Riding after feeding haylage

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sonjafoers

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So winter's not quite here yet but I'm getting myself in a bit of a fluster about my horses winter routine.

They live out 24/7 ( except in really bad weather when they are in overnight - but it has to be BAD!) but during winter they are in for an hour in the morning and then in all afternoon mainly to give them time to eat their feed/haylage and for their feet to dry out.

It would be much easier for me if I could bring them in early mornings and then leave them in all morning until lunchtime ish, and then return in the evenings for an hour for their last meal/haylage. The problem with this is that I always ride in the mornings so they would be ridden from their stables after being in for a few hours eating.

They get breakfast at 7 so this should have been fully digested by the time I ride one about 10 and one about 12, but they would be full of haylage.

Common sense tells me this is a very bad idea, especially since I make sure they haven't eaten haylage for an hour or so when doing a hunter trial etc but does anyone do this over winter and how does it work?
 
Horses are designed to eat fibre, then leg it away from preditors. You should be just fine riding after the horse has eaten it's hayledge. I wouldn't after hard feed, but hay/hayledge/grass should be fine.
 
Mine have ad lib haylage so are always worked with tummy full,except when competing when they will have a while without before their class.
I find as long as they have plenty to eat they trickle feed as they should naturally.
 
Feeding some hay/haylage/alfalfa before work is actually a good thing. Horses are designed to have fibre going through their digestive systems all the time. If the stomach is empty then gastric acid sloshes around and is really quite uncomfortable for them.

Horses are not designed to eat meals the way they are often fed nowadays.
 
I would feed after haylage, in fact I always tack up while my horse has a haynet. I will also ride after he's had hard feed however he does only get a handful of High Fibre Nuts and a bit of alfalfa, so not buckets' worth of cereals and oats.
 
Where I am on Livery my horse has to live in in the winter (only gets out twice a week weather permitting) :( Anyway, he has adlib haylege all night and gets small breakfast and more haylege if he needs it about 8.30am. I get to the stables about 9am groom and ride. I have never had a problem.
 
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