NO HAY AT NIGHT??????

[Sags_Deer]

blimey this is dreadful, mine are so well looked after they have their hay staggered, some when they have their supper between 4 & 5 pm then a late night net ranging from 9pm to midnight!! so their tummies are kept going and to keep them warm as well. my gelding would eat his way out his stable if left with no hay and my old mare would be very upset.

 

[Malibu]

I know the horse is bedded on shavings as she got the number off of us! To be honest i dont know what it gets fed as i am not that friendly. The horse def DOES NOT look underweight- its just perfect ! So not sure why she does it, i did ask and she replied that she just does!

 

[magic104]

Oh well as it has been said many times b4, we all have different ideas, & what suits one may not suit another!

 

[Pasha]

I can't understand why people do this.... I have a very good doer but he always has plenty of hay (he even has a net straight after his breakfast whilst i'm grooming/mucking out and getting him ready).... if they are prone to putting on weight then you cut down (or out) the hard feed and increase the excersise

 

[riotgirl]

My stable would not be standing the next morning if I left my Welshie with no hay! Having said this, I am not sure how quick she eats it and therefore how long she has to have without it. I cannot give her ad lib hay as she would eat about 2 bales a night! She comes in about 7pm and has a large haynet full to eat after she had had her hard feed.

 

[RachelB]

If I ever forgot to give my horse hay at night it would be a crisis, and even if I was half way along a long trip at 1am, I'd still either get someone else to feed her or turn around and go back! I'm always worried that her hay won't last the night, but I started feeding her loads and loads and cut it down until it was just enough to last, but so that she'd hoovered up by morning. That's her 'diet' as well, she's fat but I'd never cut down on hay to get her thin again!
I really don't understand some people, they can be so cruel without even realising (or caring?)!

 

[Tia]

I always feed ad-lib hay, whether the horse is in the field OR the stable.

I have been surprised when some people mention how little hay they feed their horses overnight. I think most people understand the 2% bodyweight : hay ratio, but some seem oblivious.

 

[OWLIE185]

It is cruel and bad stable management not to give hay overnight.

 

[GinaGem]

I used the same method to get the amount right with my mare - if i give her a bale of hay she eats some of it but the rest get trashed round the stable, if i give her half a bale she's hungry in the morning, 3/4 of a bale and she's happy. She is prone to getting fat but i don't find hay makes a difference - it's rich grass that does it for Gem. I wouldn't dare leaving her without hay overnight

 

[GTs]

You are meant to feed horses??

 

[albert]

a girl on a yard i was out, took her horse away for a few weeks training with a pro-dressage rider.

When she came back, he had told her not to turn the horse out at all and that it does not much hay, he said it would be fine if she only fed it at night so she only came down once a day rode feed and gave a small haynet, then he would get nothing for the next 24 hours, when we tried to tell her it was wrong, we were told that we dont know what we are talking about and if the Pro can do it that way then he must be right.

Very sad, we used to give him hay but she moved yards in the end

 

[Chumsmum]

I am given different advice (from experienced people) on whether hay makes them fat. My pony is a good doer but is fine on the amount I give him in a small holed haynet - there is always some left in the morning. However, due to a back problem, my back lady told me to feed him on the floor. However, he is racing through his normal ration in record time! Can anyone recommend a way of feeding them on the floor but that slows them down

Or should I just feed him ad-lib - which would be a lot - he barely raises his head from the grass during the day! I know exercise is the best way to keep his weight down but I only can ride at weekends this time of year. Any advice would be much appreciated

 

[Vicki1986]

never heard of it and wouldnt do it. i am constantly despairing with my mare when she scoffs all her hay by 8pm, i plead with her to save some for the night but she refuses

!!

 

[spotty_pony]

I would never leave a horse for the whole night with no hay. I think this is cruel and could lead to colic as horses are trickle feeders and designed to eat little and often.

 

[Bossanova]

My family members in France dont feed hay at night, it seems fairly common place where they are and they have a very happy and healthy bunch of horses!!
I wouldnt do it personally, even real fatties should have a small section every few hours to keep the gut moving

 

[JessPickle]

I think they should have some at night pickle normally gets some hay in the afternoon then the YO gives him some at 9pm ish

 

[MagicMelon]

I think its terrible and cannot believe anybody would basically starve their horse overnight. It is bad for them, totally un-natural and awful for them mentally.

Personally, I ALWAYS leave too much hay in with them (if their stabled) just so they dont run out! Ive been having massive problems with a lami pony just now who has gone off lots of hay Ive been offering her (long story) and I was worrying so much she was going hungry that Ive ended up buying her Hi-Fi Lite as a full hay replacement - she gets a massive bucket of it overnight to amuse her. Bloody expensive way of doing it but I HATE to think my horses ever go hungry!!

 

[ru-fi-do]

OMG no hay! NO NO NO! This is a real bug bear of mine, horses should be trickle feeders. Where i keep my horse the women next door has got a 14hh section c, he comes in at 3pm and she gives him 4lb of hay to last all night til 8am the next morning and she can't understand why he is getting nasty with her when she puts his net in, he doesn't get a bucket feed and he is on restricted grazing! He hasn't got any weight problems, laminitis or anything. I went to check on mine at 8pm the other night and he has eaten all his hay, so the following day i told her and she said well there was strands in his bed so he would have eaten them if he was that hungary!
Mine all have as much as they can eat.....

 

[Nailed]

i can think of one little horsie who is stuck in his box from 7pm til 6pm the next day with a small amount of hay which has been p'd on =o(
bless him
lou x

 

[Oaksflight]

Can't on earth see any advantages to not feeding hay at night. Fibre deficiences (although since they can't see whats blindingly obviously right for the horse, they're probably not feeding enough of anything, so lack of protein, carbs, etc!), they'll start eating their own bedding, colic, gastric ulcers, the list goes on and on!