New ideas on feeding the horse who can no longer eat hay

[Bustang65]

Yes! I have searched the internet and the archives first. I understand that beet pulp, hay cubes, and hay pellets are another way to get forage to the horse. That isn’t actually my question today.

So it’s official. My 33 year old can no longer eat hay. He can, however, eat grain and graze on pasture. However, we don’t have any pasture over the winter in Indiana, and we have more horses than acreage. Additionally, this horse has foundered once, possibly twice, before I owned him 15+ years ago, and again in 2013. He has Cushings disease, like many pony breeds. For many years we battled obesity and had to muzzle him on pasture. The last two years we have not. This last winter (2016-now,) we found that he did not keep on small amounts of grain (less than a full ration) and dropped weight suddenly. (We were not vigilant enough and didn’t catch it soon enough, I will admit.)

This horse LOVES to eat. So I was pretty sure he was having issues eating off the 800 pound bale of hay since he was skinny. All horses are on turnout with the option to come into the open former-cattle area of the barn.I put him in the stall to give him space and reduce the energy he was spending walking around trying to graze on dead, nipped short grass. I gave him our best hay from our square bales and he never even ate half of it in 2 days- normally in the hay manger without a slow feeder he would’ve eaten in in a couple hours. The vet said this would come.

SO. He CAN exist on two daily feedings of complete feed. However, when there is no pasture, what can I do to give him munchies while I’m at work and school? ( 20 credit hours of college and two jobs- my degree can’t come soon enough.) I looked into automatic feeders, and the cheapest I can find is over $300, not including installation, which I don’t think my father will help me with. He says the horse isn’t worth the money because he’s old and is going to die. Thanks, Dad.
If I soak hay cubes he’s just going to eat it all until it’s gone and then stand there all day. Has anyone played around with like a jug or something that they can play with and get grain out of? I feel bad because once he eats his grain, he has nothing until several hours later. The little rolling toys wouldn’t give out much feed, and I don’t see how it would work with thick stall bedding. Any suggestions?
Thanks!

[Dark_horse17]

You could put some of his ration of hay stretcher in one of those green horse Kong toys. If he’s hungry, he’ll roll it around and get the pellets out. I have a hungry Haflinger who rolls his ball around each night in his stall (we bed pretty thoroughly), and the pellets are all gone by morning.

Another thought – do you have a friend or neighbor who could run by to offer a third (or fourth?) feeding? Maybe you could trade or barter horse-y time and/or riding to an eager helper in exchange for daily feedings?

[Simkie]

Does he do anything with the chopped bagged hay?

If he gets anything out of it, perhaps you can run a couple bales through a leaf shredder or wood chipper to “make your own”? It basically turns baled hay into soaked cubes (minus the water) and could be a cheapish solution for producing something that entertains him for a little while. And your dad gets a leaf shredder (if he doesn’t have one already.) What guy doesn’t like new power tools?

[Bustang65]

[USER][/USER] I’ve never fed or seen hay stretcher? Unless you mean like hay pellets? I have not tried chopped hay yet because it’s still grass and pretty expensive if he can’t chew it. I will look into the Kong toys. My Dalmatian never plays with them so I think I have one around. We have a shredder (i think) so maybe I can ask Dad if he knows where one is. (We have equipment laying around on the family farms from the past 150 years. LITERALLY.)

[equiniphile]

Hay stretcher is essentially pelleted forage. It’s often used on the East Coast and in places where hay can be scarce. We used to feed a few pounds of it a day to the hard keepers when I worked on the East Coast. The nutritional content is fairly low and it’s not a great way to pack on the fat or kcals, but it is a viable substitute for hay. Blue Seal and Purina both make it.

[Dark_horse17]

Yes - Hay Stretcher is often called Hay Extender. It’s typically sold in large or small pellet forms. If your horse can eat a pellet like Alfalfa, he should be able to eat Hay Stretcher pellets.

Don’t give your horse a Dog Kong toy – they are much too small to be safe.

Here’s something horse-sized: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16270

[AKB]

Can he eat Lucerne Farms Dengie? My oldster ate a bucket of Dengie chopped forage twice daily at one time when we couldn’t get weight on him any other way. We alternated between alfalfa and the Hi Fi. Just watch the sugar content if you get one of the flavors that has a lot of molasses.

[Magicboy]

This is really interesting to me. I appreciate the info!

[Wayside]

@Bustang65

He says the horse isn’t worth the money because he’s old and is going to die. Thanks, Dad.

Ha, my mother said the same thing to me years ago about an elderly mare I was caring for. Gosh, did she ever nag me about it. I didn’t even need her help, but she thought I was spending too much time and money on an animal that (just like your father said) was “old and going to die.”

I pointed out that I’d remember that was how she felt the elderly should be treated when she got old and needed caring for. Since I could potentially be responsible for making care decisions for her, I told her I’d be sure to honor her wishes and not spend time or money on her in a way that was incompatible with her belief structure. Her eyes got wide, and she’s never complained about it again. :lol:

As for your horse, is he willing to munch on his hay at all, even if he’s not eating a lot or getting much nutrition out of it? Does he have problems with choking, or is it safe for him? I used to joke that Pody ate hay “recreationally.” She got nearly all her calories from 3 meals of complete senior pellets a day, but there was hay available for her all the time so that she could keep herself busy, gut moving, and saliva flowing.

[Bustang65]

@Wayside

As for your horse, is he willing to munch on his hay at all, even if he’s not eating a lot or getting much nutrition out of it? Does he have problems with choking, or is it safe for him?

No, he won’t even try anymore. I tried sifting out soft pieces, soaking it, etc. He won’t touch it. He’ll eat grass. I have found that he likes beet pulp. I’m actually in the process of getting pallets gathered to build a shed at my house (used to be a farm but no livestock buildings anymore, and only about 1/2 of pasture.) My Dad made a rule that grandma is NOT allowed to be in the barn with the horses because my younger ottbs are pushy and my ASB attacks, but even with any horse, they are big enough to knock her down. She’s only 115 pounds soaking wet and almost 80 years old. So we will bring him to my house and then she can bring him beet pulp during the day since most days she’s home all the day. He is VERY careful with her. She could even feed him through the gate and never have to be in the pasture with him. We are trying to give him beet pulp snacks at the main farm when we can, but it just doesn’t work (Dad and stepMom live there and work,) and I work two PT jobs while going to college 5 days a week, 20+ credit hours LOL.

Thanks for the ideas. I think we will continue to use the hay pellet when we can, but really he seems to like the beet pulp. I think we will just have to move him where grandma can take care of him during the day and feed him multiple times a day.

[eternalbeginner]

You could try a snak-a-ball thing:
https://www.rideaway.co.uk/snak-a-ball

You put the pellets/treats/dried apples, whatever you want, and the horse spends a while playing with the ball and eating from it. Will not last all day but it will keep him entertained for a while.

[pezk]

Has his teeth been done recently? Maybe it hurts to eat.