How many KGs overnight for your cobs

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motherof2beasts!

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Sadly it’s time to switch over tonight , fields getting boggy already. Cob is around 15h and is a VERY good doer. Worked 5/6 times a week , wil be in from 5.30-6-6.30. Hes the type who doesn’t rest whilst there’s food and just glues himself to the net till it’s empty.

I can’t ad-lib him if I put 2 small bales in he would 100% finish them, he’s relentless. He’s out in the day but strip grazing /not much grass. Partner pops to yard at 10pm to do main net for overnight.

Last year I did 7kg over 2 nets soaked 10 hours and rinsed and left too chop zero.

I’m torn constantly between not wanting him to get ulcers and be standing around bored and cross all night and him being a very good doer.

Others at yard horses seem to pick and rest and still have a bit left in the morning I wish mine had the same restraint
 
I have a pony whom is the same, he can't have a round in the field as he will only leave it to drink or sleep! I've found double netting his hay and then hanging it from the ceiling so it swings and he has to work for it slows him down a bit.

The recommended amount of hay is 2% of horses weight or 1.5% if they need to lose a bit of podge.
 
Spiritedly said:
I have a pony whom is the same, he can't have a round in the field as he will only leave it to drink or sleep! I've found double netting his hay and then hanging it from the ceiling so it swings and he has to work for it slows him down a bit.

The recommended amount of hay is 2% of horses weight or 1.5% if they need to lose a bit of podge.
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I tried that previously and he pulled it so hard one of the beams came down so now on a ban 🙈
 
If you can divide the ration between three or four nets, and double net, it might slow him down and give him something to do 'hunting' for his food. I'm not keen on the very rigid trickle nets, hence double netting. I also used to put a small quantity loose on the floor as well. Now my oldie has 50% soaked rations based on sugar beet and grass chaff, fed from a trough so he has to trickle feed. It's a tough call with a cob, they just live to eat.
 
My cob gets 3kg overnight (the idea is ~6kg of forage in 24hrs). She’s 14hh and I double net it and tie it to the fence so if she tries to pin it against the fence it pops through to the other side, so she has to eat how she’s “supposed to”, which does slow her down a bit! Her hay is soaked for 15-20mins due to asthma/COPD, but she doesn’t need it soaked for sugars anymore.
 
Nibbleze nets are soft and I've been very impressed with their longevity.
If he gets 7 kg overnight, how much does he get during the (rest of the) 24 hours? You need to work out his total intake, including grass consumption.
Between 6 pm and 7.30 a.m. my 15hh good doer gets 4 kg currently, mixed with straw and soaked. That will go up a little bit once there is less goodness in the grass.
 
teacups said:
Nibbleze nets are soft and I've been very impressed with their longevity.
If he gets 7 kg overnight, how much does he get during the (rest of the) 24 hours? You need to work out his total intake, including grass consumption.
Between 6 pm and 7.30 a.m. my 15hh good doer gets 4 kg currently, mixed with straw and soaked. That will go up a little bit once there is less goodness in the grass.
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We have nibbleze he is a speed demon on these too 🐷

He’s out the rest of the time on a kind of alleyway bit of his field , we are on stone/sand so not very rich and prettt sparse I give him a few CMs of rested a day but it is literally moving one fence post a few cm.

Pic of said fatty.
 

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HaplessHorse said:
My cob gets 3kg overnight (the idea is ~6kg of forage in 24hrs). She’s 14hh and I double net it and tie it to the fence so if she tries to pin it against the fence it pops through to the other side, so she has to eat how she’s “supposed to”, which does slow her down a bit! Her hay is soaked for 15-20mins due to asthma/COPD, but she doesn’t need it soaked for sugars anymore.
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Maybe he needs less …. 3kg would last him about 45 mins 🙈
 
motherof2beasts! said:
Sadly it’s time to switch over tonight , fields getting boggy already. Cob is around 15h and is a VERY good doer. Worked 5/6 times a week , wil be in from 5.30-6-6.30. Hes the type who doesn’t rest whilst there’s food and just glues himself to the net till it’s empty.

I can’t ad-lib him if I put 2 small bales in he would 100% finish them, he’s relentless. He’s out in the day but strip grazing /not much grass. Partner pops to yard at 10pm to do main net for overnight.

Last year I did 7kg over 2 nets soaked 10 hours and rinsed and left too chop zero.

I’m torn constantly between not wanting him to get ulcers and be standing around bored and cross all night and him being a very good doer.

Others at yard horses seem to pick and rest and still have a bit left in the morning I wish mine had the same restraint
Click to expand...

I taught my obese mare to self-regulate by feeding her plain oat straw chaff by the trugful overnight. When we started, she got through 2 bags of Honeychop per week but over 2 years her weight went down and her chaff consumption reduced by well over half. She was in from about 7.00pm for 12 hours with with extra hay put in at 11.00.
 
I feel your pain, mine used to be like this. He's in roughly around 6/7pm and out again at 9am/10am. He wears a muzzle during the day and gets 6kg of hay overnight and then a further 1/2kg put in early morning around 6/7am. He does like his food although I have noticed that now we have moved yard and he is out longer, he will go for a snooze. The youngster cob is a funny one, he doesn't seem as quite as food orientated. He has 5kg of hay overnight and 1kg/2kg put in the morning but will happily go and sleep and come back to it/leave it. An option is to get a bit of straw and put a haynet of that up. If they're hungry they'll eat it and if they're not interested then they won't. This has worked for a few that I know.
 
Could you possible buy a hay ball or two and really stuff it full of hay so it's hard for it come out? He would get the benefit of gentle moving around, whilst keeping his tummy and mind happy.

Another trick to try would be something low calorie like celery or something, cut up in a way that he can't choke on it, but would fit into a treat ball - again keeps his mind and tummy happy with negligible calories involved.

I'd stick with the idea of a tubtrug full of super low calorie chaff too - at first he will possibly inhale the entire lot, but over time he will learn to self regulate.

A friend who has a cob who is obsessed with food does all three of the above and it works wonders for her x
 
motherof2beasts! said:
The others have those gigantic red and black shires nets , he wishes to be one of those horses.
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The ones you can fit a grown man in? Yes, we walk past those very wistfully of an evening too 😂

7kg of dry hay seems like quite a lot for overnight. Say a goal weight of 500kg, I dunno what the real number is, but 1.5% bodyweight for a fatty and assuming 10% moisture in the hay is about 8.5kg all day. 500*0.015/ 0.9 = 8.33. It is a hard one when they're on grass tho, is he getting 50% of his forage needs in 50% of the day or is it 30% or 60%.

I would get the weightape out. Pick a number for hay for now, provide the chaff or straw and monitor. Every week put the hay ration up or down depending on if the weight goes up or down. Only way to be scientific about it really.

I also feel your pain, mine is eating her bedding and has given herself a cough so I am balancing managing her weight (with haylage as no hay available!!) and whether she is hungry enough to eat her pee soaked bed until she coughs up a lung.
 
If he isn't cresty, and you are keeping him in work, I wouldn't worry too much about his shape. Cobs have a different fat distribution and muscle definition to other breeds, hence the strong quarters and chest and wide flat back. They also have short legs in proportion to body size - if you added six inches to my cob's legs he would be 15hh and perfectly in proportion.
 
I’m currently mixing mines forage 2/3 hay and 1/3 straw, shaking it all up together (not very convenient) and then splitting it across a variety of nets (he is out on a grass free track currently). Then soaked for up to an hour. I had a nutritionist out last week who reminded me of the basic rules of osmosis. The hay needs to be in enough water to allow for sugar to transfer out, agitated frequently, and the hay needs to have space for water to get amongst it. So I had previously been packing the hay flakes too densely and then also not using enough water, so I wasn’t getting the right effect despite the hay being wet.

I also realised this week that orientation of the haynet holes in my nets matters when it comes to slowing down a greedy horse. So my nets with small holes set in a diamond configuration the holes will close up a bit as the weight of the hay weighs it down. Nets with small holes in a square orientation will open up with the weight of the hay, so are easier to eat from. So I give a mix of both.

Nutritionist also said yes you can soak straw. I only soak for an hour so not sure if that makes a difference.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I taught my obese mare to self-regulate by feeding her plain oat straw chaff by the trugful overnight. When we started, she got through 2 bags of Honeychop per week but over 2 years her weight went down and her chaff consumption reduced by well over half. She was in from about 7.00pm for 12 hours with with extra hay put in at 11.00.
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He
smolmaus said:
The ones you can fit a grown man in? Yes, we walk past those very wistfully of an evening too 😂

7kg of dry hay seems like quite a lot for overnight. Say a goal weight of 500kg, I dunno what the real number is, but 1.5% bodyweight for a fatty and assuming 10% moisture in the hay is about 8.5kg all day. 500*0.015/ 0.9 = 8.33. It is a hard one when they're on grass tho, is he getting 50% of his forage needs in 50% of the day or is it 30% or 60%.

I would get the weightape out. Pick a number for hay for now, provide the chaff or straw and monitor. Every week put the hay ration up or down depending on if the weight goes up or down. Only way to be scientific about it really.

I also feel your pain, mine is eating her bedding and has given herself a cough so I am balancing managing her weight (with haylage as no hay available!!) and whether she is hungry enough to eat her pee soaked bed until she coughs up a lung.
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this sounds like a sensible idea , he’s actually in the best shape he’s ever been in and I can feel actual ribs …. Still a way to go before I see them 🐷
 
Highmileagecob said:
If he isn't cresty, and you are keeping him in work, I wouldn't worry too much about his shape. Cobs have a different fat distribution and muscle definition to other breeds, hence the strong quarters and chest and wide flat back. They also have short legs in proportion to body size - if you added six inches to my cob's legs he would be 15hh and perfectly in proportion.
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My physio always says he has the body of a 16.2 and legs of a 13.2 he’s very bum high but Is 15…..
 
BBP2 said:
I’m currently mixing mines forage 2/3 hay and 1/3 straw, shaking it all up together (not very convenient) and then splitting it across a variety of nets (he is out on a grass free track currently). Then soaked for up to an hour. I had a nutritionist out last week who reminded me of the basic rules of osmosis. The hay needs to be in enough water to allow for sugar to transfer out, agitated frequently, and the hay needs to have space for water to get amongst it. So I had previously been packing the hay flakes too densely and then also not using enough water, so I wasn’t getting the right effect despite the hay being wet.

I also realised this week that orientation of the haynet holes in my nets matters when it comes to slowing down a greedy horse. So my nets with small holes set in a diamond configuration the holes will close up a bit as the weight of the hay weighs it down. Nets with small holes in a square orientation will open up with the weight of the hay, so are easier to eat from. So I give a mix of both.

Nutritionist also said yes you can soak straw. I only soak for an hour so not sure if that makes a difference.
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Perfect thank you , what kind of straw do you feed ?
 
pistolpete said:
I’d add a net of straw. If he doesn’t eat it that’s fine. He would if hungry enough.
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Me too, I feed barley straw alongside the hay. It means I don't need to feed as much hay so I don't need to soak the hay. Obviously as always when feeding straw, introduce it in small quantities to start with and don't feed so much they can gorge and colic.
 
I think when they are in overnight its a case of wanting them to not run out isn't it? I understand your pain! I have 2 nets for my Welsh, both Equilibrium Portion Pacer nets, they are fantastic quality and very soft, they keep mine munching all night! Always has a good 1/4 of a net left in each net in the morning. They are good nets if you are looking for an alternative net.

If they are in a lot of work like yours and not showing excess fat I wouldn't worry too much
 
motherof2beasts! said:
Sadly it’s time to switch over tonight , fields getting boggy already. Cob is around 15h and is a VERY good doer. Worked 5/6 times a week , wil be in from 5.30-6-6.30. Hes the type who doesn’t rest whilst there’s food and just glues himself to the net till it’s empty.

I can’t ad-lib him if I put 2 small bales in he would 100% finish them, he’s relentless. He’s out in the day but strip grazing /not much grass. Partner pops to yard at 10pm to do main net for overnight.

Last year I did 7kg over 2 nets soaked 10 hours and rinsed and left too chop zero.

I’m torn constantly between not wanting him to get ulcers and be standing around bored and cross all night and him being a very good doer.

Others at yard horses seem to pick and rest and still have a bit left in the morning I wish mine had the same restraint
Click to expand...
How many hours of ridden activity is your cob doing each day, and what type of work is this?
That’s the obvious thing to increase, maybe the nature of the activity if you personally haven’t got more time, because if he’s going from turnout to stable, without doing anything strenuous, he will be looking for something to ‘do’, and not using up many calories at all.
Remember, those vanner types could pull a laden float much of the day, with just a nose bag / bite of hay for lunch, but ad lib in the stall overnight.
 
I feel your pain. Mine are going to start coming in over night tonight. One of mine is such a little hippo. But she will get one net and her bucket of oat chaff and it’s up to her to make sure she has enough for overnight. They are usually in from 8ish to 6.

Funnily I walked past my big horse with a bucket of straw chaff and she wanted to see what was in it and she started munching it. I gave her a bucket and she finished it even though she gets ad-lib hay whilst my wee hippo only eats it if she is very hungry.
 
Exasperated said:
How many hours of ridden activity is your cob doing each day, and what type of work is this?
That’s the obvious thing to increase, maybe the nature of the activity if you personally haven’t got more time, because if he’s going from turnout to stable, without doing anything strenuous, he will be looking for something to ‘do’, and not using up many calories at all.
Remember, those vanner types could pull a laden float much of the day, with just a nose bag / bite of hay for lunch, but ad lib in the stall overnight.
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He has a relatively leisurely life , usually hack 3 times a week very hilly, but not many good canter opportunities and school the other days but not for “hours” more like 40mins/hour . If I didn’t work I’d hack daily , but not much daylight !
 
Peglo said:
I feel your pain. Mine are going to start coming in over night tonight. One of mine is such a little hippo. But she will get one net and her bucket of oat chaff and it’s up to her to make sure she has enough for overnight. They are usually in from 8ish to 6.

Funnily I walked past my big horse with a bucket of straw chaff and she wanted to see what was in it and she started munching it. I gave her a bucket and she finished it even though she gets ad-lib hay whilst my wee hippo only eats it if she is very hungry.
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Yes we are just starting tonight was really hopeful we could leave it longer but we’ve had an apocalyptic amount of rain in 48 hours.
 
It's a nightmare when you have one without an off switch. My EMS mare has a Shires Softmesh (1 inch holes) net of Timothy haylage mixed with barley straw (total about 3.5kg), hung from an overhead branch so it free swings over her pen. Plus about 1kg 12 hr soaked meadow hay in a small Shires Greedy Feeder (1.25 inch holes). I also leave a trug of Honeychop straw chaff, which she rarely touches. I suspect she finishes everything before midnight then sulks for 6 hours or so until I reappear. Not great, but she's got eating super powers, and can eat faster than any horse I have ever known. Food is her absolute biggest driver.
 
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