Getting more forage into the pasture boarded horse

[fivestrideline]

@candyappy

No matter , how is he supposed to get the extra hay( he needs) if he is out 24/7 unless the weather is bad ?

I probably wasn’t clear - he comes in for meals 2x a day and will stay in for exceptionally crappy weather (like today and tonight!).

A regular feeder might be okay - but nothing permanently installed and also I don’t want to spend $$$$. I’m actually not sure what a “regular feeder” is? I don’t like hay racks, if that’s what that means. Too high and rarely can hold enough hay.

Regardless, regular hay bales are a logistics issue to store in large quantities, and thus expensive and of varying sources based on what I can get each time. Straight alfalfa is hard to get consistently, but various mixes are easier. That + maybe some pellets is my starter plan.

[candyappy]

@fivestrideline

I probably wasn’t clear - he comes in for meals 2x a day and will stay in for exceptionally crappy weather (like today and tonight!).

A regular feeder might be okay - but nothing permanently installed and also I don’t want to spend $$$$. I’m actually not sure what a “regular feeder” is? I don’t like hay racks, if that’s what that means. Too high and rarely can hold enough hay.

I don’t know what a " regular feeder" is either? My 3 eat out of a 100 gal cracked water trough

@fivestrideline

Regardless, regular hay bales are a logistics issue to store in large quantities, and thus expensive and of varying sources based on what I can get each time. Straight alfalfa is hard to get consistently, but various mixes are easier. That + maybe some pellets is my starter plan.

Good luck and hopefully he will eat well. It really sounds as if he is just not getting enough calories . Seems to be a problem with boarding for some these days.

[LCDR]

Since your horses are out 24/7 (with weather exceptions noted), do you have bedding in the stalls?

I ask because with my 24/7 turnout setup with free access to stalls I do not use bedding. That way the horses never pee in the stalls and it is very rare that they poop . Stall floors are rubber mats. In conjunction with morning and evening feeding, I shut the stall doors, and also feed them their flakes of alfalfa off of the floor in a corner. It takes my two about 15 minutes to eat their ration balancer servings and to scarf up all of the alfalfa flake. I only shut the doors because one of the two eats faster and otherwise immediately goes into the next stall to take over the hay.

[fivestrideline]

Ah I was just going off your post

@candyappy

I didn’t see where you posted that a regular feeder in his stall was prohibited?

Hence my confusion. He’s eaten out of a net clipped into a 100gal tub before when he has a 12x24 stall - no space in this stall though.

Every place has compromises!

[fivestrideline]

@LCDR

Since your horses are out 24/7 (with weather exceptions noted), do you have bedding in the stalls?

Yep, full bedding for naps! They come in for varying amounts of time for meals, sometimes several hours, sometimes 45 minutes. These aren’t runs, the pastures are separate from the barn.

He scarfs up the chopped forage, but it’s expensive. Hence my goal to find another option

[candyappy]

@fivestrideline

Hence my confusion. He’s eaten out of a net clipped into a 100gal tub before when he has a 12x24 stall - no space in this stall though.

Every place has compromises!

I see someone suggested a muck tub and that works too in a normal sized stall. After trying to read everything I wasn’t sure if I missed the part where a feeder ( no matter what it may be) isn’t allowed.

My horses usually tip over the trough anyways. If the hay is good you would never know they had been fed.

[Inimitable]

I’ve been feeding the Unbeetable Forage Only and love it so far. I have four TBs on it and they are all holding their weight and licking the tub clean.

[RedHorses]

I stick a feed pan of alfalfa cubes under my pasture boarded, senior horse’s nose when I bring him in to ride. He munches while I groom, tack up, untack, etc. He will eat several pounds in that time. I pretty much give him as much as he can eat in the time, getting more if he finishes before I do.

[fivestrideline]

So the feed store is relocating and that means I can’t get hay for a bit. TSC will be the only resource for the foreseeable future.

In light of that, plus the horse dropping a bit of weight too, I’m mulling over options.

• switch to TC Senior. $$$, on my dime, but he’s liked it before
• keep him on the balancer but up the Kalm N Easy. It’s unlikely he’s getting 3 lbs, maybe closer to 1.5-2. I can drop the hay stretcher pellets in favor of the K&E since he’s got a limited volume he will eat
• buy compressed alfalfa bales and hang with the shires nets. These can just live in his stall. I bought some chopped Timothy/alfalfa, but it’s not as much of a hit as the straight alfalfa or Safe Starch forages.
• some combo of above

I am on a budget here, not a tiny one but I don’t want to waste money. Thoughts?

[Simkie]

@fivestrideline

I am on a budget here, not a tiny one but I don’t want to waste money. Thoughts?

Have you compared each option on a cost per calorie basis? I hear you than cost isn’t the only consideration, just one of a few, but taking a look at exactly what you’re getting per dollar may be enlightening.

I’d go with maximizing his bucket calories before dealing with buying hay, just due to the hassle factor.

[fivestrideline]

@Simkie

I’d go with maximizing his bucket calories before dealing with buying hay, just due to the hassle factor.

I think I’m going to start here - we are upping the K&E and seeing how that goes. And he gets chopped forage whenever I’m there (I’ll leave a bucket in his stall sometimes too).

I’ve noticed he’s more interested in his alfalfa than his grain, and I will be starting his ulcer meds this week. He eats the grass hay in the pasture just fine, but seems 0% interested when in his stall. That’s a mystery to me, but .

[Larbear]

I may have missed it but do you feed him yourself or does barn staff bring him in for feed?

[fivestrideline]

Barn staff brings him in to feed 2x a day. If I fed him myself this would be easy

I love this place, and they’re SO accommodating and happy to make changes for me. I just know the system and the limits of what I can ask before I upset the whole thing.

[Larbear]

Would they be apposed to you bringing in a cooler? You could soak hay cubes with cold water in advance and just leave them in a cooler. I do that for my guy.

[fivestrideline]

No, but I’ll be honest the horse doesn’t love soaked cubes or pellets. He will eat far more weight in chopped or regular hay.

He’s definitely dropped some weight since I started this thread. Or I finally got a good look at him when pulling his blankets, anyways. So now I’m trying to get more calories into him AND up the forage .

[ThatBayHorse]

What about rice bran for calories? My mare doesn’t (in my opinion) get nearly enough hay in the winter. I pay for rice bran 2x/day, timothy pellets in am feed, and on the days I’m out, she gets more pellets. Boarding is hard

[fivestrideline]

I’ve had success with this before - I was really trying to avoid the omega 6s (and resultant omega 3 supp) as well as the $40/bag price tag for the stabilized.

It is also on the list if I can’t get ahead of this. I’ve had great luck with ration balancer + rice bran + alfalfa pellets in the past. It’s just not cheap (this was at a barn that didn’t provide grain)!

Horse has been iffy about eating his feed - it’s been wicked cold and blustery and none of them are wanting to eat hay or do anything but stand around looking pathetic. I’m starting ulcer meds this afternoon in case the disinterest in his grain is related. He’s eating hay in his stall and drinking as far as we can tell.

[luvmyhackney]

@fivestrideline

Horse has been iffy about eating his feed - it’s been wicked cold and blustery and none of them are wanting to eat hay or do anything but stand around looking pathetic.

Take temperatures to make sure they aren’t too cold? Especially if they aren’t used to this crazy weather.

I’d add another blanket layer if you could or bring them in a bit.

Sounds like they aren’t staying warm enough.

[fivestrideline]

Maybe? He eats inside, and will eat his forage but be meh about his grain.

I have them double blanketed - this horse is in a 50g + 220g with a neck cover, but I could put his 330g with neck on instead of the 220g, or I could double up 220gs. He’s not clipped. The temps have been all over, 40-50 during the day but barely freezing when the barn pulls nighttime blankets. They’ve been in when it’s disgusting cold and windy and rainy, but none of the horses seem to want to vacuum up the hay outside right now. They are chewing the wood all of a sudden (and I’ve run my horse’s diet 3 times and can’t come up with what could be missing!).

Horses

[Simkie]

@fivestrideline

They are chewing the wood all of a sudde

Fwiw, I find wood chewing common this time of year. I toss them thick branches.

Horses aren’t solely grazers, they do browse, and this time of year seems to be when that tendency really kicks in.

It kind of worried me at first, but I’ve been through their diet forward, backward, and sideways, and there’s nothing missing. It’s just hard wired in, I think. Some get into it more than others.