Overnight hay amounts

[KittenInTheTree]

You're feeding six to eight kilos of hay per night between two large oldies. The vet sounds like a loon.

 

[ihatework]

Okay, so a little overweight coming into summer. I’m not sure I’d want to be as drastic as the vets advice though.

How about aiming to get them down to 5/6 gradually.

Maybe not move the paddock fence and keep the grazing more restricted. Cut the overnight hay by 1/3 and replace that ration with the straw chop?

 

[setterlover]

I have decided to monitor moving the fence and not move it for a while .
I will reduce the overnight hay a little but get them in a little later so they are in a bit less.
All I wanted to do was consider what I needed to alter with the herd reducing by 1 .

 

[Peglo]

I put a bucket of honeychop oat straw in my horses stable. She picked at it when she needed it but there was usually some left so I knew she always had something. It’s an option if you do want to reduce your haynets a bit but I would never leave mine with nothing at all.

 

[Goldenstar]

Tbh if I had my own hay that’s what I would do .

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I was asking as I have just had my coloured cob PTS with numerous issues and squamous cell carcinoma ( he was 25) Now down to 2 and musing about how to alter the regime to stay where I am weight wise.
The Arab/ Welsh is 24 and the T/B is half Andalusian and 19.mum was T/B and a very stocky build at 16 hh
I was happy with how they look but she insisted you need to have horses really skinny.
She then suggested both were tested for Ems and Cushings given their ages.
They were all tested a couple of years ago when the Arab was 22 and cob 23 and came back a resounding negative.
I was just a bit shocked that she seemed to think I was massively overfeeding them.
I weight tape every week and try to stay roughly about the same.

I would ask, very pointedly, for a 2nd opjnion and tbh wouldn't have that vet back on my yard except for in a dire emergency when no-one else was available.

 

[Jambarissa]

That is such a weird thing to say I wonder if the vet misheard.

I'm not against horses having nothing for a while, mine inhale their nets so must spend a fair amount of the night with nothing to eat but at least they're starting with 7kg of hay in their bellies. That's different from coming in off sparse grazing, mine are waiting at the gate still.

Your amounts sound very reasonable and your horses sound a good weight. Monitor and see. If you thought they were gaining I'd disk or replace with something less palatable. Mine actually like top chop zero but simple systems Timothy chop or soaked hay care appear to be boring enough to only eat in an emergcy.

 

[setterlover]

She is actually German so English not the first language.
I showed her the grazing and she said there's plenty on there they don't need anything else.
I said but they are shut on the corral and pole barn from 7,pm until 6 in the morning she insisted they really don't need anything else.
Maybe she didn't appreciate that they were actually OFF the field.
I'm going to carry on as I was but not moved the fence and let them just have what is on there and maybe take a little off the hay but not a lot.
I will weight tape every other day to see if they are gaining or maintaining their weight
I always do it at the same time first in the morning before I feed them.

 

[scats]

My two 15hh mares are out 8-6 at the moment. They both have 3k of hay each from 6pm-8am in a small holed net (but not a greedy feeder type). No doubt they stand without for a fair while, but I feel they have enough in their bellies by that point. I wouldn’t dream of leaving them without anything.

Other option would be to soak what they do have overnight?

 

[Melody Grey]

Haven’t read all the replies, but a 15hh welshx Arab sounds a bit light at 360kg?

My Welsh x TB in profile pic (light of build but well muscled) at 15hh is 490 kg on the scales?

My son’s finely built 12hh welshy is 300kg.

So….i definitely agree they need hay/ something overnight, particularly if the Welsh x is a bit light?

 

[setterlover]

He has a Welsh section B mother and lightly built arab.stallion father He is quite lightly built and varies between 360 and 380 coming out of winter he is the bottom end of that.
They winter out ,the pole barn is always available and bedded down with wood pellets and shavings and they are never rugged . They get a handful of Dengie hi fibre lite molasses free am and pm with a very small amount of sliced carrot so I can check them over ( 1 carrot between them )

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would just feed the hay you have they are not over weight so I would just ignore the vets advice.

Mine are in no way thin and on a few acres and get hay all year round, yes I cut it right back in summer but winter they get ad-lib, I just like them to have it because its not really proper grazing.

 

[MagicMelon]

If your horses are a good weight, happy etc, then why would you change what you are doing?

This. Many times Ive found the vet to be wrong on things. I personally would move to a different vet if theyre recommending starving your horses for 14 hours, thats insane and also so extremely dull for your horses. If they're overweight, personally Id increase exercise first.