Would you feed hay???

Stinkbomb

Stinkbomb

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 January 2007
Messages
3,974
Location
Cloud cookoo..
goldenoakmochachino.blogspot.com
Inky and Ty are out 24/7. They have a feed once a day which is a simple systems feed ( no cereals just fibre ) purely to put their vits and minerals in. They are grazed on the field below and do not seem to have a problem in getting grass they just need to work a little harder than just putting their heads down and grabbing!!! They just have to nibble on it.

They have been having hay 24/7 and are starting to put on a litle weight. I am considering removing the hay as the feeds they are getting are really minimal ( handful ) but was worried they wouldnt get enough fibre from the grass.

TBH they only eat about half a slice between them even when its out all the time. Do you think they would get enough out of the grass???
confused.gif


The grass is that field the horses are in, the farther field is my winter one. I dont strip graze in summer just leave them on the one their in.

inkyweyhill2008134.jpg


inkyweyhill2008129.jpg


inkyweyhill2008111.jpg
 
Personally I wouldn't give them hay - as long as they're able to nibble enough to keep their insides working I'm sure they will be fine.

If you do want to keep giving them hay, soak it for 24 hours first
smile.gif
 
Don't you have pretty yellow fields.
I am not in any way finding fault
grin.gif

I have been looking at weeds in fields as i have been viewing fields so it is more noticeable to me.
Do you have a problem from buttercups with the ponies?
On the reason for your post i don't feed hay. If our fatties are on limited grazeing they have a fibre feed with broad spectrum vitamin.
One vet told me to feed hay. One of our horses choked on his feed last year and had to be tubed.
The vet said horses should not eat so much grass but be fed hay in the field. How do you tell the horse not to eat the grass but the hay? He was convinced he chocked on grass - eventhough it was feed that came out
crazy.gif
That vet did not last long at the practice
laugh.gif

My sister feeds hay all year. I never have.
 
I love buttercups - I know they are bad, but our field is a lovely meadow type one, and the variety of grasses and wildflowers in there must be really good for them - they are certainly never sick or sorry!

I wouldn't be feeding them hay....
 
Lovely slim shetties!!!

Its a toughy. I give my 16.3 a handful of chaff to have supplements and that is all. He is also on strip (or as I like to call it his healthy eating section) grazing.

I think as long as they are having all their vits etc which I am sure they are and they are having a nibble of grass, they should be ok. The grass and handful of feed will keep they digestion working.
 
Thanks everyone, no i dont have problems with buttercups but am aware that they shouldnt be there. It really is being adressed!!! Fortunatley we dont get ragwort so thats a bonus!!

I was worried that with limited grazing they wouldnt get enough volume through their guts for them to work effectivley????
 
I'm in the same boat really. I seem to have less grass than you but I have 4 ponies out on it and they're still fat. They get a handful of good doer with vits a day. I've started putting out hay (about half a wedge each) each night but its well soaked. It more to make me feel better though as they don't seem that fused tbh and certainly don't eat every scrap of it..
This is my paddock: you can see in this photo how sparce it is..
250620081991.jpg


and how well the ponies look:
200620081937.jpg


The second picture is my back garden NOT the paddock..they were on it as a treat..
smile.gif
 
I wouldnt feed it as long as (which they do) the ponies look healthy and well, and you can judge how much they are really eating by counting poos! If theres a steady number for each then they are gettin enough.

I do think good doer ponies are v sneaky, they look as if they can hardly find anything but they are like electric clippers buzzing along the ground, and grass regrows in summer to an edible length of yummy tip every 4 days or so, so I bet theyre finding plenty.

Ive got the other issue, pony quite fat enough but limbos through the electric so gets into the long grass anyway - and the electric is ON! So I am having to restrict turnout until her grazing muzzle arrives, to avoid lami!
 
They're in great condition. I wouldnt feed them hay, im sure they r eating more grass than you realise as they are only little and the ground is covered. Also they have evolved to live on the harsh shetland isle with hardly any grass over the winter. If they dropped weight I would add hay but not untill that point. Now if they were TB's that would be a different matter...
wink.gif
 
You could feed well soaked hay (around 18 hours, then rinsed off) if you are worried they are not getting enough fibre. This is what I've been told to do with my fatty and my laminitic.
 
Shetlands are fantastic at finding the grass that other horses can't, but if they have started losing weight I would be inclined to give them the choice of hay just as a top up. A good gage is to see whether they're always grazing, if they are then they're fine, but if they are frequently stood by the gate then they are missing something.
 
You could feed a slice of soaked hay if you are worried about their fibre intake, or else you could get some "Rough Stuff" from Simple Systems which is pretty poor quality chaff and give the ponies some of that. What Simple System feeds to you give them out of interest?
 
They look good to me in that pic! If the grass is short and they're keeping it in check, they're probably getting all the lovely new shoots that will be coming through. As you're giving them a feed anyway, I doubt they'll need any hay...
 
Hellooo Mrs!

I have to confess that with our minis they get hay all year round, even if plenty of grass, the reason being I find they can get a bit scoury in the summer if they have too much grass and it just helps balance out their little tummies!

It also saves the grass a little in their already sparse paddock so stops any potential laminitis, I have always hayed year round for my two weenies!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top