My horse gets alfalfa cubes in the morning, I don’t feed grain, and in the evening he gets alfalfa cubes and has hay in front of him all night, the other horse gets hay in the evening and some grain, and in the morning he gets grain
I would really want to see what is available in turn-out, in that case.
My horse gets alfalfa cubes in the morning, I don’t feed grain, and in the evening he gets alfalfa cubes and has hay in front of him all night, the other horse gets hay in the evening and some grain, and in the morning he gets grain
Then no, not acceptable. Unless, as stated above, there is pasture to graze. I would also argue that the diet is deficient if only hay and alfalfa - I would at least add a ration balancer.
What area of the country do you live in?
If the horse has been eating hay all night and still has hay in front of him until turned out in the field then 8-9 hours without new hay may not be an issue.
I agree that is not ideal and I would prefer new hay fed before turnout, if the horse was mine.
I guess I don’t see why they don’t put a few flakes per horse out mid day??
Agree that the horse may not have an issue. Just can’t see why anyone would choose this schedule, even for a fat horse. It’s stupid.
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Western nc, he gets a mineral supplement twice a day with his cubes
Ok so there could be grass if the pasture was big enough. How big is it?
Mine is pretty grazed down by the end of summer with 3 horses on about 3 acres. They still nibble at it in the fall but it’s not really providing them any real calories. If I put hay out there, they will eat the hay, so they are definitely hungry.
They may be able to handle it but I don’t think it’s healthy for fair to them. I would not Be okay with it.
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My fatty mare lives in a “diet pen” (no grass) and gets one flake of orchard grass hay at 8am, 1 flake at 1pm, and 1 flake at 6pm and then goes without a scrap of food between 6:30pm and 8am. She does not have ulcers, she’s still fat (and probably should do without lunch), and she’s been on that program for the 15 years I’ve had her.
As with everything horse-related, the answer is, “it depends on the horse.”
Sounds to me like your relative’s horse is doing just fine on the feed program he’s on. Not sure why you’re worried?
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OP’s thoroughbred is turned out with relative’s easy keeper. The concern is for the TB who needs weight, since hay is not being offered in turnout (presumably to manage the easy keeper?).
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Ahh…you are right, I missed the point, if that’s what she was getting at. But being turned out (even in winter) is not “going 8 to 9 hours without food.” He’s got free choice hay all night (which is more often the bulk of the “day” - e.g. 15-16 hours versus the 8-9 they’re out), and then presumably can nibble on something during the day even if it’s not bountiful spring grass.
OP - I have both types of horses. My TB was tough to put weight on for many years until I figured out that he was a classic ulcer-type horse. Added a few ulcer support products to his feed (mainly SmartDigest Ultra), and he finally picked up the weight he’d struggled with for so long (note - he was never “skinny,” just racing fit and wouldn’t pick up any extra pounds). For years and years I kept a huge filled hay net in front of him 24/7. But when he finally “got fat” I went back to tossing him a couple of flakes twice a day and that’s it (though he also lives in/out with access to grass 24/7). It doesn’t sound like that 8-9 hours should be an issue and that the not-putting-on-weight has more to do with something other than a lack of hay while he’s out.
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That really depends on the pasture. An overgrazed pasture can really be “nothing left to eat” and the OP says there is no grass left out there.
Again - will the horse die? Probably not. Will it lose weight? Probably. I wouldn’t put my TB mare on a bare pasture for 8-9 hours. Even 2-3 flakes of hay would be better…and unlikely to make the QH too fat.
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Will have to agree to disagree. Many of mine are out on dead and barren pastures all winter. They still nibble all day long. Granted, I’m in a more temperate climate than many, but still would argue that as long as there is grass of some sort (even below snow!) there’s enough for a horse to have something in their stomach - will it put weight on them? Unlikely, but for a horse who has free choice hay 15-16 hours a day, it should be sufficient.
If your horse is on free choice hay 15-16 hours a day and not gaining weight, the issue is unlikely to be related to the 8-9 hour period (beyond the fact that if the horse is already ulcery, he may not be interested in eating enough to put weight on ever). But that’s easy to address with a number of gut supplements and would be easier than getting a barn owning relative to change the routine.
And, as an aside, it’s tough to say how it would go with two horses. If I threw a few flakes of hay out for my fat mare with her (former) pasturemates, none of them would have gotten a single bite. So yes, “just a few flakes” could make the fat horse fatter and not help the skinny horse.
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Well I think that’s the point. “Grass of some sort” - means that the pasture cannot have been grazed down to nothing before winter. My horses have to get taken off the pasture in the fall or they will literally graze bare spots into it. Just because, something to do while out there. If I left them on it into winter I couldn’t really pretend that they have something in their stomach. We don’t know what this pasture looks like or how big it is. If it’s only an acre, for example, it probably never has actual “grazing” grass in it.
Bottom line, in my book - this isn’t a good setup for one of the two horses. If there is no way to have some hay in front of the TB during the day because it would make the QH obese - the fat one would have a muzzle or I would move my horse.
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Now that winter is coming and theres no grass in the pasture, I am very worried about my horses weight. He has gained a ton of weight this summer and i dont want to lose all my hard work. I think I’m going to try and see if the barn owner will do seperate turnout where my horse could be out all night with hay and be up in the stall during the day with hay, while the other horse is out during the day and up at night.
Sounds like a good plan.
Hm, but not all horses will tolerate being alone outside at night. Yours may fret all the weight off.
In a boarding situation, at least where I am, it’s not uncommon for horses to be without hay for some number of hours overnight, especially if they are hay hoovers (as mine is, and no, slow feed nets don’t slow her down much.) I see other horses at her barn who get the same amount of hay and still have plenty of leftovers in the morning, while mine typically cleans up every single microscopic bit of hay in her stall and then goes without. She’s a 6 BCS, and a breed prone to laminitis and metabolic issues, so more hay is not an option.
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He has been turned out by himself when the other horse has gone to shows and he does fine.
They didnt agree with letting me turn my horse out separately because they said there horse will freak out if it’s in the barn by itself . So when I turned them out this morning I put out two piles of hay to see how it would go and there horse who is a hay vacume ate all my horses expensive hay.
This is a tricky one human-wise, but I personally wouldn’t leave a thin horse without forage for nine hours. I’d worry about weight, ulcers, behavioral problems, and the overall happiness and well-being of my horse.
Hate to say it, but I’d either separate the two or change barns.
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