How much hay to give a .....

[canteron]

15hh cob, about 500kg, on a restricted diet.

Just bought a hay weighing (OK a luggage weighing but going to use it for hay) so I can be more precise on how I feed my retired cushings horse, but now I can't find the information.

Going to be interesting to see how accurate I have been sorting it by eye!

So please to someone cleverer than me!!

 

[canteron]

This is the best information I can find ....

Between 1.5 - 2% hay/forage for a horse.

So as he is on a restricted diet, I will go for 1.5% plus a very small serving of chaff with minerals and pink powder. This works out at 7.5kg of hay before soaking.

If anyone has any thoughts on improving this please let me know.

 

[queenduchess]

If he weighs 500kg he should be getting around 10 - 12kg of hay if not in work, maybe slightly less say 8-9kg and his chaff if he is a good doer. I would stick to a weight and monitor his condition and add or take if he looses or gains weight.

 

[monkeymad]

If he is grazing for part of the day don't forget to take this in to account when deciding how much hay to give. My tb grazes for about 6 - 7 hours a day and at the moment receives about 10-12lb of hay as well as a feed of mainly alfa a and speedi beet. She is working moderately hard 6 days a week and showjumping newcomers.

 

[canteron]

Thanks everyone. No wonder the poor horse looks at me as if I am starving him - I obviously am!!

He is 19, retired and a good doer, who has had a laminitic summer and now has cushings confirmed. If I am going to find him a good life I will have to keep his weight strictly monitored.

It seems the grass isn't growing quite so much now, so I will let him have a few hours out to make up his feed amount, he has been spending a lot of time in the sand school up to now, so will be really chuffed to be able to have a few hours on the grass.