How much hay...comparisons needed.

[cherylmills]

Hi all, my 13.2 welsh sec.C is being stabled this winter as i've gone soft in his old age lol He is 18 soon, in light/moderate work (weekend hacks basically) and for the first time, without sounding like a bad mummy i would really like to be 100% on top of feed quantities etc. I havent been fully able to do this in the past as he wintered out and hay etc was shared in the field.

Basically I would be really interested to know how much hay people feed their ponies/horses so i can compare

Is there any standard weight chart/guide I could use as I would also like to work something out for our other 3 horses;

15.2 Welsh D X (19yrs) In moderate work
15.2 TB (25yrs) Retired and hard to keep weight on
15.2 ID X Shire (20yrs) Retired

 

[lisab]

Well I'm sure that there are people out there much cleverer than me who will be able to give you the proper ratio charts but this is what my boy has.

He is a 16.1hh warmblood and I hack him most days, have a SJ lesson once a week/fortnight depending on needs/finances and we do a show (usually 2 classes) nearly every week. Also some galloping around/playing flying change figures of 8 in the field, as often as I feel like. (This starts off with a feeble attempt at "proper" schooling but I soon get fed up with that and then do what is fun - playing walk/canter/walk, flying change, yahoo!) This is where the proper, serious people will be tutting and rolling their eyes

He has 8kg haylage each night. He's stabled at night all year round and, in the summer, when he's out more, he has 7kg a night.