How much hay to feed?

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sparky1981

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I have a 16.2h shirextb that weighs about 560kg.He is a good weight at the moment however im worried about him losing weight over the winter. He is only ridden about 3-4x a week in winter(a hack, schooling and some jumping)and has a small scoop of speedi beat, a large scoop of chaff and a small scoop of high fibre cubes twice daily. I give him a filled haynet a night and he is on good quality grass from 7am to 5ish pm. He always finishes all of his net. Am i feeding him enough?He seems to have enough energy.
 
If he isn't losing condition and has energy I wouldn't worry.

Mine has adlib hay and is out 24/7 but if stabled at night, he usually goes through 2 haynets. I would rather he has hay left over than to have an empty belly for hours.
 
if his weight is about right, and he's got enough energy then I'd say you're about right.... BUT ideally he shouldn't quite run out of hay overnight, he should be able to eat more or less constntly overnight.

Ron is 16.2hh IDx and is out for most of the day too... He weighs about 580kg and gets through nearly 6 slices of haylage per night! plus a bucketfull of sugarbeet overnight and 4kg of alfa A oil with a balancer added (between 2 feeds). He is hunting twice a week though, with 2 other hacks out between!
 
Wow thats a lot more feed than im feeding. Think i will up his net and give him a large scoop of speedi beet just incase!I have a month off soon and am hoping to ride every day and do some competing so dont want him losing condition.
 
sparky1981 said:
Wow thats a lot more feed than im feeding. Think i will up his net and give him a large scoop of speedi beet just incase!I have a month off soon and am hoping to ride every day and do some competing so dont want him losing condition.
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But don't forget to count the grass he's getting during the day!! It should be about 2% of his total bodyweight for maintenance. TBH it sounds like you are doing a good job already.
 
intouch said:
But don't forget to count the grass he's getting during the day!! It should be about 2% of his total bodyweight for maintenance. TBH it sounds like you are doing a good job already.
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I'd agree with this... don't rush into upping his feed if he's not suffering!

start by increasing his hay a bit if you're concerned, and see how you get on!
 
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