Feeding questions; heaves/asthma and aging horses

[CHT]

I have a couple feed related questions in trying to look after an aging horse population:

1. Feeding hay cubes: horses eat cubes so much faster than hay, so how do you feed cubes but not have them end up foodless for a long period over night? Summer they can pick through grass, but what about winter? Budget wise, 14lbs of cubes should meet their nutrition requirements, and be within our basic per horse budget, but 5 lbs of cubes takes very little time to eat compared to the 10 lbs of hay they would get otherwise.
2. Wetting hay: I care for a horse that has been diagnosed with asthma. Vet wants his hay wet, and wants him outside as much as possible…but not on pasture. He is in a small group. Wetting hay is annoying but doable in summer, but how the heck will I do it when it is significantly below freezing? Will a horse want to eat frozen hay? I know I don’t want to get wet putting it out. This horse cannot get cubes (bad jaw).

[cayuse]

Can the horse with the bad jaw chew chopped hay? You can get it treated with oil or molasses and it keeps the dust at bay, I’ve used Lucerne Farms bagged hay and it’s chopped pretty fine.

[B-burg_Dressage]

I can speak from experience on the wetting hay. Yes they will eat frozen hay. It’s doable, but certainly more fun in the summer.

We would put the hay in a cart that drained. Hose liberally, breaking it up to get the middle. Put in hay feeder. The hay would for sure freeze, but no ice cubes or anything. Never had an issue with my old guy eating it. We only fed hay in the evening (an entire bale each day for two horses–so about 25lbs each that lasted until the next feeding) so I wasn’t having to wet and throw it twice a day.

[CHT]

I don’t think we have chopped hay here. I have never seen it.

[CHT]

THe horse owner bought a Garden Cart that carries just under a bale loose. Enough for his pen (4 horses). I feed three times a day. Good to know they eat frozen hay!

[WildGooseChase]

As an owner with a heaves horse, if you can, invest in a hay steamer. The hay will probably still freeze in the winter, but it should take a lot longer because it’s warm. I’ve done soaked, wetted/rinsed and steamed hay and 100% would go with steaming over the others. It’s just really pricey to buy a steamer, but not as bad to build one.

[CHT]

Re: hay steamer - That would be up to the owner, not my horse, so not my investment…but then also finding room for the thing in our small barn. The horse is currently NOT coughing, so what we are doing is working, but we don’t have much for smoke or pollen right now.

[candyappy]

@CHT

Good to know they eat frozen hay!

Mine won’t and i wouldn’t want to make an aging horse try to chew frozen hay either. There must be other options?

[CHT]

I am trying to look for other options, hence my initial question. The vets aren’t helpful: feed him inside, but keep him out as much as possible? It is possible that once winter is here and there are no other allergens that he might not need his hay wetted: he was fine last winter and only develops issues in late spring, but this year was the worst yet.

[IPEsq]

What type of asthma does he have? Depends on the triggers. Some do not do well in extreme cold or being kept inside, so a year round problem. Others may have more of a spring/summer flare (or triggered by smoke or something else less likely to happen in winter). Steamer is better than soaking in either case but can also be harder to deal with in winter depending on your barn setup.

[PNWSunnyDay]

From where is the hay fed? The old lady mare at the barn coughs significantly more if her hay is fed from a plastic corner feeder. It traps the dust and allergens in a small space that she breathes while eating. We feed on a rubber mat and soak the hay when she has a flare-up.

[CHT]

Outside it is fed on the ground in single flake piles. Inside it is scattered along one wall of his stall (I feel breaking up the flake is helpful for dust and slowing eating). He gets most of his hay outside, only one flake in as he is only in for up to 5 hours. The results of his test just said “Moderate Equine Asthma” after his BOL test. It seems pollen and smoke are triggers. Cold doesn’t seem to affect his cough, but he is a big wimp about cold.

[Ghazzu]

I have a horse for whom I soak hay. I use a laundry basket inside a rectangular tote, which sits on a dolly. I submerge the hay, then sit the laundry basket crosswise to drain back into the tote, then dump the hay into a container in the stall.
I do have a heated feedroom for winter, though.
(It’s not as complicated as it sounds, but I don’t have photos to hand.)

[CHT]

I have a total of four horses in his turn out though, so I have to wet almost a full bale. Doing it with a garden cart. My barn is heated and has floor drains. I don’t want to make him live alone. Just not sure how it will go at 40 below…the hay might freeze in a block on the way to his paddock! His cough is currently gone/fine - his medication is currently being cut back. Possible he won’t need his hay wet once we have snow/cold?

[IPEsq]

He might not need wet hay in winter when the other triggers/irritants aren’t around.

[candyappy]

@CHT

I am trying to look for other options, hence my initial question. The vets aren’t helpful: feed him inside, but keep him out as much as possible? It is possible that once winter is here and there are no other allergens that he might not need his hay wetted: he was fine last winter and only develops issues in late spring, but this year was the worst yet.

Our older mare is triggered by seasonal allergies that can cause heaves( her’s was bad) or causes her uveitis to flare. I initially did wet her hay after her diagnosis / treatments but I stopped wetting the hay once the temps got too cold as neither her or my mare would eat it.

So far almost 2 years later and I have not had to wet her hay again. They are out all the time but do have a shavings bedded run in if they want to get inside. Her eyes get itchy/ inflamed on occasion( we treat immediately) but no respiratory issues since.

Hay is fed on the ground on rubber mats. So I guess for some horses hay soaking isn’t a life long thing. it must depend on the individual case.