What do you do regarding time until feeding after exercise?

[Polar Bear9]

Along with most people I was taught not to feed until an hour after exercise. I was just wondering how many people actually do this nowadays?

Personally I don't tend to, my girl at absolute most will do half an hour of steady work and only gets half a scoop of chaff and has never coliced. I will generally leave it 15 mins or so. However my mum thinks I'm going to kill her, she religiously leaves at least half an hour, even if she's only ridden at walk for 10 minutes

Thoughts? Anyone know of any decent scientific papers on this?

 

[Luce85]

I do wait a while if they have had a heavy workout - they just go back in their stable where they have hay until they are cooled down, but on the main yard block all horses are fed around the same time, well feeds are put over the door at the same time but can be put in the cubby if the horse is too hot to work.

Not sure on any papers on it but would definitely be interested to see what people said. I know someone who feeds theirs straight after work, and she has never had any problems at all. They will go out for a 2 hour hack and he will have his dinner straight away - not what I would do but she has never had an issue with the way she does it.

 

[stilltrying]

I think the golden rules of feeding that we were all taught have changed somewhat. I feed mine a high fibre diet and give him a small amount before exercise as well as after. I would only wait if he were still blowing or hot from fast work. Soon as he is back to normal and has been offered water i feed. No science behind that it just makes sense to me. : )

 

[bouncing_ball]

I think the golden rules of feeding that we were all taught have changed somewhat. I feed mine a high fibre diet and give him a small amount before exercise as well as after. I would only wait if he were still blowing or hot from fast work. Soon as he is back to normal and has been offered water i feed. No science behind that it just makes sense to me. : )

I feed immediately before working (I ride before work).

I feed immediately after work too.

I wouldn’t feed a still blowing / sweating horse / one whose respiration and heart rate weren’t normal.

But I cannot think of any incident where after hacking / galloping / schooling that I didn’t cool my horse off before untacking.

With a fit horse, the timing of having low starch / low sugar / high fibre feed it really doesn’t matter.

Better for them to have free access to high fibre food and water before and after work.

 

[stilltrying]

But I cannot think of any incident where after hacking / galloping / schooling that I didn’t cool my horse off before untacking.

.

Very true, but always better to state the obvious ; )

 

[saddlesore]

Assuming the horse had been cooled down properly then I'd happily feed straight after exercise.

 

[PolarSkye]

Assuming the horse had been cooled down properly then I'd happily feed straight after exercise.

Me too - but Pops is always properly cooled down . . . doesn't stop walking and stretching until he has stopped blowing/breathing is regular and even.

P

 

[Jenny Wrenny]

I always ride out first thing in the morning and then feed her breakfast immediately afterwards. She is always cooled down properly, only walked the last half mile (at least) of our hack and by the time I've untacked, swept a brush over her and rugged up she is ready for her feed.

 

[EquiEquestrian556]

As my mare does heavy work I like to wait an hour for her feed to go down before riding, and after she's properly cooled off, I'd give her evening feed to her after about 20 mins. But she normally ridden from 11am/ 12 noon to 2:30 or 3pm in the winter, and has her evening feed at around 7pm, so she's not normally fed directly after or before being ridden.

 

[SaffronWelshDragon]

My lot are on a strictly zero cereal diet. As such, they can eat whenever they want. Got a lesson first thing tomorrow, so Saf will have her bucket of lucerne and sugarbeet directly before, and they will go back in the field with her hay as soon as she's cool. If I didn't get round to feeding her bucket feed first, she'd have that as I was untacking after the lesson. That particular rule of feeding is well and truly scrubbed off my list

 

[Tnavas]

Along with most people I was taught not to feed until an hour after exercise. I was just wondering how many people actually do this nowadays?

Thoughts? Anyone know of any decent scientific papers on this?

Never heard of this one! I was always taught to wait and hour AFTER feeding before exercise.

Ideally you want the horse cool, calm and had a drink before feeding. If the horse has done strenuous work then the drink for me is the most important part. I often feed my mare as soon as she is untacked.

I know we teach our Pony Club kids to turn their pony out into the paddock to encourage it to drink before producing a feed especially if you have a greedy type that refuses to drink if there is food in the offing.


stilltrying - the Rules of Feeding have not changed at all - My old 50 year old Pony Club Manual still has the same rules as the new one I bought just recently.

 

[Polar Bear9]

Tnavas, I was taught both an hour before and after

Seems no one really waits that long after, puts my mind at rest I do always cool down extensively

 

[Hoof_Prints]

If I have time I leave about 40 minutes after hard exercise, if they've done a lot of galloping and jumping. They are cooled down properly and normally have a good hose off or rub down/ sweat dried and brushed off, then rugged up so by the time that's done its usually been about 20 - 30 mins and I feed straight after if in a rush. I usually leave them with lots of hay while I do the jobs and feed later though.

 

[Boulty]

I wouldn't feed a horse who is still very warm and blowing but other than that I don't follow any of the rules I was taught. I will allow a horse access to hay whilst brushing and tacking up, will happily ride a horse straight in from the field as long as hasn't got a huge grass belly from gorging on the stuff (as current horse needs muzzling on lush grazing not really an issue) and as he's fed fibre not cereals I do on occasion start tacking up about 20 or 30 mins after breakfast has been eaten (the logic going that we'll only be walking for fist 15 or 20 mins anyway). I also tend to chuck straight back out after riding unless horse is really sweaty.

 

[tankgirl1]

I have read in a few places that it is a good idea to give them a small bucket of chop before work so that they have something in their stomach.

I give Dolly a small bucket of chop +/- speedibeet when I bring her in, and the same plus her balancer after work... although 'work' is only plodding round in walk atm!

 

[PorkChop]

I feed Simple Systems feed which can, if necessary, be fed immediately before or after work.

 

[fidleyspromise]

... I know someone who feeds theirs straight after work, and she has never had any problems at all. They will go out for a 2 hour hack and he will have his dinner straight away - not what I would do but she has never had an issue with the way she does it.

I do this as well.

I feed immediately before working (I ride before work).

I feed immediately after work too.

I wouldn’t feed a still blowing / sweating horse / one whose respiration and heart rate weren’t normal.

But I cannot think of any incident where after hacking / galloping / schooling that I didn’t cool my horse off before untacking.

With a fit horse, the timing of having low starch / low sugar / high fibre feed it really doesn’t matter.

Better for them to have free access to high fibre food and water before and after work.

Agreed.

I wouldn't feed a horse who is still very warm and blowing but other than that I don't follow any of the rules I was taught. I will allow a horse access to hay whilst brushing and tacking up, will happily ride a horse straight in from the field as long as hasn't got a huge grass belly from gorging on the stuff (as current horse needs muzzling on lush grazing not really an issue) and as he's fed fibre not cereals I do on occasion start tacking up about 20 or 30 mins after breakfast has been eaten (the logic going that we'll only be walking for fist 15 or 20 mins anyway). I also tend to chuck straight back out after riding unless horse is really sweaty.

I will bring in and ride immediately, horse always has access to grass/hay, regardless of how long I ride - horse is always cooled off (I always feed immediately afterwards). The only time I wouldn't feed immediately is when horse winds herself up - hence she's come back to yard sweaty and hot. I also feed horse before riding - 20 minutes to bring in/brush and tack up.

My horse gets thrown out to field wet and sweaty. Once she's had a roll, I pop a rug on and then go back a couple of hours later to take it off and brush her off.

I've had her 8 years and never had an issue.

 

[amandaco2]

Mine are on oats.
I feed right after work but they are cooled off before we finish work so no different to bringin out of field and feedinh. They get hay or grass iimmediately after bucket feed too

 

[Wagtail]

I think it is an outdated practice to leave an hour before or after exercise. We now know that it's important that the horse has something in its digestive system at all times if we are to avoid problems such as gastric ulcers. Modern hard feed is also far more fibre and less cereal based now. So as long as the horse is not hot and sweating, then I would feed straight away. However to avoid stress with the horses I feed their evening meal at around 9.30 pm when no owners will be wanting to ride.

 

[Tnavas]

The 1hr after feed was always related to large feeds, not the small snack given shortly before work to protect the syomach from acid splash during work.

 

[eggs]

Years ago I was taught to leave an hour AFTER feeding before doing any hard work. However now if I am riding in the morning they all get their breakfasts except for the horse I am planning on riding who will just get a small token feed.

As for feeding after hard exercise I would cool them down by which time they should have stopped blowing and then they can have their food.

 

[Wagtail]

The 1hr after feed was always related to large feeds, not the small snack given shortly before work to protect the syomach from acid splash during work.

But giving large feeds is also outdated now.

 

[chocolategirl]

I only wait if they are hot and sweaty but once they have cooled down even if still sweaty I will feed. Been doing this for over 40 years with no problems so far. I think common sense has to prevail and if they are munching on a haynet already, I don't see the harm in adding a small feed into the equation. Mine don't get huge hard feeds anyway.

 

[georgiegirl]

If its a chaff/forage based feed Ive changed practice and tend to feed before exercise now in keeping with theories on ulcers/acid splashback. So far not had a problem with it

 

[stencilface]

Providing horse is not blowing or still sweating, they get fed. Even if someone has been on a 2hr hack, for most thats mainly walking so not exactly strenous for most horses, no more than they would do while in the field!