Horses still prefer grass to hay?

[FlashHarry]

I have recently bought my own field and have plenty of grass. I strip graze & move electric fence out every day - horses have new grass - ponies have grass horses have eaten the best bits of (the horses dont really clear up but the ponies eat it down to the ground). All also have access to hay. Ponies will eat hay (not giving them any grass in mornings because of frost), but all would rather have grass. Horses just don't want hay. It is good hay - all will scoff it if kept in (which I only do when windy or wet). I just would rather my TB ate hay, but he leaves the hay and follows me round while I poo pick until I move fence & give him more grass. Surely the grass can't still have much goodness can it?

 

[ThePony]

Nice, fresh (and sweet if frosted!) green grass is yummier than dried out hay!!
(fwiw, frozen high sugar grass is just as damaging for horses and ponies)

 

[ISHmad]

Ours live out 24/7 and will always go to the opened up grass in preference to the lovely hay they have to eat.

 

[helencharlie]

Yes, still eating grass! But a fresh bale of hay down the field for the 7 horses in there this morning, gone back tonight to feed and the hay has not been touched! Definitley still eating grass

 

[SO1]

of course they do - it like the difference between eating fresh fruit and dried fruit. most people would prefer a fresh apple to a dried apple.

 

[SVMel]

Mine too, I don't mind, as long as they're still within the realms of normal size (not looking like a whale like one was.... ) I'm not worried what they prefer!

 

[FlashHarry]

Thanks everyone - it's reassuring to know mine aren't the only ones - it's just my old boy I worry about - I'd rather he ate the hay because I know it's better for him. If I don't move the fence he still prefers to pick over the old grass than eat the hay - he needs calories! He gets 2 conditioning mix feeds a day & is well wrapped up, but prefers to be out. He's not looking too bad, but I feel hay would give him more than this old grass. However, if I put him in a stable, he box walks & the weight just falls off him. Horses eh?

 

[Cuffey]

My lot are not eating much hay either, I had less sheep on through the summer so plenty of bite sticking through the snow.

 

[0ldmare]

One of mine wont eat it even when he's in the stable overnight

Its beautiful hay, June cut, and my other horse loves it even after its been soaked for 12 hours!

But its different to our usual hay (which we usually cut ourselves off one of our paddocks). Ours is more stalky whereas this is soft and shorter. It seems he just doesnt like it. I'm somewhat gutted as I have 160 bales of it sitting in the barn and I'm not buying him anything else so either he eats it or he doesnt