They are still telling me they are hungry

A

Alphamare

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 February 2010
Messages
869
Visit site
Taking hay out to my herd twice a day now and they are getting a small bale a day each. There is not much grass left now though and they will be moving fields at end of month. Are they still hungry? Seems like they are getting enough to eat to me, going by the 2% rule! How can they be hanging round the gate and fighting still?
 
How many horses in your herd and what size are the horses? Would be a good idea to spread hay out in small pile in various places in your field. Maybe you could split the hay feeds into 3 times a day.

My two go out during the day and have a small section oh haylage each in the morning and then a full net at night when they come in. Both look well but are not over weight. I also dont have any grass now.
 
Average small horse will need half a small bale of hay a day, that's approx 4 flakes of hay split into however many feeds. This isn't much compared to what most horses want to eat.
 
It doesn't really matter how many there are as each gets an entire small bale a day. Half in the morning and half in the evening. They range between 600 and 700 kilos. So not small horses

I cannot go out more than this.

If you say a normal horse eats a half bale a day then they are certainly fed enough.

I don't see how they can be bored?

None is wasted as its fed out of feeders. I have one more feeder than I do horses.
 
Just to elaborate on the boredom question only one is retired and she keeps herself to herself. The others are all worked but it's two geldings in particular. Always play fighting. Now when the food comes out they are all being aggressive with one another.
 
We have 4 horses out 24/7 and they never hang around the gate. Admittedly the grazing is still plentiful but they only get a couple of slices of haylage a day. They don't even run over for it when we put it out. Last winter when we had all the snow we put out far more haylage and they used to almost knock us over in the rush!
It sounds like your's are getting enough to eat but they might be still feeling a bit peckish to react the way they do.
 
That makes sense re number of horses but it's a large gateway and there is plenty of room. I don't like giving away personal information but can say I have three acres for every horse! I guess they are just used to the routine and prefer to wait for their food. I'm planning on using big bales adlib next winter. Two at a time but I am not sure if they will self regulate or just pig out!

Thanks for the replies.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top