Hay feeding amounts

[Pc2003]

I have a adult Connie 15.1h and a yearling connie. They go out everyday 8am till 4pm ish and the in at night until April. Field is okay, maybe some grass to pick at in places but not a lot. I currently go thru a 20k-22kg bale of hay a day/night between the 2. Neither have a scrap left in the morning and my adult horse waits to come in from 2pm and is a miserable git at the gate and seriously grumpy with the yearling at the gates. So I was thinking of putting yet more hay out in the field. But then i would be going thru over a bale a day? Does this sound right? Both are okay weight wise. Don’t get hard feed.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I certainly wouldn't want the yearling to have anything other than ad-lib forage. Yearlings need to put a lot of energy into growing. One small bale between the two of them barely sounds to be enough tbh. We use big bales now but used to give our cob about 3/4 small bale every night and she was only in for 12 hours.

 

[Pc2003]

I certainly wouldn't want the yearling to have anything other than ad-lib forage. Yearlings need to put a lot of energy into growing. One small bale between the two of them barely sounds to be enough tbh. We use big bales now but used to give our cob about 3/4 small bale every night and she was only in for 12 hours.

Okay thanks. Been a while since a had 2 horses so thanks for confirming. Don’t want anyone being grumpy or hungry

 

[Cortez]

That sounds a lot for two connemara's. I usually calculate at roughly half a bale a day each for ours, although a youngster might need a tiny bit more. But the ultimate guage is your eye; how's their weight? A yearling/two year old should have a rib showing IMO.

 

[mandyroberts]

I'm no expert on yearlings but half that sounds fine for the Connie

 

[Pc2003]

Both are okay weight wise. I can feel yearlings ribs but can’t see them as a lot of fluff!
It’s more the fact neither have a strand of hay left in the morning and the adult is standing at the gate at 2pm grumpy as hell to come in.

 

[Mari]

I have a connie. She doesn’t get hard feed just a token carrot when the golden oldie gets fed. She is out on good grass approximately 10am - 4pm then in. She gets at least 1/2 a standard size bale hay when she comes in & I top up AM if necessary when my big veteran gets hard feed. I’m a big believer in ad lib hay.

 

[Pc2003]

I have a connie. She doesn’t get hard feed just a token carrot when the golden oldie gets fed. She is out on good grass approximately 10am - 4pm then in. She gets at least 1/2 a standard size bale hay when she comes in & I top up AM if necessary when my big veteran gets hard feed. I’m a big believer in ad lib hay.

Thanks. So based on that they would benefit from more hay as my grazing in the winter isn’t good like yours

 

[Blazingsaddles]

I have a adult Connie 15.1h and a yearling connie. They go out everyday 8am till 4pm ish and the in at night until April. Field is okay, maybe some grass to pick at in places but not a lot. I currently go thru a 20k-22kg bale of hay a day/night between the 2. Neither have a scrap left in the morning and my adult horse waits to come in from 2pm and is a miserable git at the gate and seriously grumpy with the yearling at the gates. So I was thinking of putting yet more hay out in the field. But then i would be going thru over a bale a day? Does this sound right? Both are okay weight wise. Don’t get hard feed.

Personally, I would condition score & weigh. If the adult Connie isn’t in work then 2.5% of his ideal weight of feed (hay/grass) should be sufficient. Feed hay in small holed nets. If I left 20kg of hay out for my lot there wouldn’t be a bit left either & they would be the size of elephants!!!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Personally, I would condition score & weigh. If the adult Connie isn’t in work then 2.5% of his ideal weight of feed (hay/grass) should be sufficient. Feed hay in small holed nets. If I left 20kg of hay out for my lot there wouldn’t be a bit left either & they would be the size of elephants!!!

You might be surprised! Horses that get used to ad-lib forage usually self-regulate when they are allowed to do so.

 

[Pc2003]

Personally, I would condition score & weigh. If the adult Connie isn’t in work then 2.5% of his ideal weight of feed (hay/grass) should be sufficient. Feed hay in small holed nets. If I left 20kg of hay out for my lot there wouldn’t be a bit left either & they would be the size of elephants!!!

He is in work although light 2-3 times a week recently due to weather/Xmas etc.
He is just so bloody grumpy when it comes to his view on restricted food. The yearling is happy to go graze/find bits of grass where the adult is just rooted to the gate from 2pm onwards because he isn’t knee deep in grass or food. I do think whatever I gave him he would eat it.All of it.

 

[Pc2003]

To be fair last time he was weight taped (quite a bit ago) he was 480kg I think so 2.5% is 12kg so over half a bale if not having much grass

 

[ElleSkywalker]

I work on 12kgs of hay for my 14.2hh native types. Two are out on not great grazing over night so the they get 10kgs each per day whereas the one who only goes out for 5 or so hours gets full 12kgs. I count poop as well as condition score etc so as long as doing around 12-15 poops a day each am happy. Anymore they would be heading towards tubbly and less I'd up their hay.

 

[JennBags]

You might be surprised! Horses that get used to ad-lib forage usually self-regulate when they are allowed to do so.

I agree. For the first few weeks, they will gorge themselves stupid but once they realise that it's not going anywhere, I've found all of mine self-regulate.

 

[Pc2003]

I am going to experiment tomorrow and go all out. They will be out 7 till 4pm ish tomorrow so going to take a whole bale up and put that out and see what is left when I get them in. If any.!
Will then give them a further half bale each when they come in and see if we have any left in the am. I’m interested to know what their limit is

 

[Cortez]

I agree. For the first few weeks, they will gorge themselves stupid but once they realise that it's not going anywhere, I've found all of mine self-regulate.

This does not always work. Some horses will just keep stuffing, and end up overweight. Cobs, natives, PRE's; all these types tend to overeat if allowed free access and not doing enough work. I feed weighed amounts of hay and allow access to clean barley straw if the horses are overindulgers.

 

[JennBags]

This does not always work. Some horses will just keep stuffing, and end up overweight. Cobs, natives, PRE's; all these types tend to overeat if allowed free access and not doing enough work. I feed weighed amounts of hay and allow access to clean barley straw if the horses are overindulgers.

Yes that's quite possible, all of mine have been sport horse types, I guess we all advise based on our own experiences.

 

[Gloi]

This does not always work. Some horses will just keep stuffing, and end up overweight. Cobs, natives, PRE's; all these types tend to overeat if allowed free access and not doing enough work. I feed weighed amounts of hay and allow access to clean barley straw if the horses are overindulgers.

Yep, I can tell you from experience that if you try and feed ad lib with native ponies they will get fat as pigs. Ad lib undersown barley straw worked ok though.

 

[be positive]

Not all Native ponies are greedy, I have two here at the moment that do get ad lib and at this time of year are not gorging on it or overweight, they do require restricting in summer, over the years I have had a lot of ponies and they have all been different and required different management.
I had one Connie that barely ate hay when he arrived having been kept on a diet of hard feed and very little fibre, he was a little underweight, passed what were more like rabbit droppings for weeks and I was concerned he would get colic, he eventually got used to eating hay and looked far better but it took longer to get him right than any of the tb's/ sport horse types that I have had in the yard, a few years after he was sold on he was pts with a twisted gut and I often wondered whether it was a result of his management as a young pony.

 

[only_me]

Mine is self regulated, and donkeys have too funnily although that’s taken about 4 years longer than the horse and I’m sure it’s got something to do with him not letting them stand for hours at it lol.
Eg. I opened a large Haylage bale start of December. It’s still there, probably half left when I checked on Saturday. In good condition, not hot and under tree cover.

If I did that with the Shetland/Connie or other WB at the yard that bale would have been eaten in 2 weeks!! The alpacas would also have been in heaven, they love Haylage but aren’t allowed as liberal amounts lol.

OP I think for a native I would probably err on the side of too little than too much, you could always try adding in a section of hay and see if that helps. Are they both eating equal amounts? Or maybe put hay overnight in a Haynet for the Connie so takes longer?

 

[alainax]

I’ve been contemplating my first winters forage with my welsh A this year. Her hay rations seem sufficient, but I am paranoid about ulcers from them left standing whilst in (limited turnout).

I’ve found a hay ball, and a bucket of chop has done the trick! She hates the chop, so only touches it if starving. The ball is hard work, but if it’s empty I know she’s been hungry.

 

[TheMule]

As advised above I would look at slowing down the hay consumption or providing straw as a 2nd choice overnight. If there's bits to nibble in the field then I wouldn't be so concerned about providing it out there for now, but that may change within the next few weeks as the grass reduces and weather gets colder.
I would never let my yearlings be without forage

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I have a adult Connie 15.1h and a yearling connie. They go out everyday 8am till 4pm ish and the in at night until April. Field is okay, maybe some grass to pick at in places but not a lot. I currently go thru a 20k-22kg bale of hay a day/night between the 2. Neither have a scrap left in the morning and my adult horse waits to come in from 2pm and is a miserable git at the gate and seriously grumpy with the yearling at the gates. So I was thinking of putting yet more hay out in the field. But then i would be going thru over a bale a day? Does this sound right? Both are okay weight wise. Don’t get hard feed.

Depends on your bale weight and size, Also grazing, ours just moved onto the resting field we kept for this time so ours get good grass when they are out

Sounds a lot as I use a bale between 3 a night good decent bales of quality hay with liveries option to choose livery type to suit horses needs. I like the Shires Greedy feeders to slow them down. My QH has haylage and the more you give him the more he eats as he is a gluts. You could give him a bale haylage and he would prob finish it.

 

[Pc2003]

Well I put a whole 21kg bale out this morning. I honestly think there is grass to pick at out there. It’s not a mud bath.
Unfortunately I cannot be there to get the adult Connie in at 2pm every day as I have other stuff to do (god forbid 😂) but he just looks so miserable by 2pm

 

[Blazingsaddles]

I am going to experiment tomorrow and go all out. They will be out 7 till 4pm ish tomorrow so going to take a whole bale up and put that out and see what is left when I get them in. If any.!
Will then give them a further half bale each when they come in and see if we have any left in the am. I’m interested to know what their limit is

The 12kg for the Adult Connie should be for a 24 hour period. How about dividing half the turnout hay plus supplementing with barley straw and the other half for nighttime with barley straw. If he is that hungry he will nibble at the straw. Definitely weigh tape daily and record and then see if he losing too much or gaining and adjust accordingly.🙂

 

[meleeka]

My cob wouldn’t ever self regulate. He isn’t rugged though so that helps with his weight. I give him some of his hay either loose or in a net, to satisfy hunger then a large teeny holed net so that he has something to pick at all the time. He would be miserable too if he didn’t have anything all day (and he doesn’t consider the small amount in the field to be food either).

 

[Equi]

This does not always work. Some horses will just keep stuffing, and end up overweight. Cobs, natives, PRE's; all these types tend to overeat if allowed free access and not doing enough work. I feed weighed amounts of hay and allow access to clean barley straw if the horses are overindulgers.

This. My big lad last year had two nets a day as per yard rules - I would easily hang 20kg of haylage a day and he would eat like there was no tomorrow and was always starving and needed weight put on with meal. Now at new yard they’re given three nets a day and are turned out and I would say I’ve cut his total net weights by at least 10kg and he’s not on anything bar a token feed and he looks great! He 9/10 has stuff left in his net in the morning.

On the other hand, my little minis are out 24/7 and still loads of grass any hay put down gets slept on not eaten but if they’re in they have ad-lib and they generally don’t stop eating cause they’ve taken ad-lib to mean eat 24/7 like they do outside, so this year I do give less when they’re in, which isn’t too often.

 

[Pc2003]

I don’t like using hay nets generally but think I will start using one at night for the adult Connie

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Yep, I can tell you from experience that if you try and feed ad lib with native ponies they will get fat as pigs. Ad lib undersown barley straw worked ok though.

yep, especially the moor bred types that are programmed to eat everything thats available while its available. seen too many natives end up fat and laminitic because of the belief they need (and are fed generally very high quality for ponies) ad lib hay or haylege. While I've heard of these mythical beasts that are both native ponies but not greedy/poor doers I've yet to meet one and I'm quite glad actually, now I know how to manage mine its very cheap!

However, I'd not want a pony or horse hungry and grumpy by 2pm and I'd not worry about a yearling having too much forage provided its not already too fat.

OP you could put the overnight hay and mix with straw into small holed nets-the nibbleze nets work well and don't frustrate horses like some brands do. Then the rest of the hay ration could go out in the field?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

He is in work although light 2-3 times a week recently due to weather/Xmas etc.
He is just so bloody grumpy when it comes to his view on restricted food. The yearling is happy to go graze/find bits of grass where the adult is just rooted to the gate from 2pm onwards because he isn’t knee deep in grass or food. I do think whatever I gave him he would eat it.All of it.

If you think he is in danger of getting fat, give him plain oat straw chaff as part of his overnight forage and put more hay in the field. If he is genuinely hungry, he will eat the chaff. I don't like nets either, they cause more problems than they solve imo.