Time to put big bales of hay in the fields yet?

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Lill

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Following from other post....

Ours are all out 24/7 still and will be for the next few weeks so, should we be putting round bales of hay out yet do you think?

I personally think yes and am going to suggest it tomorrow as B is going away for a couple of weeks so won't be able to do it then. Maybe put them out before he goes away?
 
Not much really so fine for all our welshies (all 5 of them who live on air alone!) but not so good for the boys?
 
Then yes if you think they are going to need it before B comes back. Alternatively bring the ones who need supplementing with hay in for a few hours to munch a net each day.
 
I've noticed ours starting to get hungry the last couple of days. They have been hanging round the gate when someone appears. Quite happy to go back out when they've had some haylage though.
 
I was thinking of putting a big round bale in the field for my mare this year as she is the type that doesn't do so well over the latter part of winter and always seeme hungry. My concern is that she would just stand there all day and eat it and cause herself probs like colic etc. Is it likely that she would get the hang of not gorging herself and just come and take what she wants whenever she wants. I'm not really sure what to do this time. She doesn't have to compete for food and there is always plenty to go round but she will just stand at her nets until they're finished regardless of how many are there
 
Well there will be one big bale between 4/5 horses in each field they all tend to fight over it to begin with but after its been out there for a bit and they realise its not going to disappear if they leave it for 5 mins they do wander off and come back to it just when they're hungry.

Think we will put one out in each field as they are all hanging around the gate when they realise someone is there now too. Even fat welshies!!
crazy.gif
 
We've had about three or four out already (one at a time) as we've had a few frosts and our grazing is poor at the moment. They've all been eating it so they must want it. There are 18 horses out in the fields (which are huge) but with not a lot of grass. Mine is a 'lives off fresh air sort' so I don't mind too much about the poor grass and he's on blue chip to make sure he's getting all he needs.
They'll be moving into good grass fields in the next week or two I think.
 
Chex has been really hungry, but I've been putting him in the winter field during the day which still has a scary amount of grass left! I've never put hay out in the field, but he has 20 acres to eat. If I didn't have a winter field then I'd out hay out - there's just no grass left in their summer piggy paddock.
 
I wish our YO would ok the bales going out. The horses are hungry, but we have more good do'ers than poor so most of the other owners don't want the bales out yet even though we have no grass left at all.
 
Mine arent interested I have put hay in their field shelter but they dont want it as we have far too much grass growing at the moment......something weird is going on with our weather my plants in the garden have started flowering again, even my strawberry plants????? So I am assuming my 3 are happy enough on the grass and their bucket feed.
 
Big rounds are a permanent feature in all of my pasture fields. I never leave any fields without hay. Most of our fields are about 10 acres each and there are rarely more than 8 horses in each field, however I always like hay to be available 24 hours a day for them regardless of the time of year. And what I have found is this; they love eating their grass but they all come back to feed from the hay feeders during the night.
 
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