What time do you feed???

Breakfast is fed between 7-7:45 in the week and 8-8:45 on weekends.

Dinner fits in around work and riding so is never before 7 during the week but is around 6-6:30 at the weekend. I always feed enough hay to last through the night.
 
I am the same as you.
I never leave my horses leave my horses for ages in the stable and would never leave a horse without hay.
Even if on box rest they get seen to at regular intervals.
 
In the week they are feed by the first on the yard so any time between 7 and 8.30. Weekends they get fed about 9.

They get a ball and hay on days they are in at about 5 and I feed them at 9.30 after I have exercised them. However, on days I am not up, they get fed at 5.30.

They have ad lib hay and are not bothered about the relaxed routine. I have found having a relaxed routine works better than a strict one and when mine have been on livery have asked for their feeds times to be varied.

One of my TBs had been on a strict routine when I got her, and would stress if not fed exactly at the same time, and also pace in the field if not bought in at the same time each day.. I slowly varied her times and long term she was far less stressed on having a feed time that could be within 2 hours, ditto being bought in and turned out.

A strict routine is great until the day it can't be kept to, so I personally prefer to avoid that happening. However, if in, I do like them to have hay at all times so they don't stand around without food.
 
Mine don't have a strict routine - one yard I went on was very strict and all the horses would have around an hour morning and evening of extreme stressing and it wasn't good for them. My part arab gets a handful of happy hoof just for his supplements at about 5pm but this can vary from 3/6pm and he never gets stressed as he doesn't wait for it. He gets two haynets in small holed nets at about 6pm and if he finishes this then he usually hits the straw for a little bit. I'd rather he went for the straw than hay as he's had lammi in the past and I prefer to have him slim. My welsh cross gets a handful of topspec lite at any point in the afternoon that I go and check up on him - he's our 24/7 so is always eating thus he doesn't worry about what time he's going to get some dinner.
 
My two get breakfast between 8 and 9 am every day. They are turned out all day except when brought in for riding/grooming etc. They usually have tea between 6.30 and 8pm. I try not to be too strict as again I believe strict routines can cause their own problems if you are ever delayed etc. However there are some self-inflicted rules I try to stick to. One if mine is on shavings and rationed hay/feed as he is a fattie, so I never ever feed before 5pm otherwise I feel once he's finished his hay he would have too long without any food if I fed him any earlier, I wouldn't feel so bad if he had a straw bed he could nibble on if he got hungry in the night. My other is on ad lib hay and a straw bed so I dong worry about him so much. I also try to let them stand in for half an hour before their tea just to let their bellies settle from a day if grass before they get fed. And when I van I give them space between their tea and their overnight hay for the same reason. But i dont get chance to do that very often. If I kept them at home I would ideally give them the good-doer his haynet about 9pm or so.
 
One of my TBs had been on a strict routine when I got her, and would stress if not fed exactly at the same time, and also pace in the field if not bought in at the same time each day.. I slowly varied her times and long term she was far less stressed on having a feed time that could be within 2 hours, ditto being bought in and turned out.

A strict routine is great until the day it can't be kept to, so I personally prefer to avoid that happening. However, if in, I do like them to have hay at all times so they don't stand around without food.


I'm lucky that if I do break my routine if I'm late or someone else feeds them they don't stress out or pace, even though I do like them to have a routine occassionally it does do them good to do something different which luckily they accept even though my greedy mare eyeballs me until I give her a net :)
 
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