I saw the part re not processing hay. But when a horse is switched to a more feed based diet, that then has to replace hay. So hay the horse isn’t eating and one scoop of feed twice daily isn’t a recipe for a long and healthy life. Which I suspect the barn manager realizes, hence OP noting that he has gained weight since moving to this facility where other people are managing his diet. This is probably a good thing for the horse.
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Interesting point and it would fit in with some of the other things we heard. BM sounds courteous and caring, and perhaps someone that would toss him some extra nourishment.
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Not processing hay and then stating that she’s been told it’s just for his " entertainment " are completely different things! I’ve never heard a vet say hays for entertainment. He can either have it or if he’s been diagnosed with something like, hind gut ulcers he can’t…but then it’s my understanding wouldn’t get alfalfa period. Regular ulcers, alfalfa is good for them, but then so is unlimited good hay…I am just confused. Unless his bales are 120lbs one flake twice a day just isn’t enough!
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I think its clear that the OP cares extremely well for her horse, she went out at lunchtime to check the new stall he has been allocated!
I think the point she is making is that she had his feeding regime sorted herself and it wasnt followed, and I agree with the poster that said boarding is a bunch of compromises, and also the poster that said putting meals in buckets and preparing them and making things as easy as possible for them will help.
In regards to the feeding of the hay, its also apparent to me that the OP is following instructions of a vet, and that the horse is an older horse. It would seem to me, that for me to guess at wether the right amount or type of feed was being given, based on a 12 line thread on a public forum of limited background information, would be unhelpful, especially if a vet is involved, and frankly people telling me how to feed my horses would p!ss me off no end, as its like a crazy science - for every single horse.
Op I think speak to the Barn manager about the hay situation and see what the issue is, its maybe that staff are told to put 3 flakes in every horses stall at night, and arent aware of your particular circumstance.
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yabbut – one scoop of senior & one scoop of alfalfa – that is hardly good replacement roughage.
for instance, i had a gelding in my care as a BM that didn’t chew hay well (he had GDE, cushings, and a whole host of issues – oh, and was missing many teeth from EORTH) – vet instructed to give him a nibble net of soft/loose hay to keep with his routine and keep him busy at night, which we did – but he only got, all told, about 3lb of hay a day.
but he got about 11lb of alfalfa cubes a day… split into 6 meals daily. he always had food in front of him.
and he was a 14h arabian.
so do the math. “one scoop”, if we’re talking a standardized scoop, is probably about 2 quarts? i wouldn’t think a horse with no forage whatsoever would subsist well on only 4 quarts of alfalfa when there is only two flakes of hay provided.
anyway – i agree it’s obvious the OP cares a lot about her horse. i think she just might be in for the same awakening i was when i went from taking care of my horse myself, to boarding him out - there’s a whole host of things that change, including your degree of control – as well as the knowledge/education of the barn hands feeding the horse…
so my advice would be to the OP to sit down and have a one on one with the BM and the barn staff, to figure out exactly WHAT is being fed, and what should be fed… and figure out what the staff expect from you, OP, WRT your horse’s feed. i would make sure you always have his feed set up, personally – as that is the best way IME as a rough boarder, BM, and barn staff, to ensure your horse gets his meals.
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I agree. I think folks would do well to move on from commenting on whether or not the horse is being fed appropriately - the horse, as stated by the OP, is a senior horse in light work and under vet supervision. While it sounds like she stated he gained weight, I’ve owned more than one senior horse that needed to be kept in a certain weight range - usually on the lighter side - due to concerns of arthritis. Point being, we just don’t know.
Personally, I would be irritated if my horse was playing musical paddock/musical stall and BO was not alerting me, so OP should count herself lucky in that regard because it doesn’t always happen. In this case, farther from the arena is a convenience issue whereas the concern and main argument for not moving is horse health. I’d allow my horse to be moved and if they don’t tolerate the move well would request a switch. But this is otherwise quite within the BO’s purview to do.
I think the OP’s post highlights on the issues with board set-ups like this: if you’re supplying grain and hay and have a strict feed schedule for the horse, it’s going to be a lot harder to enforce that. Add on minimal storage abilities for larger amounts and I foresee this being problematic for the OP regularly. For that reason this may not be the best set-up for this horse, but if the barn is otherwise accommodating it might be something the OP just needs to work with the BO on.
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I am willing to admit that I am confused by the whole feeding thing. I am also willing to admit that I know feeding is done very differently in different parts of the country and different horses (depending on their needs and medical issues).
I think if the OP is working with her vet about the care her horse needs we should believe that they are doing something right.
I have heard of hay being more for busy time than a feed need when the feed needs are taken care of with cubes or pellets.
OP, it would probably help lots of posters if you gave them an idea of your bale size and scoop size. Not saying that will stop the list of posts telling you that you are feeding your horse all wrong, but…
Thank you so much for this comment and a few others like this! The comments on my horse’s feed and if I’m using an equine vet were getting ridiculous. I so appreciate your rational comments.
To address the other comments: YES I’M USING A HORSE VET. Are you kidding me? BTW I used to work for some of the top equine vets in southern California. I worked in the horse world for years as everything from an equine dental tech/vet tech to an equine massage therapist. My fiance is a farrier - we are not new to the horse world. I am just new to having my horse in a barn and taking over his care full time - hence the question about whether or not the barn managers actions were normal or abnormal.
As for his feed - as I said in the comments I’ve posted. He doesn’t process his hay well, especially in the winter when it is more stemmy. I am in California so our bales and flakes are huge. I don’t know the exact weight, but I feed more to my horse than anyone else in the barn and follow my vet’s recommendations to a T so I am not underfeeding. With two flakes a day he has hay in front of him all day long. I do not “fast” my horse. The hay is considered “entertainment” because he isn’t getting much from it by not processing it all that well. He eats the flakey leaves, but it’s not giving him as much as the cubes and senior. I appreciate people chiming in, but honestly I’m going to listen to my vet about his feeding rather than a bunch of people who have never even seen my horse. That’s not what this thread was about. He started putting on weight when I took over his care which was 2 months BEFORE I moved him into the barn. They are not consistently over feeding him - they are inconsistently feeding him which is why I’m going to make up bags (or possibly buckets) to regulate that. Thank you for those tips - they were really helpful.
Now back to why I posted in the first place - I agreed to give it a shot and move him to a different corral after speaking with the barn manager. I was very hesitant because he just went through such a big move 3 weeks ago - 20 years in a pasture and then suddenly moved to a barn. He handled that move like a champ, but I was worried to do even a minor move again since he had settled in so well.
We gave it a shot last night and he immediately started pacing non stop and getting aggressive with the horse next to him. He even ignored his grain, so I told the BM I wasn’t comfortable with the move at this time. He probably would have settled in after a few hours, but he’s been through a lot recently and I felt the added stress wasn’t necessary. All of the other horses are used to the barn and moving corrals, but Red wasn’t. I had to fight for it a bit, but we got him back in his same stall and he calmed down. Luckily the BM was very understanding of me being protective of him and agreed he was too stressed. I also talked to her about getting him on a consistent feed schedule. She agreed things have been inconsistent while they’ve been transitioning a new person in, but we sat down and I showed her exactly what size flake/scoops of senior and cubes I need. I am still going to separate them myself to make sure I can keep track, but she seemed very helpful and on board. I think she’s going to be a good manager and she takes into consideration how I feel about changes to my horse.
I do really appreciate the helpful comments on barn etiquette and what is normal/abnormal and tips on keeping my feed consistent. I posted for advice, not a war on my feeding schedule, lol, but I can turn into a keyboard warrior myself at times so I get it. 
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As long as she is the one who always feeds, that’s great.
If not, I would talk to EVERYONE who feeds yourself and go over it thorough with each one.
Things get lost in translation and the person ‘in charge’ doesn’t always know what is going on with each individual animal or situation.
Good luck!
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Thank you for clarifications BUT the attitude is unwarranted…sadly with other posters we have seen people that do not use specific equine vets, put hay in front 24/7 and basically do starve their horses etc! You came here asking for advise and did not just ask about stalling but also asked about his feeding with the initial small information it really did look “odd”. Giving the right info to start would of eliminated all of or questions that you deemed weird.
Glad and you have it worked out with BM… hopefully they will at least put up feed charts so their is no way people can get things wrong!
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The attitude was snarky at best - meant to be taken lightly. Probably lost in internet translation. And nowhere in my original post did I ask for advice on how I should be feeding my horse. I simply asked about the barn’s way of handling things. I wasn’t expecting people to suddenly critique how much I was feeding - if that was the purpose of my post I would have gone into great detail about my feeding situation, horse’s health, etc. Which is what I ended up doing in my other comments. I understand some people may not know a thing about horses who post here, but you have to admit, some of the comments on the way I feed were getting ridiculous. I took it with a grain of salt and was giving a cheeky response back. Not trying to be offensive. I should have added more winky faces
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She is the person taking over feeding full time. I will make sure to ask if anyone is set up to fill in for her if she’s unavailable and go over with them as well. Thanks for the tip!
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If they don’t have a feed chart on his stall is there a feed room where you can tape one up? As a barn worker feed charts are so important! Honestly, just being told is easy to forget when every horse is fed differently (and all are or should be to some extent!)
About 2 years ago my horse died, on May 26th… and since my work at the barn was how I paid for the board, I was done with my job too, leaving the BO to do it all herself as she had done before I came along.
Then 2 days later I got frantic texts and calls on my phone from the boarders, the BO had been hospitalized and eventually had to have a 4 way bypass and was out for over 3 months.
As the only other person who knew what they each got fed, and the other details of the care of the horses, and one of two people available to be there every single day… guess who called asked to help?
Then the results of what killed my horse came and we were put on quarantine by the state Vet… and things got even more complicated than the boarders would have had time to manage themselves.
You never, ever know what will happen tomorrow.
In your position I would bag up meals. You could even say one bag of each if you can’t find a ziplock big enough.
Also, it doesn’t matter if you ask for advice on something. If you post about it you will get comments!
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Haha I’ve noticed! I’m OK with the comments, which is why I was being snarky back. It was all in good fun, but I know it doesn’t always come across that way. It was interesting to see what/how other people feed. I am definitely going to bag up meals. That’s something I didn’t think of and had never heard of as an option, but makes perfect sense. Thanks 
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Stay around long enough and you too will make those comments! I totally get horses at home then to boarding. It’s rough for sure. Bagging the food let’s you micromanage and make their job easier as there is no scooping involved.
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I am so sorry to hear this! I can’t imagine the stress and heartache you must have been feeling in that situation! We don’t have a feeding chart, but I am going to take the one I have in my feed bin and get it on his corral. That way if someone new has to feed suddenly, at least Red will be taken care of.
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Hahah I have no doubt! I’ve already felt my hot-headedness come out. I mean, I am a horse girl - it’s kind of ingrained in a lot of us lol. Thanks for the understanding with home to boarding. It’s a transition for sure! I always trusted my Dad’s knowledge and ability. He was a good horseman, but he got really sick a few years back and my horse’s care went downhill drastically. I tried to make changes, but he lived a few hours away and it was out of my hands at that time. Then he passed in February so I was faced with the sudden need to move Red and take over without having my Dad’s guidance. I tried to learn as much as possible about Red’s care before he passed, but my Dad was already off a bit mentally and had a hard time remembering. It was a mess, so I’m trying to make the best of a tough situation. I have to say having my horse nearby has been the best thing that’s happened this year though - as tough as it is
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They don’t have one set for the entire barn, but I’m definitely getting his up on his corral. It’s in his feed bin now, but you are right - for someone in a rush it’s still too easy to pass over.
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