How much hay do you give your horses overnight?

Mine are left from 4pm to 5am,
one has 2 slices (large slices from small bale atm) soaked and
the other has 2 and a half.
Both seem perfectly happy in the mornings (no straw eaten ect) and are both out in a large field with still too much grass, in the day.
 
I stuff as much haylage as I can into mine's haybar, and whatever's left in the morning goes out in the field. There's always a bit left over.
 
My mare is a very good doer, and I have to be careful not to over-feed her.

She has a weighed, small-holed net of 11lb/5kg hay at night, and is out at grass for 12 hours a day. I feed based on a total daily intake of 1.75% of her bodyweight.

I suspect this does not last her more than a couple of hours, despite feeding in the smallest-holed net I can find. I am aware this is not ideal, however it enables me to manage her weight. I think allowing her to get fat would be worse. If I fed ad-lib she would become massively overweight very fast (as demonstrated by her previous owners).

Obviously if the temperature gets really, really cold, I do feed more to keep her gut moving & help her stay warmer overnight :)
 
Was just curious, don't worry ours arn't left without either although going to be a expensive winter now we've got the shire x as huge amounts of hay!! :D good job we love them xx
 
Mine gets about 5kg in a small holed haynet. Probably doesn't last him past midnight but he's a ridiculously good doer. He also gets approx 2kg to come in to as he comes in at about 3pm which he has always finished by the time I get in from work about 5.30. At first I felt hopelessly mean rationing him so much but needs must I'm afraid!
 
Depends on the time of year and the amount of grass they have access to. All good doers so typically 8lbs in the summer and they had gone up to 10lb nets at night but they have now moved onto winter grazing so they currently have knee deep grass to munch on during the day so last night had 8lb nets again and they all had some left this morning. In the really cold weather they will go up to a maximum of 14lb. They are connies, one 14.2 and one 15h. We always soak the hay and weigh nets as a section of hay can weigh anything between 4 and 6lb!
 
Geeeeees peeps, you must be rich or hay is cheap ;) If I could afford ad lib I would feed it but as hay is soooooooo expensive I feed two slices in a haynet and one on floor for my chubby tb boy and 3 slices to my tb girl from the floor. The boy will eat two slices in 45 mins if I leave on floor! The fatty! The boy never leaves any in morning but my girl will sometimes have a slice left. During the day they only get two slices if in. :D
 
If i fed ad lib hay my boys would be enormous, plus it would be way too expensive, theyre both very good doers and get 2 slices each off a small bale out in the field or in their stable if they come in.

When i first had my boy i was told if they didn't have any left by morning they weren't getting enough - Mmmmmmmmmmm after feeding nearly half a bale one night to find it all gone i soon gave up on that idea, especially as my lil old fella one night got out of his stable and when found the next day, had demolished 3 bales of hay, 1 bale of straw and was starting on the 2nd bale when the Yard Manager arrived :eek:

ETA - the Lil old fella is 13.2hh
 
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As Joyous70 said, if I fed mine ad-lib, they would be huge (I have enough problems keeping her weight down as it is and they have no grazing whatsoever) and my mare in particular, would never leave anything, she would just eat and eat and eat. Mine get roughly 2% of their bodyweight in fibre each day, spread out in 4 feeds, one at 7.30am, one at 2.30pm, one at 8.30pm and one at 11.30pm. I feed it in the field, spread out in small piles so they have to move about and it gives some resemblance of natural grazing (plus stops Lucy chasing Vinnie away from all his so he gets nothing, which she does if they just have 2 piles). I have been doing this for 4 years now and not had any problems with stomach ulcers, despite the fact that they have usually finished eating within 1.5-2hours.
 
Mine has 8-10 kg depending on if its a weekday or weekend! Its equivalent to one slice of the large baled hay and fills a large haylage net so 3/4 slices small baled hay per night. never has any left in the morning but think it laste her most of the night. Used to feed adlib but now i have to buy my own!

She is in from 5ish to 8am

She is muzzled at the moment which is a pain cos I could feed her less hay but I am scared she will colic if i let her eat the lush grass! Shes also getting really fat again since i let her do half days without the muzzle - still ate the same amount of hay!
 
Thanks Rosiefronfelen!! Yes they are my own doodles - they are my christmas cards and are on my website if you click on my name, and look on my info bit it will give you the web address - can't post it as it's seen as advertising!!:D - or just look in todays H&H - my mugs are in the gift ideas section!!!:D:D
 
Mine have always had ad lib and I am sure I have wasted a little as I took what was in the bed and door way out and emptied their tub (which goes under the net to catch most of the bits which fall out) straight onto the muck heap, but have just moved to winter paddock which has some grass in at the minute. Mine go out at 5.15am, come in about 3 and have a 4kg haynet with haylage (very dry, this bale), then about 7ish one has another 4kg net and the other have an 8kg net. Both still have a little left when I do the 7pm net, and in the morning there is usually 3-4kg left between them, so I am hoping I've got it about right.
 
He probably gets around 6 per day, generally 1 morning, 2 afternoon when he comes in, 3 evening.

or split 2 early 4 night.
 
My older pony, who is in at night, currently has three thick slices soaked in a small holed net - there is not a single scrap left in the morning, I dread to think what time he finishes it..

However, he would explode if I fed him ad-lib, this pony just does not know when to stop.. This is from approx 7.30pm - 7am. He also has a small breakfast and dinner. I would love to have my horses at home so I could split the hay up and put a late night net in. My other ponies (if stabled) and other horses on yard always have some left in the morning.

I will start weighing it properly now the grass is going - aim for between 1.5 - 2% of their bodyweights depending on how they look / how cold etc.
 
They get their final section at around 11pm and then they would get there morning feed at 7am. They get a total of five sections a day, given a section at a time throughout the day. I couldn't afford to give them anymore than that. At my old livery yard they would have got four sections each day.
 
mine gets 2 huge nets full of hay (5 slices atm) soon tobe haylage mixed then just haylage aiming for 11kg as that is 2.5% of his bodyweight and then just haylage in few weeks. he usually has a corner of each net left...whether he leaves that or it just bugs him cause its too hard to get as it moves around!! but he never eats his bed and he has a slice in hay rack too just incase. he is in from 3.30/4pm until 9am at earliest!
 
Mine has ad lib. She never goes without. All my horses have always been ad lib, and non of them are guzzlers once they have got used to it, because they know they've always got food. Mine actually used to pig more when she was restricted.
 
Mine gets 6 KG in a small holed haynet (approx 2 thick sections of a small bale)

I would love to give her more but she is such a good doer and is prone to lami I just cant risk it. Especially as the hay at my yard seems very green and sweet compared to what she was fed at our last yard.

She is brought in and fed at approx 4.30pm - 5pm ATM, by the time I get to the yard to visit her it can anything from 6pm to 8pm, she always has hay left but not alot. I do feel guilty and sometimes top it up a little :o

Sadiemay
 
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