How much straw bedding does your horse eat overnight

[Gingerwitch]

As per the title really. My new little tb seams to demolish his straw bed most nights - he has good quality hay which he also demolishes, plenty of grass in his paddock but without fail he eats large amounts of his bedding. His ribs are easily visable and he has a reasonable covering of flesh on his hips. He is a very "spirited" horse, and is on a good worming programme. His hard feed is suitable for his work load but he does enjoy a good gallop with his mates.

So question is do i move him onto shavings as per my other 2 or leave him on straw. He is on straw for speed and cost - but if he is in danger of getting colic i will happily change. Aternativley if i move him onto shavings will he possibly be more prone to gastric ulcers - without his "gut" being as full as he obviously seams to need and considering he is an ex racer he is apparantly statistically more prone to them. Aggghhhhh - horses - what would we worry about if we did not have em lol

 

[lauraandjack]

My coblet will demolish any nice clean straw you put in his bed. Even sometimes in preference to hay! Doesn't seem to cause him a problem.

 

[Chico Mio]

Mine would eat the lot - however much hay they had because they were fed straw in the south. It's food to them so they are on shavings/pellets. I actually put straw in with MoM the other night and then layered shavings over the top. By morning she had eaten her hay AND all the straw!!!!.

FB is prone to colic if he stuffs straw down. They get a big mountain of hay at 10pm and then brekky at about 8.30am. They suffer no ill effects on this at all. I understood their gut doesn't need to be 'full' - just working constantly. they are not designed to be stuffed to the gunwhales but to have a constant movement of small amounts - when you consider it takes the best part of 36 hours for food to get through their system.

Was he previously on shavings? Perhaps he views a straw bed as an all night buffet, especially if he was on a very regular feeding regime on the racing yard?

 

[Mickeymoo]

If I put a bale in, they could eat half easily. They eat it more in winter than summer. They don't colic either, but they are tough lads.

 

[only_me]

One horse eats a huge amount of straw bedding a night, but has stopped eating so much since it got doused in about 1/4 tub of jeys fluid

My horse spent the weekend on straw at the show, and started munching it in preference to his horsehage

 

[megwan1]

at least a bale per nite even if it is shitty black mouldy stuff and she has the biggest haynets ever!!!

i now have a shavings bed because she doesnt eat it!

 

[Janette]

She'll eat loads- but not if it has used straw worked through it (left overs after mucking out).

 

[Shazzababs]

My horse is on shavings because he the answer to this question is 'most of it'...even if its been coated in Jeyes fluid.

He's fat enough without him eating several pounds of straw every night when he's in!

 

[Pilib]

Hi, I nearly lost my ex-racer due to him eating his straw bed and getting colic, He'd eaten his bed for years and I always thought it was better for him to eat it than risk a ulcer so never worried about it. He wolud eat it as well as good quality hay or haylege.

One morning he came down with colic and colic'd on and off for a couple of days before it passed. The most scary days of my life. I have him on shavings or card bedding now which hasn't impacted his condition and he appears happy and settled just munching his hay.

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