Weighing hay

E

EQUIDAE

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 August 2015
Messages
1,999
Visit site
A conversation with a friend made me think - he feeds hay on the floor and feeds by the barrow load (each horse gets one barrow). I always weigh my hay (and feed) as I feed ad lib, so if they put on weight, I need to know how much to cut down by. I was curious as to how much a barrow load actually weighs.

I filled one of my large nets with 11kg of hay and then filled the barrow with it (110L barrow, not 85L). This is how much was left over - a 'normal' sized hay net next to the pile for comparison. Seems the pic isn't the best - there are two layers there, not just the little fluffy bit on top.

DSC_0308.JPG


Now, he has always claimed that he feeds more than me as his pile of hay looks bigger than my nets, and cannot understand why his horses were losing weight, despite feeding hard feed - he was using my nets as a frame of reference and thinking because mine weigh 10-12kg he must be feeding 15-20kg overnight. It is actually more like 5-6kg.

So then I got thinking a little more - how do people fill nets? Do they take a packed chunk of hay and stuff it in, or do they shake it out and fluff it up before filling? So I filled the same net with fluffed hay and packed hay - the fluffed net weighed 4kg, the packed net weighed 5kg. That's a 20% difference in feed intake depending on how the nets are filled.

Fluffed net

DSC_0311.JPG


Same net unfluffed

DSC_0310.JPG


I feed two large nets a day (if they are out it gets tied to the field gate and fences) weighing 10-12kg each - 20-24kg a day (plus grass). They get very little hard feed (only minimal high fibre, low cereal if they work that day) and they are maintaining weight, despite being out pretty much 24/7.

Just a musing really - I'm doing it "wrong" as I'm feeding double the recommended amount.

How do you feed yours?

Pics to be added as an edit in a mo - my iPad refreshes if I try to cut and paste from a different window :(
 
Last edited:
I have learnt over the years there are some very good hay fluffers that claim there nets are so big and they feed so much hay but in reality it's just fluffed up to look like a lot, if you were to lift it up its about the weight of a section of hay which is not much for an overnight net.

I am using small bales so I just chuck the sections in no fluffing they get 2 to 3 sections in each net and they get two of those through the night, if I use the big bales I tend to weigh it as it's hard to judge as when it's fluffed it looks more, I think if your horses look fine on what's your feeding why change it I just go by how mine look and how much grass I have, I weighed hay back in the summer as I had two on box rest that looked porky but apart from that I don't tend to.
 
I did briefly feed by weight when my horse was on box rest for lammi but TBH much depends on the quality of the hay. What I was using at that time was clean but 2 years old, so mainly fibre, although I was quite surprised at what 1 1/2 x body weight in dry matter came to. It's worth just checking from time to time but as I now feed haylage,. albeit almost dry, it does contain some moisture so heavier than hay
I was taught to feed by condition, feeding was an art and I guess the DM weight fails to account for how nutritious particular forage is. My lot get as much as they can get themselves outside of overnight, but it isn't all hugely palatable, some is dry and stemmy. Their proportion of each depends on my knowledge of their condition at any one time.
 
A "scoop" can mean piled high, level or anything in between, and one "flake" of hay can weigh 25% more or less than another. Everything gets weighed here, and adjusted according to work, weather, quality and body score. The causes of horses being over- or under- weight is really not a mystery.
 
I currently feed by weight. Orca arrived with fat pads and cresty, so I'm keen to shift her extra weight by the end of winter.

Normally I feed intuitively and just pay attention to how everyone is doing on their diet, mainly because, as JillA says, the quality and so nutritional content of hay can vary a great deal.
 
When I got my first horse giving hay was a couple of 'armfuls' or a 'pile', very much guesswork. Then I moved to a livery yard where we had an allowance of hay so we had to weigh our nets. I would always weigh my hay now, after all a spring balance weigh scale costs a few pounds and you can monitor exactly how much you are feeding/ feed the same amount each time, increase it or decrease it accurately if needed.
 
I have a digital weigher - I think it's meant for fish(ing), but it does the job perfectly well for hay! (and less than half the price of a "hay weigher")

So my ponies get 1.5% of their bodyweight in hay for over night (Tartine 6kg, Blitz 9kg), given that they are out on good grazing for 8 hours a day, plus they get a small net of haylage on a morning between breakfast and turnout. Depending on the hay, this can mean a smaller or larger net - but I always weigh!

Tartines hay is now in a double netted GreedyFeeder net - not that it slows her down.
 
We feed hay by the wheelbarrow. We get large heston bales though, so usually we just load the barrow with slices from the big bales (depending on what's needed) and wheel out to the field. I've found that layers can vary a lot in how thick and heavy (and compact) they are, depending on the crop. It's definitely "feeding by feel", and I'll judge by how heavy a layer feels whether I need to add another one on top. By stacking layers, a single wheelbarrow can definitely carry much more than fits in a net.
I usually only use hay nets for travel or weekends away, and will weight them to be sure I'm taking enough forage (fishing scales). From experience (pony on box rest) I know my good doer pony needs 6kg hay per day, minimum (1.5% of bodyweight). I've never managed to get more than about 8kg in my large shires nets, and that is usually something less than a slice off the big bales (maybe 1/2).
I guess as you've found out - unless you weight, you don't really know how much you feed. Four our group living outdoors with always some grass underfoot, we go by body condition more than by hay weight, since you can't be accurate about intake anyway.
 
I usually just feed by eye.

Buffy is a good doer in the sense that she doesn't get thin, but then I actively manage her weight. She gains weight in summer but then if I worked her she would maintain a pretty stable weight all year around. She never gets ribby, she never gets fat to the point of fat pads, cresty, hot feet and risking Lamanitis.

She gets a good heavy net per night of hay (Can't do hayledge due to colitis) as in I will stuff it with as much as it will take. There is rarely more than a few handfuls of hay left in the morning, but she hasn't gone without. She gets one hard feed a night of 1 level scoop of Safe and Sound and just under half a scoop of Quiet Cubes, with Biotin, Magic Calmer and a Broad Spectrum Vitamin. She also has a Salt lick in her stable.

She is out with very little grazing through the day (only a few hours to stretch her legs).

If she looses weight, I will put hay out with her if I am allowed. If she gets fat, I will cut the hard feed. I like to keep things simple :D
 
Forgot to say when I responded yesterday - thanks for the comparison, OP and for taking the time to record the difference. I have to say, I did find it surprising! It just goes to show how easily mistakes can be made.
 
My haynets when pretty full weigh 2.5kg I weighed one today.
But i also give a wheelbarrow full and I would say its near to two haynets so therefore 5kgs. im feeding two ponies so i figure thats ok, but this feeding lark is a bit all consuming as i have one pony putting on weight and the other is losing. So i give two 2.5kg haynets at night in their shelter, and they have a barrow full in the mornings on the floor in the field. I'm not sure that's enough but someone told me to clear their field of poo and do a poo count in a 24 hr period, if the poo's exceed 15 then they are fine, but under 15 or definetely below 10 they arn't having enough. So im going to try that next week.
 
I feed by eye....hay and hard feed. Hay is pretty much as lib anyway. Cob gets hers in the field. Boys are in and one gets it on the floor and the other in a net because he is a messy so and so. He will also get some on the floor. I like them to have some left in the morning. They hunt twice a week. Have never weighed hay and cannot see me doing so either!
 
I try and choose the tighter packed more fibrous hay that comes apart in nice compact wedges, it's easier to carry across field for one thing. I use a scale every now and again but am pretty good at judging it now xx
 
Casey76 said:
I have a digital weigher - I think it's meant for fish(ing), but it does the job perfectly well for hay! (and less than half the price of a "hay weigher")

.
Click to expand...

So do I as I think the 'spring balances' are too inaccurate if your horse is on a restricted diet. Also I think it's important should know the weight of the haynets, particularly if double netting.
 
I always weigh. I learnt my lesson a long time ago feeding a couple of young irish draughts. One would eat every last scrap no matter how much I put in so I decided to weigh it to see how much he was getting. 10-12kg a night was not unusual! I cut him down to 7kg, and he maintained his weight easily and just did less poo's. Result! I also bought a new hunter last year, and when he arrived he was eating barely 4kg a night (an option of hay or haylage for him and weighed what was left in the morning). I treated him for ulcers and within 10 days his intake had doubled. I would not have known if I didn't weigh it.
 
I weigh as someone is on a weight watchers plan!! I find it easier with small bales as a quarter of a bale is usually about 6kg and just about the right amount. I have just finished using a large round bale, first time Ive ever used one and was surprised how much I needed to unwrap to get to 6kg. If I hadnt weighed it I would have thought there was far more than 6kg in each net as the slightly looser hay looked like a huge net full!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top