Pony eating hay too fast! How do you know/work out how much hay to feed over night??

[han4]

Not sure on how much hay to feed my pony, she is 14hh, 5 years old, breed unknown but think she is a welsh D(?), and i will find out how much she weighs tomorrow and post it.

She eats all her hay in about 2 hours, she gets a full haynet.

You can't see her ribs, she looks an average weight to me, not fat but definitely not skinny.

She gets 2 scoops of happy hoof when she comes in

she is out on grass during the day (has a haynet in a morning when turned out) and in at night, around 4pm ish till 7/8am through winter.


Anyone give me an estimate, or have a similar pony and could tell me how much you feed yours?

Will also post a body photo when i get chance, hopefully tomorrow.

 

[goatbabies]

Why not try one of these

http://www.rideaway.co.uk/ELIM-A-NET

I use one, not because my horse eats too fast but because he thinks he is clever by pulling his hay out of his net and dragging it through his bed, he doesn't do it with this though!

You could even try putting two haynets one inside the other

 

[ali87uk]

My haffy gets fat easily so she is on about 1.5% of bodyweight, so this is between 5kg-6kg of hay a day (recommended by nutritionist).
You can get nets with very small holes like the link above. Or soak hay for 12 hours to reduce nutritional content if your horse is prone to turning into a fattie like mine!

 

[MerrySherryRider]

If there is a small quantity left over in the morning, then the amount is just right.

If calorie intake is an issue, feed soaked hay and/or double/triple net.

FWIW, my horse can eat a stuffed trickle net in an hour, and ordinary nets, slightly longer but two well filled nets is usually sufficent to see them until morning.

 

[WandaMare]

I have to watch the weight of both mine, 13.2 pony gets 3.5kg and 15.2 Welshie type gets approx. 6kg overnight. I divide it into 2 portions, putting the larger portion in late evening before I go to bed.

 

[Lotty]

I have to watch my mares weight, she's a good doer 16.1hh warmblood x welsh d. For the last 3 years she's fed 1.5% of her bodyweight and this seems to be fine. I weigh and soak her hay, she has 3 x pony elim-a-net's each weighing 5 lbs on a night and she gets 5 lbs on a morning before being ridden. I even had to change her bed to shavings as she would eat her bed.

 

[MillionDollar]

If her weight is good, give her more, there should always be hay in the stable. If she gains too weight then obviously re-think it.

I have a 14.1 NF x KWPN who has two XL Shires nets and they are kept full, so she's on ad lib hay. My 15.1 Welsh D is on 9kg of hay which goes in to 2 x Wee Haynets and 2 x Trickle nets that are doubled up with a XL Shires net over the top. So four nets that are then suspended on a rope so they swing about. That way he's on 'ad lib', he's always got hay going through him, but it's restricted in quantity. Both of these are in 24/7 atm, one is on box rest and the other won't go out in winter.

 

[Shysmum]

i too use Elim-in-Nets (make sure they are tied to the bottom metal ring). They have transformed Shy's ability to gorge.

 

[ShadowFlame]

Out of interest, why is it so important for the elim-a-nets to be tied by the bottom ring?

 

[Shysmum]

If you tie the eliminet to the string, the string will pull apart and you have big holes, thus allowing the horse to eat thru the big hole, defeating the object.The string will gradually pull apart or break. It says on the instructions to always use the big ring, and I think peeps who haven't got on with them may have tied them as normal haynets.

Mine have lasted brilliantly, but always on the metal ring.

 

[Shysmum]

http://www.parellproducts.com/elim-a-net-horse-4.html

Found these instructions.

 

[smellsofhorse]

Id give ad lib.
Do about 3 nets and see how long that lasts.
Use small holed nets to slow her down.

 

[ShadowFlame]

http://www.parellproducts.com/elim-a-net-horse-4.html

Found these instructions.

Hmm. I understand they tell you to tie by the bottom ring, but I'm confused as to the reasoning of it?

I'm not just being awkward, I bought one of these from a tack shop (though it's a purple one... not sure if it's an elim-a-net or a lookey-likey) and have just been tying it up like a regular haynet...

 

[stencilface]

and have just been tying it up like a regular haynet...

I always tie normal haynets up through the bottom ring - just seems sensible!

 

[ShadowFlame]

I always tie normal haynets up through the bottom ring - just seems sensible!

Well majority of my haynets are years old and don't have a bottom ring I tend to just loop through the holes about halfway down and tie there?

 

[PandorasJar]

If there is a small quantity left over in the morning, then the amount is just right.

If calorie intake is an issue, feed soaked hay and/or double/triple net.

FWIW, my horse can eat a stuffed trickle net in an hour, and ordinary nets, slightly longer but two well filled nets is usually sufficent to see them until morning.

^^ This

 

[CBFan]

I would feed her about 1.5-2% of her bodyweight in hay a night and either get an eliminet or similar or just put two small holed nets inside eachother.

Don't add lib. If she is a good weight now, you want to keep her that way, especially being a welsh D type who tend to put weight on at the first sight of grass in Spring ...