Importance of feeding routine?

[2DogsFarm]

@beowulf

being greeted with the equine equivalent of “F#%$ YOU, where’s my breakfast?!”.

Only my Herdboss gives me 'tude.
Like someone upthread said: the minute my bathroom light (faces the barn) goes on, I know if I look out the window, all 3 will be lined up on the Wall of Shame < faces the house.
I take care of chickens - coop nearer the house - first.
Then, as I head for the barn, Boss will start the parade, herding the pony & mini towards their stalls.
He then walks toward me…
And very pointedly turns away at the last minute.
BURN!!!

Only my sweet mini will nicker for me & wait.
But I may be misinterpreting that wee whinny - might be
And he is privileged to come in the service door with me. And plunder stacked hay while I dole flakes out to the others.

[colorfan]

I also live in a -25 typical winter situation. I think hay and water in front of them greatly minimizes the risk of colic. Because they have hay so are not ever empty/hungry grain and goodies coming sooner or later is a much less issue because mentally they are not worried.
It seems to me when their system gets empty they get hungry and then if their feeding time is delayed they get concerned. I think this is the prime scenario in which colic will happen.
Interesting about the warmth contributing to colic.

an observation from a two horse study lol. When I boarded one particular winter my neighbour was extremely punctual, if she was 5 minutes late her horse paced, banged, mumbled and otherwise made it known that breakfast/supper was late. Didn’t seem to mind early haha.
I am not so punctual, meals could vary by a 1/2 hour, My 1/2 TB mare never seemed worried if I was late.

[Scribbler]

Also horses drink less if they aren’t eating hay so double whammy.

[Weezer]

I think you are right that the stress of being out of routine is what really contributes to the colic. I think my vet was also suggesting that the stress of fluctuating temperatures, and not the actual temperature change, contributes to colic. Until he told me that, I had always been light with the blankets, preferring to let the horses be natural. But the reality is that in nature horses don’t live to be 25 years old. So now I’m less focused on what is ‘natural’ and more focused on how to keep my horses happy day-to-day. They want to have the freedom to move around all the time, they don’t want to have to shiver to stay warm, and they don’t want to be suffocating under too many blankets. Oh yeah, and they want their bellies to always be full

[lenapesadie]

When we have big weather changes or super cold snaps, I tend to amp up my “barn checks”. I think it makes the horses happy (cause I have snacks I’m sure).

Totally agree about nature vs elderly equines. My senior boy would have died in “nature” a long time ago.

I’ve gotten to be a real diva about blanket fitting. One horse is a bit hard to fit and the other is super sensitive. I figure if I’m going to put clothes on them the least I can do is make sure they get the most comfortable outfits possible lol

[Texarkana]

@Weezer

They want to have the freedom to move around all the time, they don’t want to have to shiver to stay warm, and they don’t want to be suffocating under too many blankets. Oh yeah, and they want their bellies to always be full

That pretty much sums it up! Don’t we all want the same thing?

[BroncoMo]

Morning routine is pretty strict. I have to be at work by 6:30, so morning feeding is done about at about 5-5:15. Despite this being in place for quite some time, several are still sleeping at that time and look at me like I’m nuts when I tell them they have to get up and come eat.

Evening feeding gets done when it gets done. Depends on sunset, weather, errands I had to run after work, whether or not I’m working/riding anyone that day, if I have to work late, etc. They know they’ll get dinner when dinner shows up.

I hate that the show barn has a very strict schedule. Because sure as sh!t, 4:30 rolls around and everyone is banging down their stall doors (despite 24/7 hay); whether they are still needing to show or not. I’ve seen more than a couple rounds gone wrong because fluffy didn’t get dinner before it had to go show. If it were up to me, the feed scoop would get put away until everyone can get their manners in check.

[Jealoushe]

Some people will argue that no routine is good because then horses don’t anticipate their grain time, however recent research shows that a horse starts to get their digestive tract moving an hour before feed time, this helps with their digestion and gut and intestine health.

Without this action, when you add grain is harder and more uncomfortable for them to process and digest.

So while you might think no routine is good, you’re actually causing GI and gut issues and making it harder for the horse to gather nutrients etc from their food.

That’s why horses get grumpy when dinner is late, their bellies are going nuts and ready to start taking on the extra food.

[sascha]

@Jealoushe

Some people will argue that no routine is good because then horses don’t anticipate their grain time, however recent research shows that a horse starts to get their digestive tract moving an hour before feed time, this helps with their digestion and gut and intestine health.

Without this action, when you add grain is harder and more uncomfortable for them to process and digest.

So while you might think no routine is good, you’re actually causing GI and gut issues and making it harder for the horse to gather nutrients etc from their food.

That’s why horses get grumpy when dinner is late, their bellies are going nuts and ready to start taking on the extra food.

If there is a constant supply of forage there should be no reason to get their digestive tract moving because their digestive tract is already moving, as they should be, pretty much 24/7.

I’d like to see a study that compares:

limited feeding of forage + grain meals to
limited feeding of forage + concentrated forage meals* to
unlimited feeding of forage + grain meals to
unlimited feeding of forage + concentrated forage meals.

It’s so easy for us to look at the latest research and forget that the research may not cover our particular scenario well, or even at all!

*alfalfa pellets, beet pulp pellets, etc

[Texarkana]

@Jealoushe

Some people will argue that no routine is good because then horses don’t anticipate their grain time, however recent research shows that a horse starts to get their digestive tract moving an hour before feed time, this helps with their digestion and gut and intestine health.

Without this action, when you add grain is harder and more uncomfortable for them to process and digest.

So while you might think no routine is good, you’re actually causing GI and gut issues and making it harder for the horse to gather nutrients etc from their food.

That’s why horses get grumpy when dinner is late, their bellies are going nuts and ready to start taking on the extra food.

I think this is absolutely true for horses in a stall or dry lot situation where hay access dwindles or runs out entirely.

I also believe this makes a lot sense when horses are also expecting a “change” coinciding with feeding, such as moving from stall to turnout. That certainly increases anticipation.

But a lifetime of my personal observations say pastured horses with continuous forage access do not anticipate to the same degree. Did they address that in the study you reference?

I also think what constitutes a “grain” meal greatly varies. A racehorse getting 7lbs of sweet feed 3x a day is a very different situation than a trail horse in the field coming in for some supplements in a cup of feed. Just curious- what kind of grain feedings were these horses receiving?

[JB]

@Weezer

I think my vet was also suggesting that the stress of fluctuating temperatures, and not the actual temperature change, contributes to colic.

Major drops in temp in Winter can contribute to dehydration and therefore impaction colics. Generally, those horses aren’t the greatest drinkers to start, and this type of thing, combined with what’s often an increase in hay intake, just pushes them over the edge. AND, getting blankets on those horses sooner, rather than later, may help encourage more water intake if they are warmer.

Dramatic barometric changes can contribute to gas colic, some horses are especially prone to those. It doesn’t even have to result in any real significant temperature change

@Weezer

reality is that in nature horses don’t live to be 25 years old. So now I’m less focused on what is ‘natural’ and more focused on how to keep my horses happy day-to-day.

10000% this. I get SO tired of people saying “well who blankets horses in the wild?”

Obviously nobody does, but clearly they haven’t seen how skinny many of those horses are come Spring, and it’s not just because of reduced forage. Wild horses survive. Most don’t thrive at any point, and those who do sometimes, thrive for the Summer, before they are back in survival mode for the Winter.

We owe all domestic animals better than that.

[JB]

@Jealoushe

recent research shows that a horse starts to get their digestive tract moving an hour before feed time, this helps with their digestion and gut and intestine health.

do you have a link for that? I’m curious about all the context

@Jealoushe

Without this action, when you add grain is harder and more uncomfortable for them to process and digest.

this is one reason why horses who haven’t been munching on hay/grass fairly recently, benefit from having hay fed first, then their hard feed

@Jealoushe

So while you might think no routine is good, you’re actually causing GI and gut issues and making it harder for the horse to gather nutrients etc from their food.

this is assuming a horse hasn’t eaten anything for a few hours by the time breakfast comes around, which is definitely the case in a lot of boarding situations, but obviously not the case for the majority of horses like are described here - out full time on grass and/or hay, or more hay in their stalls than they can eat between feedings.

@Jealoushe

That’s why horses get grumpy when dinner is late, their bellies are going nuts and ready to start taking on the extra food.

Or, they’re “grumpy” because the timing is off, or the activities around feeding time (regardless of actual time) aren’t resulting in a meal appearing.

[Scribbler]

I always thought best practice was to not feed grain on an empty stomach.

[JB]

That IS a best practice, if for no other reason than to help reduce the chance that a hangry horse bolts his feed and chokes

[Texarkana]

@JB

That IS a best practice, if for no other reason than to help reduce the chance that a hangry horse bolts his feed and chokes

The real best practice is avoiding hangry horses period.

[sascha]

@JB

this is one reason why horses who haven’t been munching on hay/grass fairly recently, benefit from having hay fed first, then their hard feed

Yup. It was drilled into my brain (in the dark ages way before forage accessible 24/7 was a thing) that you water the entire barn first, then hay the entire barn, then grain the entire barn, then top up water again.

[JB]

@Texarkana

The real best practice is avoiding hangry horses period.

haha, truth! But it’s ok to have run out of hay an hour ago, and some horses are just that “emotional” about their hard feed that they dive into it like they haven’t been fed for 3 days LOL Making sure they get/have forage in them first, can help with that.

[Jealoushe]

I can’t remember but I’m going to look for the study later, I’ll post it if I can find it.