Hungry horse

[Sossigpoker]

Literally!
Grass is all but gone now so my 7 year old cob gelding doesn't see the point in being out much.
He's constantly hungry now although he doesn't stand in without anything to eat for very long at all.
He's in good weight, no fat pads , ribs lightly covered, no crest.
But he has a habit of developing a hay belly so I need to be a but careful with that.

What can I do to help him be less hungry and hangry too?
He gets about 25 pounds of hay in a day/night..plus for the night he has almost a full gorilla water bucket of TopChop Zero, now with some Honeychop lite and healthy added in.
Two feeds a day , consisting of a good half scoop of Spillers high fibre nuts, a scoops of Honeychop and half a scoop of TopChop Zero.
He's always loved his hay but while he has had grass over the summer , hasn't been so desperate for it. But now he seems insatiable and hangry!

Would upping the nuts help? Or should I give in and give him even more hay ?

(He's 15 hh and works 5-6 days a week, mostly light hacking, a schooling session once of twice a week )

 

[Equi]

Always up the hay before the feed.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

We found that ours absolutely wolfed down L&L, now that it's available again, they've gone back to plain oat straw chaff. My understanding is that TCZ is also very appetising, I would swap your chaff to the plain one. They only eat it when they really feel hungry so they can eat it for longer.

 

[Sossigpoker]

We found that ours absolutely wolfed down L&L, now that it's available again, they've gone back to plain oat straw chaff. My understanding is that TCZ is also very appetising, I would swap your chaff to the plain one. They only eat it when they really feel hungry so they can eat it for longer.

He only eats his over night chaff once the hay has run out. The issue is that he just wants more hay but if I give him more he gets a hay belly.
I've never known a horse love his hay like he does !

 

[Lipglosspukka]

Goodness, you must spend a small fortune on top chop zero.

I would just give him a straw net to pick at once he's finished his hay.

 

[HG95]

Could you not soak some of the hay so you can feed more but without the calories?

 

[Sossigpoker]

Goodness, you must spend a small fortune on top chop zero.

I would just give him a straw net to pick at once he's finished his hay.

We've got straw, the bedding kind , at the yard but my yard owner says it will make him colic ? Could I mix some straw with the hay? He has it in small holed nets to slow him down.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Could you not soak some of the hay so you can feed more but without the calories?

That's definitely an option. I did soak last winter but found it didn't make much difference to his hay belly.

 

[Lipglosspukka]

We've got straw, the bedding kind , at the yard but my yard owner says it will make him colic ? Could I mix some straw with the hay? He has it in small holed nets to slow him down.

I have always given a straw net with standard straw.

There is the theory that it can cause colic but I have never had one colic and nor do I know anyone else who has.

If it were that easy to colic on it then you would surely think that it would be commonly seen with these horses who are stabled on straw, as we all know plenty of horses who will tuck into their bed if they run out of hay!

 

[Sossigpoker]

I have always given a straw net with standard straw.

There is the theory that it can cause colic but I have never had one colic and nor do I know anyone else who has.

If it were that easy to colic on it then you would surely think that it would be commonly seen with these horses who are stabled on straw, as we all know plenty of horses who will tuck into their bed if they run out of hay!

Thanks. Does it matter what kind of straw it is ? As in wheat, oat etc? I don't know what type our bedding straw is I'm afraid.

 

[windand rain]

Oat and barley for feed oat being best. Wheat for bedding most likely be barley or wheat you are using barley is shiny and golden wheat is darker and has less shine to it

 

[Celtic Fringe]

My cob is totally ruled by his stomach. He has oat straw to fill up on - not first first choice but he will eat it when and it stops him getting 'hangry'. I think it has around half the calories of hay. I buy 'Easy Pack' oat straw as it is has good long strands so it keeps him chewing. We are in the SE so oat straw is not really a 'thing' here. If you are in the north or Scotland then it should be easier to get hold of non-branded oat straw, although you may need to wait for the harvest at the moment.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Oat and barley for feed oat being best. Wheat for bedding most likely be barley or wheat you are using barley is shiny and golden wheat is darker and has less shine to it

It comes in big bales and is shiny so probably barley then ?

 

[Sossigpoker]

My cob is totally ruled by his stomach. He has oat straw to fill up on - not first first choice but he will eat it when and it stops him getting 'hangry'. I think it has around half the calories of hay. I buy 'Easy Pack' oat straw as it is has good long strands so it keeps him chewing. We are in the SE so oat straw is not really a 'thing' here. If you are in the north or Scotland then it should be easier to get hold of non-branded oat straw, although you may need to wait for the harvest at the moment.

Do you provide a separate net of it or do you mix it with hay ?

 

[windand rain]

Separate net or trug as mine are out 24/7 when they came in at night just a pile in the corner

 

[Dave's Mam]

If you can get it, Ossi Coolhoof is great. It's chopped hay & oat straw, made on their own land in Newark, Nottinghamshire. It has a little oil & garlic added & is great for bulking out feeds to give "Chew value". It's very reasonably priced & lasts ages.

 

[FestiveG]

This may sound crackers, but remove all but hay from his diet for about three weeks. Whenever we've had any animal, or human for that matter, with food intolerances, they have been hungry when on normal amounts of feed. He may calm down if only fed hay

 

[Poingsettia]

A question re feeding straw: what is the chemical that is often sprayed on the crop to reduce moisture preharvest, and is it harmful to horses? Thanks.

 

[windand rain]

glyphosate and of course it would be better without. One reason I use ossichaff or bagged straw

 

[rabatsa]

You are going to have a "hay belly" with any horse on a hay/straw diet as the hind gut is needed to digest the feed. It sounds as if he needs the hay/straw so just live with the belly. His slimline look will have been caused by lack of fibre in the grass.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

If you can get it, Ossi Coolhoof is great. It's chopped hay & oat straw, made on their own land in Newark, Nottinghamshire. It has a little oil & garlic added & is great for bulking out feeds to give "Chew value". It's very reasonably priced & lasts ages.

I really wouldn't feed anything with garlic added, it upsets the gut flora and can lead to colic/ulcers. I would just feed plain straw, either long straw,or if you are worried about the possibility of colic (my Draft mare did colic after eating long straw), plain oat straw chaff, don't worry about making it palatable, if he is genuinely hungry, he will eat it.
I do wonder, though if the problem is not that he isn't getting enough forage but the timing doesn't suit him. Could you arrange for him to have some forage during the day? Can you put hay out in the field for him? It could be part of his ration, especially if you start feeding him straw in the stable to fill out his hay ration.

 

[ycbm]

We've got straw, the bedding kind , at the yard but my yard owner says it will make him colic ? Could I mix some straw with the hay? He has it in small holed nets to slow him down.

So .... your yard owner beds on straw but doesn't think the horses eat it?

Mine have been in 9-6 all summer, and my mare all winter overnight, eating barley straw and not colicked. If the colic thing was common it wouldn't have been possible to bed horses on straw for centuries.
.

 

[ycbm]

Insatiable hunger is a sign of insulin resistance. I might have a chat with the vet about it.
.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Insatiable hunger is a sign of insulin resistance. I might have a chat with the vet about it.
.

He wasn't like that whilst there was grass and limited his hay intake, didn't eat as much hay as was clearly full up with grass.

 

[Gloi]

It comes in big bales and is shiny so probably barley then ?

If you look through it you may find some ears of grain to tell you.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Thanks everyone, I will give him some actual straw as well as his hay and see if that makes him feel fuller and without the calories. I suspect that maybe psychologically for him filling his tummy with the chopped straw chaff might not be the same so perhaps offering straw in a more "hay like " format might satisfy him !

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

He wasn't like that whilst there was grass and limited his hay intake, didn't eat as much hay as was clearly full up with grass.

The problem now is that you are topping up his hay ration with straw with all sorts of additives, which could well be causing this 'hanger', please get rid of the L&L and TCZ and replace with plain straw, either long straw or plain chaff. I am certain that you will notice a difference in his demeanour in about a week if you do that.

 

[Sossigpoker]

The problem now is that you are topping up his hay ration with straw with all sorts of additives, which could well be causing this 'hanger', please get rid of the L&L and TCZ and replace with plain straw, either long straw or plain chaff. I am certain that you will notice a difference in his demeanour in about a week if you do that.

He's been having both of those in his feeds through the summer. And the Honeychop certainly doesn't contain any "additives "!

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

"Oat Straw, Timothy Grass, Linseed & Rapeseed Oil 10%, Marigold, Limestone, Cinnamon, Thyme, Oregano, Mint, Basil".


There are 10 things added to oat straw chaff in Honeychop Lite & Healthy.We have fed it to our horses and they *guzzled* it. Of course if your horse has been grazing over the summer,he won't have been feeling hungry because he will have been able to eat whenever he wanted but if you don't like the advice you have been given feel free to ignore it, it's certainly no skin off my nose.I'm just not sure why you asked, as most people who have responded have told you pretty much the same.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Literally!
Grass is all but gone now so my 7 year old cob gelding doesn't see the point in being out much.
He's constantly hungry now although he doesn't stand in without anything to eat for very long at all.
He's in good weight, no fat pads , ribs lightly covered, no crest.
But he has a habit of developing a hay belly so I need to be a but careful with that.

What can I do to help him be less hungry and hangry too?
He gets about 25 pounds of hay in a day/night..plus for the night he has almost a full gorilla water bucket of TopChop Zero, now with some Honeychop lite and healthy added in.
Two feeds a day , consisting of a good half scoop of Spillers high fibre nuts, a scoops of Honeychop and half a scoop of TopChop Zero.
He's always loved his hay but while he has had grass over the summer , hasn't been so desperate for it. But now he seems insatiable and hangry!

Would upping the nuts help? Or should I give in and give him even more hay ?

(He's 15 hh and works 5-6 days a week, mostly light hacking, a schooling session once of twice a week )

Have you had him, checked for ulcers or tape worm?



Mine are on haylage so I have to limit my hungry hordes, but I like simple systems haycare - Baileys grass pellets - ready Grass from Spillers - meadow/Lucerne bricks from Simple Systems as a top up to their haylage. keeps tummies happy. Gave up with Top spec straw stuff the zero as they got bored of it and left it.