Tell me your secrets!! Pony’s hay goes in a net. When I soak it and even if I soak and dump so there is no net for the night, if it is freezing temps out he says thanks but no thanks mom. I think the cold hay may upset his teeth, not feel great in his stomach, some random pony reason that I cannot figure out??
Does anyone else have this issue? How do you make it work? His hay is a frozen mass in the morning and he is standing there looking at me like I’m the biggest Ahole pony mom ever…
I am feeling thankful that my mare does not care if there are icicles hanging off her hay.
I soak it in the garage, which is heated to just above freezing. Hang it in there over night and then feed it.
It doesn’t start to ferment at all from hanging overnight after being soaked? I could do that in our outdoor garage. It is enclosed, concrete floor. I suppose I could start soaking at lunch in a mucktub, then dump the muck tub and let it somewhat drain out in the tub or hung somehow right over it until his dinner and bedtime. Thanks for the idea!!
I waste a lot of water. I find with frequent water changes (every day) I have not had a problem with fermenting.
In the summer, on hot days, I can not hang it that long.
I have a second muck tub I put under it to drip into when I hang it to drip.
I have given up on trying to keep a limit on water usage when it comes to ponys stuff here too. In the summer he will have it eaten before it gets gross. Just in the freezing winter he hates eating haysicles lol.
With temps in the high 20s and low 30s overnight here, my mare’s bay gets a little icy, but she’ll still eat it. Once the temps are solidly freezing, we stop soaking.
When we had to soak hay for one of mine, and temps got cold, we also did the soaking in our garage. We kept a big rubbermaid tub on a garden cart which worked well to wheel out and dump the water way far away from the house (lest we create an ice rink). I soaked in nets, drained over the tub (we had this metal grid thing that was a draining rack), then ran it down to the barn to feed. Fun times. My guy would have it eaten before it froze too much. But we also don’t deal with super cold temps very often. Just reminiscing about this makes me so happy not to have to soak anymore (I’ve been able to get low sugar hay for the last several years, so no need to soak).
Why are you soaking it?
I can’t speak for the OP, but I was soaking to reduce sugar content.
I can speak for OP, but I soak to reduce respiratory irritants and allergens.
One is to get more water and moisture thru his gut and system in general. He does not like to drink much water and after his latest colic/infection and being in the clinic on IVs I am trying to avoid anything getting stopped up. Since he has his little abnormality, we wonder if his kidneys have a harder time working too or what else inside him that we cannot see could be abnormal. Then if his urine is more concentrated it could lead to build up in his sheath area and his urethra, and then he would end up with another infection and/or colic episode.
Another reason is to lower the sugar content as well. In this weather and what is coming this week and weekend my main worry is hydration though.
I think frozen hay he won’t eat is more of a hindrance to his hydration needs at this time of year?
I assume you have a heated water source in the Winter? Some of the heated buckets get the water overly warm and some horses don’t like that any better than cold water.
We are getting this blast of cold as well and If he was mine I would not soak the hay . Maybe put a little in a feeder he can eat freely from and the rest in a net or where he has to sort of work for it if his weight is an issue.
I have 3 who don’t need extra calories either but they will get ample hay for the next 4 days through the worst of it.
I didn’t phrase it right as I know hay is soaked for a variety of reasons. I thought OP’s pony was just a pony with no special needs.
I also soaked hay briefly couple years ago, when our older mare had allergies flare up and heaves symptoms but stopped come the cold and have never had to soak again( so thankful).
His special needs is holding weight easily lol. And not wanting to drink, blah. I agree on not soaking thru the worse of the cold, he has hay 24/7 whether its soaked in a net in his stall at night, or in the feeder during the day. Which he stubbornly refuses and would rather pick at the half dead field instead.
No warm water in the barn, unless you count me carrying buckets I fill in the bathtub lol. During the next few days I will be lugging two warm water buckets to change out every 3 to 4 hrs just to make sure he has options besides the water trough which I am sure will ice over quickly no matter how much I break it up and scoop out the ice chunks.
If you have electric and water at the barn, could you get a electric kettle?
Thats what I use to add hot water to buckets during night check. They all suck down a bucket when its warm/hot.
My pony gets an extra bucket with a hot water and a little bit of sugar free pancake syrup and a couple peppermints. Its always empty by morning.
He gets a new bucket of warm water every time I go out there which is 3 to 4 times a day lol. The barn is less than a football field from the house thank God. I would love to have water out there but in the summer I can just leave the hose laying out in the field along the fence and they leave it alone so it’s really not worth the cost right now. No electricity either. I have solar gutter lights along the front, a solar shed light with a remote hanging in the middle of the barn, and the little blue battery powered magnetic lights from harbor freight on the walls everywhere since the barn is a modified 3 bay carport 
. And of course my phone’s flashlight if I need it. One day I will get solar soft light xmas lights strung up along the upper inside…waiting on sales this year!!
Can you add a stock tank heater to whatever you are using to keep the hay from freezing?
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