Feeding Schedules

[knightrider922]

I try really hard to not feed my horses on a schedule. But it is impossible to not feed at the same time M-F because of work. On the weekends before I sold my mare, if I didn’t feed at the same time, she would get everyone running around in the morning tearing up my small farm where my grass is precious.

Now that she’s gone its a bit easier as the boys are not so upset, but they do stand at the gate and will only run around if its too buggy out early. At night feeding, they can eat anywhere from 4pm to 10pm depending on the night.

Do you feed on a schedule? And if so, how do you handle vacations.? Does your farm sitter feed on your schedule?. These questions are being spurred from my farm sitter asking me how late in the morning she can feed because she’s really busy with other jobs.

I currently have them in a paddock with no run in shed which is part of the problem…if its buggy early then they run like idiots and tear up the small paddocks. But I think I will make it easy and move them to the barn paddock and leave the stall doors open which should help…

Anyway, just curious how schedule oriented your herd is and how you manage that…

[Mango20]

My schedule varies. Mostly it’s because I feed at 4 am on work days, and there’s no way in hell I’m waking up that early just to feed horses on non-work days! Evening feedings will vary within about a 2 hour window, too. The horses will often wait as close to the house as they can get, but are never upset. They also are able to go in the barn whenever they want. I place no time restrictions on pet sitters.

[froglander]

I just have one horse. He has a slow feeder that I am able to keep plenty of hay in. He gets 1/2-3/4lb ration balancer twice a day. So since he basically always has hay, we just aim for feeding his grain and topping off the hay sometime between 6-10 am and pm. Seems to work fine for him. Sometimes a little earlier if I have to work early. Sometimes a little later if I leave it to hubby to feed.

[saultgirl]

The schedule depends on the time of year for me. In the winter I try to stick to the schedule a little more because i don’t want them to go too long without hay. In the summer they usually get put on pasture in the morning and back into the paddock in the evening. They only get grain once a day and that is just whenever works for me… so they don’t expect grain at a certain time.

My two horses aren’t big fans of running around, but maresy will stand at the fence and repeatedly rear if she is faced with the tragedy of dinner being a little bit late AND the weather being bad (like freezing rain/blizzard). Most other days, they can be found standing at the fence around the time I’d show up to feed, but they don’t make too much of a fuss.

[Palm_Beach]

Are you bringing them into stalls, or feeding outside? And are you feeding hay or concentrate or both? How much?

[SugarCubes]

I have a similar set up, and I think giving them access to their stalls will help. I’ve noticed that if my guys are in their private paddocks attached to their stalls with hay in front of them, they don’t care when I feed them. BUT, if they are turned out in the big field (no run in), they are running the fence line wanting to come in around dinner time.

I do try to vary my feeding times, but I tend to wake up at the same time every morning and I feed as soon as I’m up, but the time I feed dinner varies more. They don’t get much grain anyway, and always have hay in front of them so they don’t get upset when meals are later than usual.

[Lucassb]

My horses get fed on the same general schedule (+/- 30 mins or so) three times a day. They have hay in front of them more or less round the clock anytime they are in their stalls (obviously when they are turned out, there is grass instead.)

When we are away showing, feed times might be altered a bit based on ride times. It never seems to cause a big problem; again they have hay in front of them more or less constantly, so there is always something to nibble on.

[Winding_Down]

I try hard to NOT feed on a strict schedule because when I do, horses begin to anticipate getting feed, they stomp and walk about, and are probably producing all sorts of acid to create ulcers. But I am an ulcer-phobic micro-manager who is always suspecting that poor performance or behaviors are due to the inner workings of my horse(s).

I feed 3x per day currently due to one horse being in need of groceries. AM is anywhere between 6 am and 10 am, “noon” is anywhere between 11:00 and 2 pm, and PM is anywhere between 5 pm and 8 pm. Typical is 7, 12, and 5.

My horses are either on grass or have hay in front of them 24/7. I have one who is too fat currently and is just shy of being turned out in a grazing muzzle. I am monitoring her closely now to see if her increased riding schedule can bring the fat down. We shall see.

[clanter]

Morning feeding ours are on the commuter train time… the first run is at 4:30 AM train blows horn, horses expect be fed then

Evening they are on solar time… one hour before sunset … lined up waiting, self adjusting on daylight saving time changes

[allons-y]

Days I work, around 5 am and 8pm. Days Im off, 5 - 6am and right before dark. Out 24/7, pasture all summer, hay out all winter

[BLBSTBLS]

My guys are also not fed on too strict a schedule. Weekdays they get fed between 6:30-8 and then pm between 6:30-7, that summer time, and weekends they get fed around 8am and about 7ish pm, they don’t get too fussy, I have a couple that once they see you come out to feed they get grumpy that they had to wait if its late but they wait until you are there to witness the temper tantrum why waste their energy unless they get some attention. lol

if I have someone watching the farm, I definitely tell the sitter what times to feed between at least between certain hours, that way they don’t get carried away feeding too late in the morning when it can get to be like a bazillion degrees outside.

[Callista17]

I agree with Winding Down. Mine are in stalls, and I like that they aren’t on a set schedule, ao they can be fed without destroying the barn and panicking if something happens. I give general timeframes to my housesitter too. Plus they also have hay or grass to munch on.

[jherold]

Mine know the days of the week. “It’s the weekend, she gave us extra hay, Turn out will be late.” Maybe I’m just lucky, but of the 7 horses on the farm over the years, none were bothered by my varying schedule.

[Scribbler]

I have my horse in a stall with a runout, and an automatic feeder that drops hay four times in 24 hours. She will come inside and start to stare at the ceiling about half an hour before her hay drops, but she doesn’t get frantic because there is no person to impress. But when I feed her mash once a day, she does get very impatient once she know I am mixing it up. And the mash time varies a lot, basically whenever I am done riding and she is cooled out.

So I don’t think it is the regularity of the feeding so much as the presence of a human who might be convinced to hurry up a little if she really asks loudly, that makes her frantic and impatient.

[yaya]

My schedule varies, and horses are fine with it. Breakfast is usually within about a 1-hour window (except maybe on Sunday if I sleep in), and dinner varies with sundown so they can be out as long as possible (when I was working, dinner could be anywhere from 3pm-midnight, but they knew they’d get fed eventually!)

A friend feeds on a schedule, and her life is ruled by it because her horses get upset if she’s 5 minutes late. I think I’ll stick with my program!

[knightrider922]

[QUOTE=Palm Beach;8696522]
Are you bringing them into stalls, or feeding outside? And are you feeding hay or concentrate or both? How much?[/QUOTE]

It depends on what paddocks i’m using. Currently they are in the front paddocks wiht no run in sheds. So if its buggy in the morning they run if i’m later than 6-7am…

When I go on vacation, I will move them so they have only access to the paddock off the stalls. And i’ll have them leave stalls open with hay. I think they will be better in that paddock.

I try hard to not feed on a schedule but the workweek makes that difficult.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

I don’t feed on a schedule. My animals get pasture turnout in two groups and it varies who goes out first and how long they stay out. On the dry lot(s) they have basically continuous hay. They don’t come into stalls, but can use their run-ins as they wish. I grain when I feel like it. Maybe morning and lunch. Or after work and again at 11 pm.

This is what works well for me. My mare is a little too food motivated to stick to a schedule or she gets pretty upset if you are late. Sometimes I have to work in the evening. I also like to sleep in on weekends without anyone having a temper tantrum. Donkeys let you know if they are upset…

[Kodidog763]

I purposely avoid a schedule with mine. Life happens, and I didn’t want to be in a position where I HAD to feed the horses at a certain time. I work from home which makes varying my schedule easier (and often necessary).

They are on 24 hour turnout. Grass paddocks in the day, and a sacrifice paddock with hay & shelter in the evenings. Currently I am only graining once per day (ration balancer since they are maintaining weight on free choice grass/hay). I feed in the AM anytime between 7:00am and 10:00am depending on what I have going on for work. If I don’t feed by 10:00am, I feed in the evening instead. That can be anytime between 4:00PM and 6:00PM.

In the morning, the horses will stand by the gate for a while after I’ve taken the dogs out. If I don’t come out within half hour/45 minutes, they move on with their lives.

Not having a set schedule works for mine. They don’t stress about dinner time, and I don’t have to plan my life around feeding the horses.

The dogs? That’s another story - they lose their minds if they think I’m not feeding them on time. :yes:

[2DogsFarm]

My horses are out 24/7 with access to stalls from the paddock (which opens to pastures) if they want.
They rarely “want”.
Their window is huge since they have access to pasture all day & night.
In Winter I’ll toss a couple flakes out for them to “graze” both morning & evening.

When I was working, A.M. feed was around 6A, which allowed me to get ready for work without rushing.
P.M. was generally when I got home from work - so sometime after 5, but later if I had somewhere to go & couldn’t stop home first.
Now it’s whenever I get up for A.M. & generally 4-5Pish for evenings.
I’ve fed as early as 3A when I had a flight to catch & as late as 11P when traffic had me stuck.
As long as there’s grass or hay noone gets hysterical about what time the grain appears.
I don’t require farmsitters to keep set hours either, as long as they get grain w/supplements 2X day that’s fine - what time is not essential.

My new guy - the TWH - does get very enthusiastic about getting his grain, but his idea of anxious is to leave his stall (while smart pony waits patiently in his) & run to the gate at the front of the barn to peer in & make sure I’m mixing feed.
Sometimes he goes Walkabout while waiting & forces pony to go with, but never too far from the stalls.
He’ll also pick up his feedpan to show me it’s empty - both before & after I fill it.
Cuteness Factor:
He taught himself to shake the pan gently to bring oats at the edges to the center for easier nomming

[js]

I used to when I was working but it was to accommodate my schedule. Now, I allow their feeding times to vary. They have 24/7 access to pasture, I want them out and enjoying it. If I have them on a schedule then they will be standing in their stalls waiting for feed when they could/should be out. If I vary the feeding time, they are more likely to be out grazing.