Horse always hungry!

[Brooklyn]

Hi All,

I have a 500kg section D who is in no work at all (my issues rather than hers) and stabled 24/7. I give her 8kg of soaked hay a day split into two nets as i can only get there twice a day. She has no turnout over winter and puts on weight very easily. She doesn't wear a rug and has no hard feed.

She has a very small holed haynet (greedy feeder net) and she has her evening haynet at 6pm - i can't give it to her any later than this. Occasionally I have come back to the yard at 8pm and she's finished it all off which means she's then stood there until 7am the next morning with nothing to eat.

I'm concerned as I don't like the idea of her standing around for so long without eating. I can't get the haynet holes any smaller than they already are - they are only 1" as it is.

Should I be feeding her more hay? How can I keep her weight down without starving her??

 

[twiggy2]

Yes feed her more hay, if she is finishing a net in under 2 hrs and only having one net then she is spending 20 hrs a day with nothing to eat!
You could top up with straw but you risk compacted colic if the horse is just standing all day without adding straw in.
If you can't work her someone else should be -horses are designed to be on the move not stood in a box 24hrs a day.
She will put on weight but you can't have a fit healthy horse both in mind and body when it is doing nothing and shut in.
Either find someone else to work her and or keep her elsewhere where she can live out.
Horses stabled 14hrs a day and doing no work is one of my biggest bug bears and I class it as cruel-no different to a dog being shut in a crate that is big enough for it to turn around in 24 hrs a day.
If you can't work the horse, can't find someone else to and can't get turn out then you don't have the facilities avaliable to keep a horse.

 

[Pinkvboots]

8kg is not enough if she is 24-7 i would be feeding almost double thst and exercise the horse, does this mean she is not getting out of the stable at all?can you not turnout for a few hours per day

 

[meleeka]

I’d be soaking hay and feeding at least double what you are. Your horse is fat because it’s not getting any exercise at all and not burning off any calories. By withholding food for 14 hours you are seriously risking ulcers too, especially as poor horse must be climbing the walls.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Why is she kept in 24/7? If you can't ride her to exercise her, she needs to be on a yard where she can be turned out for several hours per day. I am disgusted at the management of this horse, tbh.

 

[Dyllymoo]

This post has made me feel really sad if I'm honest. I don't know the reasoning behind the horse being in 24/7, but I am assuming it is not because of box rest?

Whatever the reason you MUST feed her more hay, and if you are concerned by the amount you need to feed her (as others have said at least double the 8kg as she has no access to ANY other forage), soak it. That may slow her intake down as well and keep her a bit occupied.

If you are unable to ride/ exercise and she is in 24/7 not because of an injury or vet advice, I would be seriously looking at moving so she can have turnout (even 24/7 grass turnout would be great if you are not doing anything with her) or seeing if you can pay someone to ride her or get a loaner.

 

[dorsetladette]

She needs a lot more hay than that in a 24 hour period. I also think like others have said that a yard move might be in order, grass livery ideally. If she isn't in ridden work, can you see if there are any studs/yards that will take her for the winter turned out with their broodmares?

 

[Follysmum]

Why is she kept in 24/7? If you can't ride her to exercise her, she needs to be on a yard where she can be turned out for several hours per day. I am disgusted at the management of this horse, tbh.

Agree

 

[Arzada]

Why is she kept in 24/7? If you can't ride her to exercise her, she needs to be on a yard where she can be turned out for several hours per day. I am disgusted at the management of this horse, tbh.

Me too.

 

[be positive]

Me 3, I have just complained about a livery doing exactly this on my yard, their choice to keep in and barely feed hay not mine, posts such as this make me very sad and possibly explain why my livery thought it acceptable, if this is how some yards are run it is just not good enough.

We are only just into Nov it is going to be a very long winter for this poor horse, and probably many others in similar yards .

 

[Follysmum]

I really don’t get why anyone would think it’s acceptable to keep their horse like this. Such a sad life for any horse

 

[AmyMay]

Nothing to add. Great advice from members as always.

 

[Arzada]

I really don’t get why anyone would think it’s acceptable to keep their horse like this. Such a sad life for any horse

It is beyond sad. It is downright cruel. I can't even think where to start to explain to the OP, to try to help the horse.

 

[Leo Walker]

Me 3, I have just complained about a livery doing exactly this on my yard, their choice to keep in and barely feed hay not mine, posts such as this make me very sad and possibly explain why my livery thought it acceptable, if this is how some yards are run it is just not good enough.

We are only just into Nov it is going to be a very long winter for this poor horse, and probably many others in similar yards .

Its really not that uncommon. In some yards its the norm. Horse gets dragged out and tied up while people muck out, then back to the stable. 2 small haynets are given a day, and quite often 2 buckets filled with sugary crap

There are still a frightening number of yards that dont do winter turnout. It does seem to vary from area to area and my current one seems to be very good. Other areas people just accept it as normal.

 

[AmyMay]

Yes, many yards don’t offer winter TO, but you’d hope (and expect) the horse owners to be working the horses and leading out to grass at the weekend at least. And if the owner doesn’t ride, you’d hope that they’d arrange for someone else to exercise the horse.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I just don't see the point of keeping a horse in a stable all winter if the poor thing isn't ridden, find a field for her and let her live how nature intended, if she is prone to weight gain don't rug a Welsh should cope living out naked.

 

[milliepops]

Well that's a HHO baptism of fire for the OP!
Hope they come back to explore ways they can help this horse.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

O

Well that's a HHO baptism of fire for the OP!
Hope they come back to explore ways they can help this horse.

OP was given some very good ideas of how to help this horse - namely a yard change. If members had suggested ways to make 8kg of hay last 24 hrs, that would have validated the atrocious management style of the poor horse. As others have said, it does seem to be the norm on some yards. It shouldn't be.

 

[milliepops]

I'm in agreement.
Just that given that we only have one post to go on perhaps there is more to it than just being a rubbish human, who knows, we probably won't find out now though.

 

[Goldenstar]

It’s so depressing that anyone would even contemplate letting their horse endure this .

 

[Shay]

Although I don't disagree, I think the comments are excessively harsh in response to a first time poster. OP - you have stumbled on one of the things which can make people a bit cross. Try not to take it personally - or at least not any more than you have to!

A horse should have 1.5 - 3% of body weight in feed daily. So for a 600Kg horse I make that minimum of 9kgs. You can definitely increase your hay - or add a very low calories hay replacer so she has some variety. Definitely soak the hay, both to reduce sugars and dust is she is stabled so much. There are other things you can do like making strings of carrots or sweeds to hang up in her stable so she can play with them as she eats. A feed ball can be useful too - but remember to use something very low calories and to count the weight as part of her feed intake.

You haven't said anything about exercise and hopefully she has the opportunity for at least a leg stretch every day - unless she is on box rest for some reason. Horses' gut system (and thier legs) are designed for them to be on the move constantly so it is quite challenging to keep them restricted. If you are able you might want to look at other yards where you can have at least a couple of hours turnout for her.

And don't let the responses put you off. You asked a good question, and you have some good (if robust) suggestions. We are all learning and we all have things to learn from each other.

 

[dogatemysalad]

What a depressing thread. Poor, poor horse.

 

[tiahatti]

Is your horse on box rest? If not, could you move her? Even turnout in a school with a haynet would be better than standing in all the time.

 

[be positive]

My reply was aimed more at the yards that force owners to keep horses in 24/7 usually due to lack of land, overstocking which is what is not acceptable, it seems this is fairly common, more so in some areas than others although there are yards near me that will shut the fields down it is not something I have ever considered doing, apart from the odd day in, mine have always had daily turnout because however wet the fields get they always recover in the spring.
If the OP cannot exercise their horse for whatever reason or be able to move to a better yard it will be hard to manage all winter and they will need to think outside the box to keep it occupied without too much weigh gain, increase the hay, source some straw or get the plain straw chop to give in a tub so they have something extra to pick on, if possible find a sharer or pay someone to exercise a few times a week, if there is nowhere to turnout at all walking in hand may become interesting if she gets no proper exercise.

 

[Brooklyn]

Thank you all for your comments - whilst I don't like the 24/7 stabling I have no choice but to keep her in i cant just "Move yards" at the drop of the hat - I don't have such luxury.

The field has become completely waterlogged due to a problem with the drainage so I have the option to turn her out into a swimming pool or keep her in the dry. The field backs onto a main road so there really isn't anywhere to exercise her, a loaner would not be interested in riding onto this main road either. In the summer I have the luxury of off road riding across about 50 acres of fields but I am not allowed to use them in the winter so she usually has the winter off and I am unable to ride at the moment anyway.

She is usually kept out 24/7 even in the winter and she can access her stable anytime she wants for shelter or a lie down- her stable is 25ft x 25ft so not exactly tiny.

I have already mentioned that she isn't rugged at all, has no hard feed, just hay and it's soaked.

Whilst i appreciate everyone's concern for her wellbeing I am not purposely being cruel, I am trying to make the best of a bad situation and this is not usually the norm for her.

I am receiving so much conflicting advice, I spoke to a nutritionist yesterday who asked if she puts on weight very easily in the spring, my reply was yes she balloons even when strip grazed so her response?

"you want her to go into spring slim, so restrict her hay intake over winter"

 

[twiggy2]

It is not ethical to restrict forage for a horse that is stood in a stable 24 hrs a day.
To be honest turn out of some sort is not a luxury it is a necessity, so moving yards is a must if you really can't turn out where you are.
Are all the horses at the yard being kept in 24/7?

 

[be positive]

I see where the nutritionist is coming from but in my experience of keeping some very good doers it can be easier and fairer on them to get the weight down, or at least stop them getting fatter, in the better weather by being really tough and seriously restricting them than in the winter when they are in more.

My welshy will lose weight over the summer because she has to work harder to find grass, is happier to be restricted, moves about more but also spends time chilling in the shade, at the moment she is on adlib soaked hay overnight and out all day but in her 'job' as a companion she does have to sometimes stay in for 24 hours and will still have adlib, she tends to gain a little over the winter and loses it gradually so comes out of the summer an ideal weight, it suits her well, I do not use a muzzle but would if I had to to keep her slim and laminitis at bay, allowing them to drop over winter is fine if it is done naturally I don't think it fair if done by limiting forage too much especially if they are in a lot.

 

[HeyMich]

There's a huge difference between 'restricting hay intake' and starving the poor horse 20 hrs per day. She needs constant access to forage so that she doesn't develop ulcers, or worse.

Please, feed her more - soaked hay, chopped straw, low cal chaff, anything.

Also, please, let her out to stretch her legs and exercise regularly, even if it's for a walk in hand around the yard or a quick 15 mins walk/trot on the lunge. Less than this goes against her most basic needs. The exercise will help with shifting the weight too.

 

[Brooklyn]

Please can people stop suggesting she needs turnout - i know she needs turnout, i HATE this situation believe me!!

I can't move yards, there is nowhere around here that has any space and as I said this is not the norm for her, this is a bad situation that I am desperately trying to make the best of. My main goal is to keep her not starving but not getting fat either.

There are 2 others on my yard that are not ridden in the winter either but are facing the same problem that they are usually kept out 24/7 but have been forced into this new routine.

 

[Dyllymoo]

Please can people stop suggesting she needs turnout - i know she needs turnout, i HATE this situation believe me!!

I can't move yards, there is nowhere around here that has any space and as I said this is not the norm for her, this is a bad situation that I am desperately trying to make the best of. My main goal is to keep her not starving but not getting fat either.

There are 2 others on my yard that are not ridden in the winter either but are facing the same problem that they are usually kept out 24/7 but have been forced into this new routine.

Hello. I think people were only suggesting turnout/ change of yard as no initial information was given. I understand this isn't the normal situation for you or her and that you are obviously trying to do your best by her. It would be a good idea to put your name down on any local yards if you can, as spaces often open up when you aren't necessarily looking.

That said its great you are soaking her hay but really 8kg isn't enough for a 24 hour period. It would be best to up it, still obviously soaked, but as others have said maybe add some oat straw or low cal chaff such as the Top Spec Zero Chop type or there are other similar types, that they can graze on. Unfortunately, even if she is a little on the bigger side, horses are designed to graze and she will need a lot more than the 8kg of hay to keep her going.

With regards to exercise, is there any way you can just get her out of her stable, and walk her around the yard for a bit. Her stable does seem on the big side but it would be nice for her to get out and maybe do some in hand grazing?