Is feeding once a day enough?

applestroodle

applestroodle

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i have been trying to feed my horse twice a day but is not interested in them and barely eats one. do u think feeding once a day is enough for him? he is eventing at novice level and lives out all the time, am i being a paranoid owner? his weight looks ok at the moment but does drop easily, how often does everyone else feed? THANKS
 
Right now I don't feed! Living out 24/7, lots of grass, eventing at PN level and working hard 6 days a week, but he just does not need any food.

If he won't eat and isn't dropping weight, and you have enough grass, I would take your cue from your horse - he probably doesn't need it!

Is he normally a fussy eater? I think mine would eat until he exploded given the choice....
 
As long as he is getting all his nutrients, electrolytes etc in one feed then no need to feed twice if he doesnt want it
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Ur all putting my mind at rest, i thought i was being an awful owner
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!

yes he is a very fussy eater but maybe it is me that is making him, trying to forse feed down him when he is not hungry!
i just worry cause if u look on the back of bags of feed the recomended feeding for medium work is six scoops or something!
yesterday morning he just finished his small breakfast and then after riding in the evening wouldnt touch his tea! he mayb just not hungry!!
 
I have never in my life fed the 'reccomended amount' on a feed bag! I have never understood them - it's like putting together a dietary plan then saying 'any human of 5'6" who runs every day can live on this - just does not work!

Each horse is different, and if he is in good condition and has enough energy for what you want to do, then I wouldn't worry about not feeding recommended amounts - my TB came through winter on half a scoop of pony nuts once a day along with ad lib haylage, he never needed any more. According to the feed bags he should need lots more than that, but each one is individual.
 
I agree with SpottedCat - never personally fed the recommended amount as I feel it is way too much! I feed once a day, horse out for about 8 hours in a paddock with good grass, then gets 2 sections of hay for the night
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I had a horse like yours - a fussy one who also does Novice BE. Have you tried making his feed more interesting or changing it altogether? My boy gets conditioning cubes (under the recommended rate as he won't eat a huge amount) with sugar beet and a chaff. I change the chaff each time I buy it, so right now he's on Apple Chaff which he likes. I also add dried mint to it which I think helps. I find he'll eat feed for about 2 months and then suddenly get bored of it so I have to play about a bit again. I always feed twice a day because my boy needs the energy from it to compete, and he needs his supplements.

I made the mistake last week when I decided to start giving my boy an extra scoop of his nuts at lunchtime (in a bid to try to increase up to nearer the recommended rate) but of course, he then didn't eat all his supper..... so back to normal 2 feeds again.

If I were you Id try changing his feed onto something interesesting. Failing that, if he doesn't need it so much then just feed once a day! As long as he has grass and loads of hay (or haylage) then he should be fine.
 
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