Feeding in EXTREME Weather Conditions

Welcome Birdie.

I use hay net bags. It controls waste and extends feeding times.

There are some very durable inexpensive $10-$15 ones.The really cheap ones $4-$6 are not good in my opinion.  And I have tried the  $50 expensive hay (canvas looking) bags and my guys destroy them. The hay nets are not recommended for shod  horses and you need to be careful about where they are placed so your horse can't get tangled in them.

I can fill them with a flake or two or a half bale when necessary.

Hey Birdie! I spent a few days with DaneHaven recently and I was really surprised how well the hay bags worked. I would never have guessed! :O)

Thank you DaneHaven, and hunterseat for getting back to me. Unfortunately, while I would love to be able to feed from a hay bag, and I agree it would probably slow their consumption down, this is often a struggle because my mare starts to heave. I would love to think she could keep her foot out of the bag if I lowered it, but I don't think I could be so lucky. Currently I place my hay into a tractor tire attached to a rubber mat, with some holes drilled through out to keep water from pooling in it. It is a struggle to keep it clean at times but it stops them from consuming a bunch of sand. My biggest concern as of right now is the amount of time between feedings...

Recently a fellow horse person criticized my feeding habits, stating that he felt my animals were waiting far too long between their evening feeding at 7:30PM and the morning feeding at 7:30AM. I explained that they also receive grain around 9AM and another small helping of hay around noon but he continued to insist I was waiting too long between feedings. Both animals look healthy - ribs can be felt but not seen, truthfully I think the donkey is getting a little more then she needs as it is not as easy to find her ribs.

Right now I am feeling like a monster because as he put it "how would I like to go 12 hours with out food?"  but technically they are still eating well past 7:30...

At what times do you folks feed? And how long do you wait between feeding times? Do you feed more or less depending upon the time of day (i.e. do you feed more in the morning and less in the evening or vice versa)?

Thanks again for your responses. I truly appreciate the feedback.

Birdie

The horse's stomach is really designed to be grazing 24/7. Very hard to do. Our stomachs deflate much like balloons when empty. A horse's stomach is more like an empty envelope. It flattens out. I went to a lecture on ulcers once -  that's where they talked about 24/7 grazing.

24/7 is suppose to be optimum. I am lucky enough to be in Texas. I feed depending on the condition of the pastures as we are dealing with drought conditions.

In winter we have round bales. I have not gotten them yet this year so am still on squares with nets.

Mine get very little grain just enough to keep them coming in when called. They get grain in the evening, at no certain time. I have heard it is also important that they eat some hay before the grain to get the gastric juices flowing.  Having dealt with a colic impaction I know it is *extremely* important that they have access to salt. Mine have a communal salt block.

They also get a Tablespoon of salt with their feed. They need to drink plenty of water especially when temps fluctuate radically.

In winter most mornings they get grain also before being turned out. If they are kept in the pens for weather reasons of course they have hay nets.

And mornings, if we are riding they get hay and grain.

Huge difference between Texas and Michigan conditions so maybe not helpful. I know lots of people who only feed morning and night.

Birdie, are you sure your horse isn't choking?  We have an old mare here on the Walkingbear who bolts her feed and sometimes really chokes a lot.  When that happens she has to be separated from her little herd and fed dampened hay separately.  After a week or so, she's fine.

Twelve hours between feedings is a bit long.  I suspect you work full time and are unable to feed earlier in the evening?  If so, it shouldn't be a serious problem anyway.  

Another alternative is to put a bale net on and stuff that in the middle of the truck tire (just make sure you adjust the net regularly till empty).  The net should slow the mare down sufficiently to keep her from bolting the hay.  Also, there are nets available for the round  bales, though I don't like that much netting within reach of feet.

If the horses are okay with the twelve hour feeding, then smile at your friend and thank them for their advice.  Do what works for you and your horses.   Though twelve hours isn't optimal, the horses should still be fine with it.