Never gets full?

[dwi]

Has anyone else got a horse that is never full? However much hay I give Daisy she is always hungry, I've tried double netting it but that only slows her slightly, she is now turned out in a small paddock to reduce her intake but this makes her really unhappy. She is given some hay in the field but even then she seems to want as much as she did when she was on box rest. I've gone back to putting it in a tub rather than a net now because the chiro said it wasn't doing her neck any good eating from a net.

Problem is that she has to be on a diet because she is overweight but she would happily eat at least 6 slices a day even when turned out.

When we hack she is constantly trying to snack, whatever I do she feels a desperate need to eat.

Is this just me? Has anyone else managed to cope with a horse with a compulsive need to eat?

 

[Mid]

Yes. My poor GG is OBSESSED with food. And the speed he eats at is scary... He gets through a largish haynet in about 15 mins...

 

[dun_in]

Try feeding good oat/barley straw instead if she has good teeth and doesn't get colicky. Then you can feed far more volume wise. Introduce it gradually over a number of days. She will eat any hay first but will then give in and eat the straw as well.

 

[Mbronze]

Mine is never full, and once she has eaten her haynet will winnie at all the other horse owners in the yard to try and get some more...

She is on a diet too, she gets two hours a day at grass one haynet in the day and one at night, and two small feeds. And thats her lot.

Unfortunately some horses are greedier than others, and you have to be cruel to be kind, think of it as helping her loose weight and don't feel bad if she has been standing in without a haynet for a couple of hours.

I give mine one of those play balls with a scoop of mix inside and she spends the best part of the day trying to get it out so it keeps her amused and also keeps her food intake down to the minimal..!!