Horse always hungry greedy or ?

[Purple18]

Hi everyone

Swallow is always always hungry she can have been out for more than 10 hours on good grass and comes to her hay like she's never been fed pulling really hard and pulling pieces without chewing the before pieces.
I have tried giving her alittle hay before she goes in her stable while being groomed but she does exactly the same.

all the other horses even greedy ones are leaving there's and sleeping
is she just being greedy or could there be something wrong ?


thanks


Purple18

P.s this probably sounds like a really stupid question but it's been worrying me for awhile :redface3:

 

[MrsNorris]

Excessive hunger can be a sign of EMS (equine metabolic syndrome), is your horse overweight or cresty with fat pads?
If she is, it may be worth talking to your vet just to be on the safe side and putting her on a strict diet.

 

[pippixox]

you are right to be concerned just encase, however, horses do vary a lot in eating! my friend and I give our horses pretty much the same amount of hay when they come in and they are out in the same lush grass. but her mare barely eats half of hers, my buy normally has a tiny bit left and my mare leaves nothing! her youngster is still getting used to hay nets so has some left. some horses are definitely more greedy than others as well, or also some are not as keen on hay than others.

 

[0310Star]

My horse is like this, but she is just greedy! adlib is and always has been a no no for her! I just try and slow her down as best I can now with double nets in winter when she's in otherwise I could put a bale there and the whole lot would be gone in the morning!!

 

[Fjord]

My mare is in the greedy camp! She's been tested for Cushings and EMS and has come back clear, however she will eat her way through a haynet in super quick time.

 

[Purple18]

Excessive hunger can be a sign of EMS (equine metabolic syndrome), is your horse overweight or cresty with fat pads?
If she is, it may be worth talking to your vet just to be on the safe side and putting her on a strict diet.

small fat pads but nothing serious

My horse is like this, but she is just greedy! adlib is and always has been a no no for her! I just try and slow her down as best I can now with double nets in winter when she's in otherwise I could put a bale there and the whole lot would be gone in the morning!!

yeah swallow would be the same !

My mare is in the greedy camp! She's been tested for Cushings and EMS and has come back clear, however she will eat her way through a haynet in super quick time.

same probably sounds like it is just greediness then :tongue3:

 

[DabDab]

I had an ISH mare once who would genuinely demolish an entire small bale of hay in 14 hrs. She was 15.2hh, 5 yrs old when I got her and never became even slightly overweight in the 3 years I owned her. I worried too at first, and had her tested for all sorts of things, but no, she was just greedy. Cost a fortune to feed mind.

 

[starryeyed]

Excessive hunger can be a sign of EMS (equine metabolic syndrome), is your horse overweight or cresty with fat pads?

This was the first thing that came to my mind too. My late gelding always acted like he was absolutely starving, despite always having a constant trickle of soaked hay to munch on throughout the day and a giant soaked haynet overnight - he just never seemed to stop and was so grumpy in the mornings before breakfast. He wasn't overweight, just slightly rounder than I'd have liked but he was in daily work & on a low-everything diet. He was eventually diagnosed with EMS (after a change of vet who took us seriously!).
May be worth a quick blood test just to rule it out? X

 

[Dry Rot]

I think it could be psychological in some horses. At some stage in their lives, they have been kept short of food, so when they have food, they eat to compensate! A sort of "I'd better eat as much as I can now as I might not get anything later" mentality. The problem is how to manage the behaviour. If feeding is limited with electric tape,we are back at square one unless it is done very carefully.

I've tended to sell on any that have this propensity. They are impossible to manage in a herd environment. We've a Shetland here at the moment (not mine, let me hasten to add!) who is running with young Highlands. She is too fat. But what can be done? She walks through electric fences and gets stressed if left on her own, so the whole group have to be on poor grass.

Voracious eating is also genetic, otherwise some breeds would not be greedy and others picky eaters. Some strains of native ponies are notoriously prone to go over weight. Selecting breeding stock which does not easily come into "show condition" seems to be the answer. Avoid the Thelwells!

 

[Purple18]

I had an ISH mare once who would genuinely demolish an entire small bale of hay in 14 hrs. She was 15.2hh, 5 yrs old when I got her and never became even slightly overweight in the 3 years I owned her. I worried too at first, and had her tested for all sorts of things, but no, she was just greedy. Cost a fortune to feed mind.

wow I have never tried her with a huge amount of hay like that

This was the first thing that came to my mind too. My late gelding always acted like he was absolutely starving, despite always having a constant trickle of soaked hay to munch on throughout the day and a giant soaked haynet overnight - he just never seemed to stop and was so grumpy in the mornings before breakfast. He wasn't overweight, just slightly rounder than I'd have liked but he was in daily work & on a low-everything diet. He was eventually diagnosed with EMS (after a change of vet who took us seriously!).
May be worth a quick blood test just to rule it out? X

I will certainly ask my vet about a blood test

I think it could be psychological in some horses. At some stage in their lives, they have been kept short of food, so when they have food, they eat to compensate! A sort of "I'd better eat as much as I can now as I might not get anything later" mentality. The problem is how to manage the behaviour. If feeding is limited with electric tape,we are back at square one unless it is done very carefully.

I've tended to sell on any that have this propensity. They are impossible to manage in a herd environment. We've a Shetland here at the moment (not mine, let me hasten to add!) who is running with young Highlands. She is too fat. But what can be done? She walks through electric fences and gets stressed if left on her own, so the whole group have to be on poor grass.

Voracious eating is also genetic, otherwise some breeds would not be greedy and others picky eaters. Some strains of native ponies are notoriously prone to go over weight. Selecting breeding stock which does not easily come into "show condition" seems to be the answer. Avoid the Thelwells!

thank you that's really helpful

btw she is getting about 6kg of hay soaked if that helps anyone