Good doer, always hungry

[Annalee]

Hi there! Looking for some advise on feeding a good doer. Sorry if this is a long one.
I have a little 13.3h Cob mare, currently looking well about 450kg (weight tape) down from 506kg through the summer.
I’ve tried different ways of keeping her diet controlled to keep her weight down. I’ve found for her the best way is short grass with additional hay. Long grass she bloats and piles on weight, bare paddock she hates!!!
This has been working great, until now. She’s currently getting 8lb of hay in a morning around 8am and 2lb about 4pm when a fried brings in and 10lb for the night around 5:30pm when I finish work. This is always cleared by morning.

The problem is she cannot cope with being hungry, even the tiniest bit (From next week it won’t be a problem for a few weeks as she’ll be in her winter paddock, I’m just worried about once the grass has been eatenAs soon as she’s finished her hay she’s pacing the field, as soon as people are arrive she stars running and whinnying. She completely trashed her field in a day.
I’ll struggle to give ad lib hay as were on shared bales and have to weigh every lb. is there a feed maybe which is extremely low calorie but filling I could feed her for breakfast/tea so at least she’s not going to the field hungry, maybe satisfy her a little.

Any advise appreciated!

I couldn’t be with out this little mare but, she stresses me out so much at this time of year, all afternoon I worry about her running the field as everyone else is seeing the theirs and brining in. Luckily non of the other horse take notice of her over dramatic antics ? good job I love the diva!

 

[shortstuff99]

Chopped straw is your friend, no calories but fills them up! My current fatty has top chop zero but if you can bales of oat straw that will work too.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Honeychop or Halleys plain oat straw chaff fills them up and gives them something to do but avoid Topchop Zero, it has additions which they wolf down, which defeats the object.

 

[windand rain]

Ossichaff is another oat straw chaff. I don't use zero it's too tasty so they don't leave it

 

[windand rain]

Should add that sounds like a lot of hay the max should be 9kgs but 7 would be better

 

[Annalee]

Should add that sounds like a lot of hay the max should be 9kgs but 7 would be better

Thank you! I know it’s a lot of hay for her size. Ideally if she’s on something more filling I’ll try cutting her hay down.

 

[Annalee]

I should also say she has a feed in an evening of dengi hifi lite and top spec lite balancer. All this seems a lot of hay and feed I know. I say she’s a good doer but that’s only spring/summer when there’s grass available. As soon as the grass is gone she does drop weight pretty quickly. Which is a good thing!! It’s how stressy and depressed she becomes. It’s not nice to see, her whole personality changes and see becomes a different pony. You can do anything with her, she’s just too food driven. Just hoping to find a middle ground where she’s not being rationed but not being given a all you can eat buffet (which she’s love) ??

I’m not sure why she gets like this as she knows there’ll always be something for her. I think it’s down to a really horrible winter she has when she was 3. She was turned out in a big herd of yearlings, two old thoroughbreds and a cob. Somehow she got pushed to the bottom of the herd. It was a really bad winter about 5/6 years ago where it was extremely wet and cold. The field was up to their knees in mud which kept freezing. She got bullied and barely got any hay to eat as they wouldn’t let her near. I was new to owning and her health just changed so quickly. She became extremely depressed, her weight was lbs of dangerously thin. When I realised she was moved from that yard in days!!!
Some people say horses don’t think like this but do you think horses minds hold onto things like this? I think it’s made her panic when hungry and become obsessed with getting her next meal.

 

[shortstuff99]

Honeychop or Halleys plain oat straw chaff fills them up and gives them something to do but avoid Topchop Zero, it has additions which they wolf down, which defeats the object.

I'm surprised you say that as all of mine find it really boring! They never eat it all and of given the choice wouldn't eat it at all ?

 

[Auslander]

I'm surprised you say that as all of mine find it really boring! They never eat it all and of given the choice wouldn't eat it at all ?

Same here - mine would rather starve than eat Zero! They turn their noses up at the buckets, and whinny pathetically at me!

 

[rhia.mx]

Hiya, did you find any of the suggestions worked for you, I’m having the same problem! Thank you in advance xx

 

[pistolpete]

Feeding mine barley straw. I know there’s a colic risk but unable to get oat straw and he eats it when hungry. Also put honey hop oat straw in feeds. Makes them nice and filling. He goers hay too and a small anoint of Haylage as it actually makes them eat the hay more slowly hoping for more haylage!

 

[ycbm]

Can you soak the hay? It makes it much less calorific.

My good doer mare gets 6kg of soaked haylage and then has barley straw to pick at if she wants anything else. She's a lot bigger than yours.
.

 

[Equi]

The extra exercise will be doing her good lol