds a day
1 is a working horse, chunky type, good doer, and he is on poor grazing and only a token handful of diet chaff after he's ridden.
 
Mine live out on reasonable but definitely not lush grass, but with lots of docks and thistles. I rotate 6 weekly between 2 four acre paddocks and have 5 horses. I only feed two of my 5 horses - and that is the two oldies (25 and 29yo respectively) as they both need the extra in order to maintain weight and receive adequate vitamins etc. - especially the oldest mare, who has virtually no upper teeth.

However my three boys, all in work of varying levels, are not fed at all this time of year. One of them is doing very light work simply due to my lack of time, the second is doing endurance rides of up to 20 miles with no need for extra feed. The third boy is doing the hardest work of all - endurance rides of up to 50 miles on no regular extra feed, (although he is fed on beet during and immediately after an endurance event).

I guess I'm fortunate that all three of my boys are very good doers and can live virtualy on thin air - and in a way, I'm glad that my grass isn't of the best quality, because even considering their respective workloads, they'd still be obese otherwise!
 
My two get two feeds a day because of their age, the yearling gets healthy hooves and the old TB gets Baileys 15+ and barley rings n dengie cos he's hard to keep weight on.

The welshie D gets fresh air.

They do of course have add lib grass and I do chuck hay out from time to time.
 
Depends very much on the horse, its workload, the grass.
My TB is on plenty of grass & is fat although I wouldn't say the grass is the best quality. He is getting a token feed of chaff with pink powder in & a small dollop of linseed, parsley & garlic oil.
It doesn't bear any relation to how many feeds he gets in winter as it is simply not relevant at this time of year! It really depends why your feeding - for extra supplements if you think he will be missing vits/mins, or whether your horse needs extra weight.
 
I would really love NOT to feed my horse during the summer but he's growing and needs it (he's got quite a light covering) If he was well covered I probably wouldn't.

It really depends on the horse but I am one for trying to save money where I can so I would cut it down / out if you can.
 
Thank u all - fascinating! He's only 6 and on reasonable grazing but I do give supplements as he's got **** feet so will reduce but give something as a carrier. I love posting on here as you hear from
such interesting people!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top