How much should I be feeding my girls?

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wattamus

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Currently they are out full time on a very nice green paddock with muzzles on as they have started to get crests (bad horsey mummy)!
Anyhow come winter as it stands atm they will be in 24/7 one is unrideable and will have very limited turnout if any (not ideal i know but im working on it!) The other obne gets exercised for about 4 hrs a week mainly walking with the occasional bit of cantering.
The retired one drops weight in the winter and weight about 575kg and the other is 590 kg and is a good doer. So how much should i be feeding them? Last winter it was 15lb of haylage a day each normaly 7lb in a morning and 8lb on a night. Problem is they ran out fairly quickly like around midnoght for the night nets and lunchtime for the day nets. Was I feeding to little?
Advice please?
 
There are various factors to consider when answering the question "am I feeding enough"? Firstly, are you giving enough feed to maintain the horse at the correct weight. Secondly are you giving it enough to keep fibre going through the digestive system and so prevent colic, ulcers etc. Also is the horse getting enough to keep it occupied whilst stabled.

With poor doers it is not so much a problem as you can just make sure they have adlib forage available at all times and you don't have to worry about them getting too fat.

With fatties it is more difficult because you need to restrict the number of calories, but ensure that the horse isn't left without forage for too long.

If your horses maintained their weight OK on the amount you fed last winter then it sounds like you are feeding the right amount of calories. However, if they are finishing their forage too quickly then you need to make some changes.

You could just increase the amount of haylage given but this might result in excessive weight gain. If they get too porky on the increased haylage you have various options available.

* Cut any hard feed right down
* Slow the rate of consumption with double netting or small mesh nets
* Substitute some or all of the haylage for a lower calorie forage - eg lower calorie haylage, soaked hay, straw etc
* Divide the forage into more individual nets (say 4 instead of two) and stagger these throughout the stabling period (enlisting help of fellow liveries/yard staff if necessary)
 
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