Would you worry about horses not eating enough hay??

[showqa]

Horses won't eat the hay. It's decent stuff, but they do have haylage twice a day and wondering if this is making them fussy. They're out in the field but there's no grass left, so I would expect them to be more hungry. What would you do? I've tried steaming and soaking to see if that makes a difference - it doesn't. They're not losing condition and they do pick at it - but they're not greedy for it. What about their forage needs if they're not eating enough of it? You can take a horse to hay, but you can't make them eat.

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

If my boy so much as gets a whiff of haylage, hay is out of the window. As long as they have forage avaliable, and they're of a decent weight, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[fidleyspromise]

I agree with TofCC.
Mine eat barely nothing and the first winter I had highland, she ate 1 haynet every few days. She kept her weight and wasn't looking for food so she obviously didn't need it.

If she was at gate constantly looking for food, but not touching hay, I would be more concerned.

 

[showqa]

Thanks for that guys.

The whole forage thing can be such a worry, but yeah, they're both in good condition, "healthy" in every way and certainly don't seem to be hunting for food. They do both have a bucket feed morning and night feed too.

 

[Wagtail]

If I tried to feed ours hay now, they would all turn up their noses. Hoses get extremely fussy witgh forage once they have a taste of something they really love. I buy the drier type of haylage and just feed that. Problem is, they are getting through it far too quickly and it is SO expensive. I need to build a barn so I have room to store hay. I used to have spare stables and store it there, but not any more.

 

[showqa]

I daren't feed haylage all the time because my gelding will balloon in no time - he can survive on fresh air. And yes, it is VERY expensive too.

 

[scarymare]

Actually mine aren't even eating that much haylage

Seeing as they resemble heffers atm I can only presume that because of the very mild autumn, there is still some grass left. This is a totally new experience for me as last year I was going through 4 big bales per week for 8 of them.

Bit annoying though as I do worry about it going off.

 

[wattamus]

My horse has hay and haylage mixed together. However at the end of the day, they will eat if they are hungry. When i put my horse on hay after being on haylage she didn't eat it, but she soon got over herself when she realised that there wasn't an alternative As long as they aren't loosing condition don't panic and let them get on with it xxx

 

[Spudlet]

Ditto the others, as long as it's available, their condition stays good, their teeth are ok and they look healthy and happy I'd let them get on with it

 

[MagicMelon]

I wouldnt worry. Mine live out 24/7 so do have grass to pick at. They go through phases, they'll eat loads of hay obviously when snow is on the ground. I think they also get fed up of nothing but hay eventually.

 

[Little-miss-perfect]

Can anyone advise me also please. I've only had my horse 6 months (first horse!) and he's really gready, but the last 2 nights he hasn't eaten his hay net. It's so unlike him its usually empty, he's eating hard feed and grazing in the day but I don't like the idea of him being in all night and not eating as I know it's not good! He munched a hand full of haylage today so I'm sure it's not an eating problem, teeth were done 4 months ago. Can they just go off hay?? Thanks in advance.

 

[Wagtail]

Can anyone advise me also please. I've only had my horse 6 months (first horse!) and he's really gready, but the last 2 nights he hasn't eaten his hay net. It's so unlike him its usually empty, he's eating hard feed and grazing in the day but I don't like the idea of him being in all night and not eating as I know it's not good! He munched a hand full of haylage today so I'm sure it's not an eating problem, teeth were done 4 months ago. Can they just go off hay?? Thanks in advance.

Could a dog or other animal have weed on the bale or the net? Is it hay or haylage?

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

Can anyone advise me also please. I've only had my horse 6 months (first horse!) and he's really gready, but the last 2 nights he hasn't eaten his hay net. It's so unlike him its usually empty, he's eating hard feed and grazing in the day but I don't like the idea of him being in all night and not eating as I know it's not good! He munched a hand full of haylage today so I'm sure it's not an eating problem, teeth were done 4 months ago. Can they just go off hay?? Thanks in advance.

They can deffo go off hay, particually if it's not great quality or has to be fed early due to poor weather, poor grazing etc. My normally 'I will eat anything I can get into my mouth' boy totally went off it 2 years ago and we had to go to haylage. Try mixing a little haylage with the hay, at least it might encourage him to nibble throughout the night and keep his digestive system ticking over.