Poor horse....

[jumpthemoon]

There is a horse on our yard that is on BR at the moment. I got there this morning at 8am to do my horses and it had already eaten it's haynet and won't get any more until 5pm, when the same amount will be fed. The poor thing must only be eating for an hour a day! It's on shavings as well so it can't even eat it's bed

Why do people do this? Surely it's obvious that the horse needs to eat? I don't get it......

It is supposedly on a diet, but don't people realise that starvation is not the way forward?

 

[AmyMay]

What is the YO doing about it??

 

[jumpthemoon]

Nothing - she just thinks the horse is on a diet - it is fat, don't get me wrong, but I just feel so sorry for it and it's not going to be doing it any good. I have said to the owner that soaking the hay would be a better way forward, but of course I was ignored

 

[Stacie_and_Jed]

Dont horses get stomach ulcers if they do not eat for a certain number of hours throughout the day?

Poor horse.

 

[vennessa]

[ QUOTE ]
Dont horses get stomach ulcers if they do not eat for a certain number of hours throughout the day?

Poor horse.

[/ QUOTE ]
That is exactly what came to mind as i was reading.
The poor horse is going to end up with many complications and i should also expect it to start with vices - crib biteing/wind sucking being one of them as well as turning very grumpy.

 

[Benjamin]

Poor creature!

This is a huge bug bear for me. A few people on my yard do it. They have a haynet put in at 7pm and by the time I turn the lights off at 9pm, tis all gone. I feed in the mornings so nothing until 6am! BUT, and this is what REALLY gets me.....THEY STILL LEAVE A HUGE CONCENRATE FEED for them in the morning.

I have no idea what to suggest, bar giving it more on the quiet......

 

[cob1]

Bless it, when on BR after an op, (bearing in mind mine was a TB needing to put on weight), the vet said high quality hayledge ad lib and reduced concentrates (and spread over 3-4 feeds).

He already crib bites quite badly which was probably due to his past racing yard regime, similar to what is been given to this horse.

 

[jumpthemoon]

Hopefully it will be able to go back out again soon. It was pestering me for food at 8 this morning so it's going to be starving by tonight!

 

[Ziggy_]

It's amazing how many people think this is ok. One owner at my old yard even said to me 'why do they even need hay overnight, they've had their dinner?!'

Its also amazing how well the horses seemed to cope. One ate her entire door but the rest seemed pretty much ok - not saying that makes it ok though.

 

[nuffield]

you could call the ILPH [WHW] and ask them to call round..............

 

[Happy Horse]

When my old boy was on box rest for 3 months (broken leg) I used to give him a large haylage net of soaked hay first thing in the morning and then I'd leave a few smaller nets outside his door. The other liveries were really good and if they were up and he was out of hay they would put another one in for him. He would then have another large one at night. The haylage nets are good because the holes are smaller so it takes longer to eat.

 

[Theresa_F]

One of my hates too - I am luckily in that mine are ok with their weight and I buy stalky hay so it is not fattening and they have ad lib. When in they get three huge bags a day and I have now bought the big hay bars which will filled each day.

In most cases, you can easily feed hay ad lib and cut down the cals and time to eat if you mix it 50 - 50 with good quality straw, soak it and then put it in a small holed net, or even two nets to slow eating, and finally give four/five small nets through the day - most people if they are up will pop one in the stable for you.

We did have a livery that was dieting her pony by leaving it in 24 hours and giving a small slice in the morning and evening, she was too afraid to ride it to get the weight off. YO and I tried giving gentle advice but she was too stupid to take it in. Result, YO and I gave the horse more hay when she had left.

I felt so sorry for that pony - and wonder what happened to it when she moved yards.

 

[ladyt25]

And people wonder why horses get colic. They are grazers and are therefore supposed to be able to GRAZE! Feeding like you would a dog is not good at all for a horse's system. Carnivores are able to cope as as a species they are able to go for days without eating a large amount.

I am amazed how well horses have managed to adapt sometimes!

 

[kick_On]

The only thing i can think, is to offer help to owner and in that (if you know horse is fast eater) suggest that owner puts 2 net together one inside the other so slow horses' eating rate down. But do you know full story????

But please don't do what got done to me, that folks thought i was being cruel and so therefore feed him extra!!!, that's happened to me!!!! So called 'do goers' where sticking their nosey in without knowning full picture. I did ask if they want my vets bill, but as soon as i found out I nip that one in bud..................

It just i was on differnent routine to them and horse was being correctly feed, it was just at times they weren't around!! (i was up yard 3 times a day etc...)

 

[flyingfeet]

There are more fat horses than ones with ulcers or colic from being fed too little hay.

Mine at fed at 8am, and yes they are probably out of hay within a few hours and stand in until 6pm.

I have tried double haylage netting to slow them down, to no avail, currently feeding off the floor as its better for their confirmation

However they do have their beds to pick at (on straw) and I am not feeding them more, as whether soaked on not they are complete porkers.

It would great if someone could give them half a slice every hour or so, but that isn't going to happen unless you don't have a job or have oodles of cash to pay someone.

 

[kellyeaton]

it is hard to do i have a lammi pony who comes in at 6pm has 3-4 section of soaked hay in two some times hay nets my friend goes to do hers about 8pm and his hay his all gone how do you ment to give them hay all night by giving them a bail?

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
it is hard to do i have a lammi pony who comes in at 6pm has 3-4 section of soaked hay in two some times hay nets my friend goes to do hers about 8pm and his hay his all gone how do you ment to give them hay all night by giving them a bail?

[/ QUOTE ]
Why not ask your friend to pop the hay in at 8.00pm - or even go back to the yard yourself to top up later....

 

[kellyeaton]

he does give him a nother hay night then i pop back at ten and it is all gone again that is what i am trying to say most horses will have to stand with no hay for a while coz it is just not normall to go nd give hay through out the night!

 

[Flame_]

It's not so bad at night, they go to sleep! Horses on box rest need food mostly through the day to keep them occupied. If you are soaking the hay for a good few hours and doubling up small holed haynets you can safely say you're doing your best. The horse the OP's talking about sounds like the owners are just tight and lazy.