hay out when its frosty-yes or no?

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Prince33Sp4rkle

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do you put hay out in the field if theres been a frost?
just idle curiousity, i always have, to give them something to munch until it starts to thaw.

iv never had a horse with colic, but also know plenty of people who dont put hay out that also have never had colic so......

just wondering
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If its very frosty mine get extra hay in the stable and stay in til its melted. Frosty grass can cause laminitis and as I have a pony who had nearly 2 years off due to it (not caused by frosty grass though) I am ultra careful.
 
I'm not allowed to put hay in the field so no. The horses seem to eat the grass anyway, frosty or not and they aren't laminitic so i don't worry. They get plenty of hay at night in the stable though and the field has lots of grass cover
 
Yes, especially if frosty I like them to have something in their stomachs before going out, but I can mostly put them out when I like, so no panic.
 
mine live out so it's not such a big deal, but yes, do tend to give them extra hay in the morning if it's frosty as normally they only get hay at night.
 
Yes - if the grass is heavily frosted then I put a couple of sections of hay out.

Fortunately I have two mares at home so can do this if I like. They have of course had their breakfast as well before they are turned out.

Fiona
 
If your allowed to put hay out then i would. Frosty grass can be bad for and lead to laminitis as it traps the sugar in the grass. Also all that cold/frozen grass is bad for the tummy.
I keep mine in when it's frosty until it's melted.
Maybe this is just me being silly but i think that i wouldn't like to eat ice lollys all morning and that's what frozen grass is to me...like a grass lolly!!!
 
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If your allowed to put hay out then i would. Frosty grass can be bad for and lead to laminitis as it traps the sugar in the grass. Also all that cold/frozen grass is bad for the tummy.


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while I agree about the laminitis thing I'm not sure how true the cold/frozen grass is bad for the tummy bit is. Surely it won't be frozen by the time it's even swallowed as the heat in the mouth when chewing would unfreeze it???

I do put hay out but mine live out 24/7 anyway with adlib hay. I have found them eating frozen grass, never had a problem so far!
 
All of mine have hay at 7am then are turned out for 2 to 3 hours with ad lib hay in the paddocks, frost or no frost.Never had a problem but then there is very little grass in the winter paddocks
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At the moment I hay only when it's frosty (horses live out 24/7) because they've still got plenty of grass for bulk and are getting 2 feeds a day. I've never had a problem with colic or laminitis - touch wood - but don't want to take any risks.
 
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