Managing Hay Ideas!

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Lotsoflemons

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Hi I have a 14.1hh pony who majority of the time has no Hay in the morning left 🙈 he has a big haynet and a mountain of Hay on the floor every night but by Midnight/1am he's eaten pretty much all of it! I like him to have adlib hay but He's quite a Chunky pony but I also don't want to leave him starving, any ideas please no Hay balls etc as he will kick them around 🤣
 
Lotsoflemons said:
Hi I have a 14.1hh pony who majority of the time has no Hay in the morning left 🙈 he has a big haynet and a mountain of Hay on the floor every night but by Midnight/1am he's eaten pretty much all of it! I like him to have adlib hay but He's quite a Chunky pony but I also don't want to leave him starving, any ideas please no Hay balls etc as he will kick them around 🤣
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It's very tricky, I've also got a chunky one, and the vet advised I give him some barley straw, rather than extra hay, so I'm doing this now. I introduced it slowly and now he has a bigger, very small holed, hay net and a smaller straw net.
 
Lotsoflemons said:
Hi I have a 14.1hh pony who majority of the time has no Hay in the morning left 🙈 he has a big haynet and a mountain of Hay on the floor every night but by Midnight/1am he's eaten pretty much all of it! I like him to have adlib hay but He's quite a Chunky pony but I also don't want to leave him starving, any ideas please no Hay balls etc as he will kick them around 🤣
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You could give him more hay and more exercise to offset the calories?
Or buy some barley straw and fill an extra net with that, to pick at overnight when the good stuff’s been eaten.
I don’t like ponies hanging around for hours without anything through their gut, equids were never designed for that, and it makes them gorge whenever they do get food.
 
Exasperated said:
You could give him more hay and more exercise to offset the calories?
Or buy some barley straw and fill an extra net with that, to pick at overnight when the good stuff’s been eaten.
I don’t like ponies hanging around for hours without anything through their gut, equids were never designed for that, and it makes them gorge whenever they do get food.
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I don't think I could give him any more hay He has a massive mountain pile and a haynet the size of the door 🤣🤣
 
A trug with top spec zero chop or similar in it. It's chopped oat straw. Will give him something to nibble on if he gets hungry.
 
Simply mix the hay with the straw thoroughly and net it in a small hole net. He will have no choice (if your mixing is good) than to eat the straw and the hay. I do 60% hay and 40% barley straw. Horse always has a bit left in the morning and is able to munch constantly if required. She is slim and fit which takes some doing with a maxi cob.
 
AdorableAlice said:
Simply mix the hay with the straw thoroughly and net it in a small hole net. He will have no choice (if your mixing is good) than to eat the straw and the hay. I do 60% hay and 40% barley straw. Horse always has a bit left in the morning and is able to munch constantly if required. She is slim and fit which takes some doing with a maxi cob.
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This!
 
One of mine was on a diet last year but she's a super speedy eater.

I tried mixing straw but quality wasn't great and she coughed and picked the hay out.

I went with soaking 2/3 of hay, she found it less palatable so would ravenously eat the dry then gave a nap rather than keep eating. Also a tug of honeychop oat straw, topchop zero was too nice!

I did experiment with various hay timing devices, if you have rafters and a steady horse you can use a timed chicken coop door opener to drop a net later in the evening. I got sick of climbing the ladder, soaking was good enough.
 
I give mine a bucket of honeychop oat straw. If she’s hungry enough she will pick at it but she leaves it if she doesn’t need it.
She’s a hungry hippo so if she eats all her hay early on she still has something.
 
mine don’t eat soaked hay as quickly, small holed nets, and previously have had to hang nets from the ceiling to slow down a really greedy speedy eater!

straw works for one of mine, although she loves it so much she actually eats it before her net🤣 lily won’t entertain it in a net, but she’s bedded on straw so just eats her bed.
 
Mine is the same , I reckon if I put 3 small bales in overnight they’d be gone by 2am he doesn’t have an off switch is chubby. I use top chop zero in trugs so he’s got something to pick at when hays gone. My partner does go back to yard at 9.30 to do overnight hay as it he had it all at 5 it would all be gone by 6 🐷. Still out overnight for now but dreading the hay drama
 
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