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Feeding hay to this horse?
So in previous winter my horse (a good doing QH) used to get a hard feed daily, consisting of wheaten and lucerne chaff and some Hygain Ice pellets, with all his necessary supplements, he'd get two flakes of hay per week. he kept weight well and by the end of winter he was at the perfect weight that I felt he looked good and comfortable at. Spring came and he was lame, meaning out of work, so he gained LOTS of weight he is prone to founder so it was a difficult spring.
Anyway this winter he's been a good weight so far. In his paddock there are 4 horses, 3 of them have a feeding/rugging roster, Doc (my horse), Danny and Tom get fed and rugged together everyday all us owners help each other out. So we've brought 30 bales of hay and we have a shed full of hay, the horses get about 3 flakes a day split evenly between them, so about a flake per day each, sometimes less but I guess it averages to about that.
I think my horse is looking much healthier on the hay rather than hard feed, it's a better way of feeding too, or so I think. He hasn't dropped much weight, he's staying pretty normal. He is a lot lighter rugged than last year and looks pretty good.
So what I wanted to ask was, in YOUR opinion would you feed hay or a hard feed in this situation?
5 Answers
- Miss LukeLv 78 years agoFavorite Answer
Horses don't really NEED grain unless they're worked heavily and need to maintain peak fitness (race horses, eventers, etc.) As Clinton Anderson says, most pleasure horses are OVER-fed and under-worked. Since youor horse appears to be an easy keeper and -- especially -- if he's prone to founder, keeping on hay only may be a smart choice. (Also be wary of the amount of grass he consumes at pasture in the spring, when its sugar content is high.) You can always increase the amount of hay he consumes if he begins to lose weight. If you DO resume grain, switch to a pelleted low-starch formula, and give him maybe only 1 lb per feed -- just enough to make him THINK he's getting something.
Source(s): My QH also is a fairly easy keeper. He's on pasture and 2 flakes/day of orchard grass-timothy hay in the summer, all the hay he wants in the winter, and 2 lbs/day (1 lb at each feeding) of a pelleted low-starch feed -- and he's at an ideal weight. - LilianLv 68 years ago
A flake of hay? What kind of hay? When was it baled? What crop is it? How big are the bales, how much do they weigh?
In the winter I only feed hay, I very seldom give any kind of supplements I ride in the winter and my horses always look good. If I see a little weight loss I feed used fry oil on the hay, just put it in a clean soap bottle and squirt some on it.
- 8 years ago
Hard Feed in this situation is a big NO. Hard Feed is for hard working Horses that need the extra energy. It will just make him fat. I feed my horses pellet feed usually Purina brand. You can purchase light to moderate work horse feed. This feed will give him actual nourishment, plus it's a good base for supplements. Hay is the way to go! Especially if he's being kept at a good weight on hay. Makayla (HH)
- 8 years ago
If you can keep your horse on hay and keep his weight good.. go for it. Feed isn't natural anyway. But nothing can replace fresh grass.
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- 8 years ago
Pasture is always my first choice... Do you not have a pasture? Hay should only be fed in the winter and he should only be supplemented if he needs to be, as in he is sick or underweight.
