When to put hay in field

LovesCobs

LovesCobs

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Anyone else not putting hay in their fields yet? I have good doers who still need to lose weight over winter. Grass is short but still there and they come in to a haynet at night (soaked when its not ice cold outside). They have light feed just to add supplement to (top chop light) I do have a mini scrap on my hands at the gate when it's time to come in, but nothing major, but I haven't felt the need to put hay out yet.
 
Not yet, still have grass and they are happy to go straight back out after their token tea, not had to put headcollars on and take them out yet. When they start digging their heels in and don't want to budge then i know they need hay.

Unbelievable really, have usually been haying for a month now, fab savings for winter, grass out there will last a few wks yet.
 
Been putting hay out for the last 5 weeks or so. I always thinking from November onwards, there's not going to be much in the grass really, so like to know they've got roughage going through them all the time. Babies are fat as butter...but the 2 riddens get separated for haylage and hard feed. :)
 
Not putting hay out yet. Feed speedibeet, micronised linseed and calm and condition once a day. Still lots of grass and horse looking good. I weigh tape once a week and he is actually gaining. As soon as drops off a bit will put haylage out.
 
Hay out for the last 8 weeks but the last 2 it's been ad lib. I still have plenty grass but don't want them just eating cold/frozen grass. Sometimes they are away eating the grass and not just stuffing their faces at the feeder. But I like them to have the choice. They are in at night.
 
shes gettting a haynet in the morning and evening but shes dropped quite a bit of weight last week. also by the weekend she will be on ful winter rations of food
 
They live out 24/7 but have just moved into a field which had been rested with tons of grass. Put hay out for first time last night and its not been touched.
 
Not haying in field even with some that live out we have tons of grass, they have vit and mins lick and are muching all day and are as fat as pigs.
 
Mine have been fine until the frost this weekend, and started to eat the hay I left for them, so have now put out some each day for them and they are eating it. I do give a small hi fibre good doer feed each day in order to encourage them to like coming in to have a check etc.

My fields are very high up next to moorlands and the temperature has now really gone down so grass has stopped growing, it has been an exceptional autumn I can not remember another year when it grew till the end of November.
 
I have started putting out a section if it is below freezing or both cold and rainy/windy as my good doer really LOVES hay and it is about two years old so not that calorific. She has plenty of grass left and hasn't touched a lot of the long stuff, but as she gets stressed out if I put a rug on her for longer than about 4 hours I just give her hay to keep her warm (she has a dense coat anyway). She has a small feed of chaff and linseed meal too.
 
Our lad is living out and was having some when in a small paddock, but has now moved to a larger one with plenty of grass and has to be called to come for his tea (spedibeet, linseed and straw chop, with supplement) so no extra given till he hangs around the gate.
 
I don't put hay in the field for my welsh D- he gets enough when he's in at night and there's plenty of grass for him to pick at during the day, I can keep his weight down this way. For the 2 that live out they get a section or 2 in the evening they too have plenty to pick at in the day, all 3 look well and happy and I don't have wasted hay trampled everywhere.
 
I dont hay my lad at all in winter in the field as I have plenty of grass and just strip graze him each day onto some new stuff. Even when we had snow past my knees I did not hay him - just moved the fence more so that he had plenty to dig away at under the snow...sounds mean but he never lost any weight during those weeks!
He comes in each night to hay instead.
 
Thanks everyone, I think I'll keep going as I am for now, I have a closed field that's lush with grass but very wet (has a fenced off stream that keeps bursting) if the weather dries up they'll have plenty in there as well. They don't come to the gate until they see me at 3ish (if I'm out at lunch time they stay where they are and don't beg to come in) if its a hard frost they get a morning net and go out a little later. Seems to be working I just need a bit of weight off them, more exercise needed!
 
Feed a little hay all year round (they are out 24/7). They always wait for it and finish whatever I give them. I worry about GS, they don't really need it otherwise as both are well covered.
 
I'm still strip grazing in our winter field!!! Over three thirds of the way up now, I move it once a week if it needs it. Still have about 2 - 3 weeks worth could poss push it 4 weeks.

Pony is still not wanting to come in as there is grass in his field so in his eyes why should he stand in and eat "just" hay when there is grass to be had :D

May have to let next door use the summer field in Feb time or I'll have too much grass in there for when I move pony back!!!!
 
Nope not haying my three at all, they move from one field to the other for the day and there's tonnes of grass in the day field and should be enough there until at least Christmas, there is still plenty in the night field for them to escape hay at the moment but I think come Christmas I will be giving them hay at night, but judging by how much is still ont he day field I should get away with not feeding hay in the day until a week or so into January :)
 
Our pony is out 24/7 with no hay or feed, bar a carrot in the evening. There is still plenty of grass on the winter field, and she really needs to drop a bit of weight. She is also unrugged but has a big field shelter (which she rarely uses:p).
 
Mine still have tons of grass but I like to chuck them some hay if the grass is frozen, which it has been for about the last week up until today.
 
Been having a little hay since October, recently upped the amount due to frosty weather - we have 3 out 24/7 and 2 in at night. We like to transition them slowly onto the hay, and find that some years the horses have developed an allergic reaction to the addition of hay in their diet resulting in scabby legs - its not mud fever! They get hay til around March time, one of them whickers for it each time bless him :)
 
Mine are out 24.7 and were until last week on nearly bald section with a couple of posts being moved a day into winter grass. Neither losing weight though :rolleyes:

Are now on the winter grass the other piece is flooded - put half a bale of hay out (small bale) the other night as it was supposed to snow - didnt touch it :rolleyes:

Wont put any out til theyve eaten the grass now.
 
My Section D had a bit of hay in the field when it was frosty at the weekend, but now the temperature has come up again, she hasn't had any hay today or yesterday. She is also chubby and needing to lose a bit of weight!
 
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