Hay wasting horse- what to do?

[CaitlinandTheBay]

Ponykins (24 yr old TB gelding) and I have recently moved barns. He transitioned from living outside on 20 acres + a round bale with friends to a 1/2 acre paddock solo (but a shared fence line). We are, for the most part, adjusting fine. The care is excellent and attentive, and the facility is lovely. Ponykins gets fed 2x grain + two flakes hay (new barn uses same producer as old barn). He eats his grain fine, but he completely shreds the flakes! They’re seriously just spread out across the front of his turnout. Once the hay has been out for a few hours (and he’s thrown it everywhere), he refuses to touch it. So, realistically, he’s only eating about 1 flake a day.
My BM isn’t thrilled with the ides of him just decorating his paddock with hay, but she doesn’t want to restrict it because he’s older and it’s winter. However, all of us are tired of looking at this wasted mess (especially since its pretty good hay).

The obvious solution is on is a small hole hay net. However, there are about 50 head of horses on the property (plus goats and cattle and donkeys). It’s not a long term solution for them to wrestle a hay net twice a day. I have looked at the hay hoop (https://www.statelinetack.com/item/hay-hoops-original-collapsible-wall-feeder-frame/E010418/) which so far seems like the best option. Pony gets 6lbs of equine senior twice a day which is approaching the “feed without roughages” level and his paddock is filled with grass (over seeded with rye twice this winter). Maybe he’s just not hungry? Anybody have any other solutions for a messy hay eater?

[cnd8]

Have you checked out the Hay Chix website? They have several products that might be a a solution for you.

[EventerAJ]

You can buy several haynets and fill them in advance, making it easy for workers to feed.

How are your horse’s teeth? At that age, he may be struggling to chew the long stems, and tosses his flakes to get to the smaller chaffy pieces he can actually eat. I have 2 senior horses, and I try to only feed them chaff, in a haynet so they don’t waste it. I also give them soaked feed, beet pulp and alfalfa cubes, which meets most of their nutritional needs; the hay is just to give them something to pick at.
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[Scribbler]

Check his teeth. Then check his general health and ulcers.

How much does a flake weigh? Three pounds or ten pounds? Weigh the hay and make sure he is only getting about 20 lbs a day.

I wouldn’t go with a small.holes hay net. Maybe a medium hole one.

Do you know how much roundbske he ate before? Or did he actually get by mostly on pasture?

If his teeth are OK, what happens if you reduce his hsy drastically? Like one flake. Maybe he is filling up on grass.

Also how much grsin is he getting and what kind?

[CaitlinandTheBay]

@EventerAJ

You can buy several haynets and fill them in advance, making it easy for workers to feed.

How are your horse’s teeth? At that age, he may be struggling to chew the long stems, and tosses his flakes to get to the smaller chaffy pieces he can actually eat. I have 2 senior horses, and I try to only feed them chaff, in a haynet so they don’t waste it. I also give them soaked feed, beet pulp and alfalfa cubes, which meets most of their nutritional needs; the hay is just to give them something to pick at.
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I hadn’t considered getting multiple haynets like that, That’s a really good plan.

Ponykin’s teeth are an endless source of vet bills for me. He has no top front teeth (knock them out in the starting gate and then cribbed the rest away). He’s missing 2 molars on his right side and one on the left (so much surgery!). I generally stay on top of his teeth though and my vet thinks they’re okay. His breakfast and dinner is completely a mash. Like your guys- the hay is really just to fill gaps and entertain him. He has plenty of grass but has decided he hates rye. .

[Scribbler]

Well then make sure his nutrition and calories are being met by the complete senior feed mash and give him one flake a day to play with.

I don’t think a horse with no front teeth would get much mileage with a hay net.

[Marla_100]

Whenever my horses start trashing the hay in stalls I can guarantee you it’s the quality of the hay. It may look
Ok to you but your horse is telling you otherwise.
Try some nice leafy alfalfa, since his teeth seem to be a problem. Otherwise switch out to some different hay.

[Kyrabee]

I have my mare eating out of one of those plastic 55 gallon barrels. Lay it on it’s side and cut a good sized rectangle off the top. The shape makes it hard to for them to flip hay out. I have a small ‘cradle’ (made out of 2x2’s) to lift it off the ground for drainage (with holes drilled in the bottom). I put up a board on the outside of the pen and it is bolted to that so it stays put.

Another option is is a big tractor tire that is turned inside out. I used that for quite awhile.

My problem is wind. If it is windy and her hay is just on the ground…it leaves and pony is hungry and unhappy:mad:.

p.s. I board too and BO won’t deal with various slow feed nets or feeders. I understand as they do all the work themselves and it would take hours to cater to everyone (about 20 horses). I can’t seem to make it out there consistently to fill nets which makes me sad.

Susan

[Fleurdelis]

I have the same issue. Picky TB that hates hay nets. I finally relented. What I’ve found that cuts down a bit on waste (short of a hay net) is to use one of the taller black rubber water bins. He still pushes small quantities out but, for the most part, will leave what he doesn’t want untouched in the bin, which is then repurposed to my other horses. I better knock on wood. Tomorrow I’ll go out to a stall bedded in hay…

[J-Lu]

My friend had an older OTTB that suddenly started decorating her solo 1 acre pasture with the hay. She had diarrhea as well, but no other horse presented like that. Her vet inspected the hay and determined that it wasn’t quality enough for her gut and liking, and she was more sensitive than the other horses in the barn. We purchased quality hay together from another source (a local supplier (hay was from upstate NY), cheaper than local stores) and poof the diarrhea and paddock decorating stopped.

I suggest getting better quality hay to at least supplement the hay. Buy try 1 high quality bale purchased at a local store to see if your horse tosses it around in the same way. Your BO can throw a flake one or twice a day to supplement.

My horse gets bored trying to eat out of the slow feeder nets. He only uses it if alfalfa is involved. His neighbor gets her owner-purchased hay in a slow feeder hay net. She purchased several nets and stacks them herself so the BO only has to exchange the empty net for the full one. The BO is fine with exchanging the nets and saving on hay costs with this horse.

Your horse needs bulk, and if he can eat good hay, that is preferable over grain for bulk fiber and calories. Standlee makes a seriously leafy compressed alfalfa bale that can be fed in a container (soooo leafy). My horse would give thumbs up if he had them on Marla 100’s suggestion of alfalfa for nutrients and palatability. We all call my horse’s alfalfa bales “his crack”, and the barn owner happily throws a flake in the winter.

[Scribbler]

@CaitlinandTheBay

I hadn’t considered getting multiple haynets like that, That’s a really good plan.

Ponykin’s teeth are an endless source of vet bills for me. He has no top front teeth (knock them out in the starting gate and then cribbed the rest away). He’s missing 2 molars on his right side and one on the left (so much surgery!). I generally stay on top of his teeth though and my vet thinks they’re okay. His breakfast and dinner is completely a mash. Like your guys- the hay is really just to fill gaps and entertain him. He has plenty of grass but has decided he hates rye. .

I think this description of the horses teeth changes the situation considerably. In this case I expect he is having trouble eating the hay and a net or slow feeder isn’t going to help.

Thats why I suggested going to a complete senior feed and/or soaked hay cubes for all his basic calorie and nutrition needs, and then just give him one small flake to play with understanding it will be wasted.

[CaitlinandTheBay]

@Scribbler

I think this description of the horses teeth changes the situation considerably. In this case I expect he is having trouble eating the hay and a net or slow feeder isn’t going to help.

Thats why I suggested going to a complete senior feed and/or soaked hay cubes for all his basic calorie and nutrition needs, and then just give him one small flake to play with understanding it will be wasted.

We used slow feed hay nets at our previous barn, and Ponykins was able to eat without much frustration. I bought him without top fronts, and it’s never seemed to interfere with his eating. He grasses like a cow, pulling up to cut with his bottom teeth.

That said, I agree with you that he probably just needs hay to play with. His teeth cause him to struggle with alfalfa- it’s too stem-y for him to properly grind down. Even the fermented stuff have him diarrhea. Hopefully our feed store has some sort of coastal cube for us. I think that’ll probably be our best bet. I can pre-fill buckets, and the feeders will just soak it like another bucket of grain.

Interestingly, I tossed his hay in his run-in last night because the temp was dropping from 60 to 20 very quickly at like 2am, and when I arrived this morning to switch his blanket, he had eaten both flakes with no mess.

[Hawks_Nest]

An old water tank works (my guys have a 70gal Rubbermaid tub), they’ll still spill some but they can’t just paw it around and get it all trampled. We happened to have an old cracked one to use as they aren’t cheap but any sort of container that will hold the hay will probably stop him from wasting so much. And whatever he leaves can be given to other horses to clean up with less waste.

[classicrocky]

I had similar issues with my 6-year-old Mountain Horse gelding - he tossed all of his hay around his stall and then proceeded to pee on it. A slow feed hay net fixed that. He cleans it all up and doesn’t drop any.

Had the opposite issue with my 5-year-old Oldenburg gelding. He cleans up his hay, but he was starting to lose a bit of weight even with the concentrate he was given (guessing the loss of some pasture in the move), and when I tried to up his hay more, he started spreading the bits he didn’t eat. Instead of upping his hay beyond what he was able to eat a day, I have added alfalfa pellets to his daily ration. It’s easier for me to find and feed than buying a bale of alfalfa. I’m considering moving him to a slow feed hay net and stuffing it full though.

Pellets or soaked cubes may be worth a look. My mini has to have timothy pellets because he has heaves and doesn’t eat soaked cubes or hay

All of my horses seem to be special needs and refuse to all eat the same thing. So I understand trying to figure out what works best for them! Don’t even get me started on supplements… LOL.

[S1969]

Agree that hay quality is one obvious issue. Just because the hay is “from the same supplier” doesn’t mean it’s the same hay, or that the hay is always the same quality.

It sounds like he’s picking through the hay and eating the parts that he prefers - this is a classic sign of inconsistent hay. Or, that only some of the hay is soft enough for him to eat with his teeth issues.

I would consider - #1 different hay, #2 less hay at one time so he is more likely to finish it before moving to the next flake, #3 supplementing with hay/alfalfa pellets.

Hay net does not sound like the right answer to me. It might slow him down but if he’s picking through the hay he is still just picking through the hay.