.
I would find a place that feeds hay and go there asap, or I would purchase my own and feed it 2x a day. I must admit I have never looked into hay stretchers because I have always had hay to feed. I am a firm believer that hay should make up the bulk of a horses diet and grain is an add on if needed to maintain or add weight, if hay alone can’t get the job done.
Your not clueless the people running the barn are!
I think you are absolutely right. I was trying to find an easy solution to get me through a few more months but there just isn’t a supplement for quality hay.
It’s crazy he brought in 4 truckloads of hay when we moved in. He just lets it go to waste and rot. Never had a situation like this before. I’d never be able to find quality hay this late in the game. Maybe I can offer to purchase some of his? It’s about as high of quality as you can get for bermuda coastal such a shame someone would hoard it and feed grain instead.
Thank you!
“It ends up drying out” … yes… that’s what hay does. That’s what it’s supposed to do. You can still feed it even if it bleaches and it will still be nutritious. As long as it doesn’t get wet and moldy it should be fine.
[QUOTE=poltroon;8376808]
“It ends up drying out” … yes… that’s what hay does. That’s what it’s supposed to do. You can still feed it even if it bleaches and it will still be nutritious. As long as it doesn’t get wet and moldy it should be fine.[/QUOTE]
The hay that sits is not something I would ever feed to my horses. It does get moldy, is over a year old, and a cat used it for a litter box. Anyways I only found out he wasn’t feeding the fresh hay because I barn sat while he was away on vacation.
[QUOTE=Melissa.s.9924;8376822]
The hay that sits is not something I would ever feed to my horses. It does get moldy, is over a year old, and a cat used it for a litter box. Anyways I only found out he wasn’t feeding the fresh hay because I barn sat while he was away on vacation.[/QUOTE]
That’s not so much “drying out” as “wetting up” though. 
Yes, it does need to be covered. What a shame.
[QUOTE=poltroon;8376915]
That’s not so much “drying out” as “wetting up” though. Yes, it does need to be covered. What a shame.[/QUOTE]
Haha! Indeed, you are correct. I didn’t catch that, I’m sorry. It has been a long day…
Was there any initial agreement about how much hay your horses would get? Verbally or in the boarding agreement?
If not, definitely offer to buy the good hay that’s just sitting around.
If all else fails and you HAVE to buy bags of something, hay cubes (timothy, alfalfa, or a mix) would be better than haystretcher. The hay cubes are still long-stemmed fiber, and a lot of haystretchers incorporate some pretty low-quality fiber sources.
I’d go with hay cubes before hay stretcher too like mentioned above. But be careful with both as horses (not all but I’ve seen enough) tend to choke on them as both can be hard. I always soak my cubes and hay pellets (I prefer Standlee brand over the others). And try to pick up some hay if you can until you figure out a better solution.
It sounds like they don’t know much about horses.
I’m confused- You said they are on pasture? Is there enough pasture for them through the winter? I only feed hay for my guys on pasture once the snow covers the pasture or they’ve eaten it down so that they can’t get enough (they are out 24/7, fat and happy).
[QUOTE=tabula rashah;8377825]
I’m confused- You said they are on pasture? Is there enough pasture for them through the winter? I only feed hay for my guys on pasture once the snow covers the pasture or they’ve eaten it down so that they can’t get enough (they are out 24/7, fat and happy).[/QUOTE]
It’s been my observation that if there is any grass available even here in the NE mid winter, the hay will be ignored. If the snow is less than 4" deep they may eat some but then go back to digging.
So it comes down to the question, is there enough grass available?
[QUOTE=Scaramouch;8377020]
Was there any initial agreement about how much hay your horses would get? Verbally or in the boarding agreement?
If not, definitely offer to buy the good hay that’s just sitting around.
If all else fails and you HAVE to buy bags of something, hay cubes (timothy, alfalfa, or a mix) would be better than haystretcher. The hay cubes are still long-stemmed fiber, and a lot of haystretchers incorporate some pretty low-quality fiber sources.[/QUOTE]
We didn’t have any set amounts in the contract. I told him if he needed to use more hay or feed than normal to let me know and I’d buy my own.
He has cared for horses for 20 years but is self taught. His horses are easy keeper quarter horse types so he has no experience with warmbloods or thoroughbreds. He feeds with one of those small laundry detergent bottles with the bottom cut off. I measured it the other day and it came out to be 1 qt which weighed about a 1lb. I just found this out through barn sitting and have been feeding a lot of hay so I’ll be bringing this up when he returns. I purchased hay cubes just in case.
Thanks for your help!
As others have mentioned, hay stretcher is not a long stem forage so shouldn’t be fed instead of hay – it can be used to replace up to half of your hay.
Hay cubes or beet pulp are both long stem forage, but it may just be easier to buy your own hay and insist that your horses are fed hay twice a day. Usually at about 1.5% of their body weight, so if you have a horse that ways 1,000 pounds they should get at least 15 pounds of hay. Personally, I feed closer to 2% of body weight.
If you feed cubes, it’s a good idea to soak them as some horses choke on them. Beet pulp, too should be soaked, but if you use warm water it only takes about 10 minutes to “fluff up”
Good luck!
[QUOTE=merrygoround;8377854]
It’s been my observation that if there is any grass available even here in the NE mid winter, the hay will be ignored. If the snow is less than 4" deep they may eat some but then go back to digging.
So it comes down to the question, is there enough grass available?[/QUOTE]
That is where my lack of knowledge comes in. I do not know if there is enough grass. I moved here from extremely lush pastures of fescue hay which continues to grow in cooler weather until winter. Here we have bermuda coastal that grows best in the heat. It does look to me that they have really picked the pasture down already even though it’s 3 horses on 15 acre pastures. I have read they eat about 0.77 lb per hour when turned out 24/7 but I have no idea how much they are actually getting.
Anytime I take my mare out to patches of better grass she acts like she’s never been able to graze before. She literally turns into a lawn mower. Since I’ve given her extra hay while he is away I take her out and let her eat it from a hay net while I groom her so his horses don’t get into it and fatter than they already are.
Do you think that amount of pasture is sufficient and not necessary for extra hay? If so I’d still prefer not to see ribs at all on her what could I do to help her gain weight?
Thank you!
When he buys a load of hay is it stored in a barn or left outside without being covered? If he has hay in a loft/ barn, I am wondering why you can’t just have that fed to your horse( s) ? It is what you are paying board for. If he thinks his own horses don’t need it than that is his choice.
Her condition alone tells you that she is not getting enough food. I would have a talk with him and explain that she requires hay during the winter and that she isn’t like his horses. If he won’t feed her than I would look for a place that will.
I am from coastal Georgia and even when there was grass in turnout, we always offered hay, and it didn’t go uneaten. It’s just not the most highly nutritious stuff growing around there. It was too expensive to get alfalfa or mixed hay, so for the harder keepers in hard work we also supplemented with alfalfa cubes and often fed alfalfa pellets even to the easier keepers, but that was back when no one heard of ration balancers.
[QUOTE=candyappy;8378284]
When he buys a load of hay is it stored in a barn or left outside without being covered? If he has hay in a loft/ barn, I am wondering why you can’t just have that fed to your horse( s) ? It is what you are paying board for. If he thinks his own horses don’t need it than that is his choice.
Her condition alone tells you that she is not getting enough food. I would have a talk with him and explain that she requires hay during the winter and that she isn’t like his horses. If he won’t feed her than I would look for a place that will.[/QUOTE]
The hay is stored in the hay loft and stacked to the ceiling in 4 stalls as well as being covered. Just incase a cat gets on it. He has more than enough. I plan on talking to him as soon as he gets back. Just seeing if there were other options so I wouldn’t seem like an overly needy boarder. If he has an issue with it I’ve already spoken with another farm near by that agreed to take them in if necessary. Thank you all so much! You’ve been so incredibly helpful!
I have not started feeding hay to my pasture horses yet. They have grass, not great because of the drought. But they get grained and are fat. I am in North Carolina. I would guess he thinks they don’t need hay yet. I’d ask him when he generally starts feeding them hay.
Are you saying there are 3 horses on 15 acres?
[QUOTE=shea’smom;8378940]
I have not started feeding hay to my pasture horses yet. They have grass, not great because of the drought. But they get grained and are fat. I am in North Carolina. I would guess he thinks they don’t need hay yet. I’d ask him when he generally starts feeding them hay.
Are you saying there are 3 horses on 15 acres?[/QUOTE]
He has 3 pastures about 15 acres each with 3 horses in each pasture. They have patches of trees throughout. As well as several 1.5 acre paddocks he leaves empty as a back up. (My mare ate down 2 paddocks right after she moved in) The one she is in now looks very picked over compared to the other pastures.
My mare looks MUCH better than when she came off the track. Although she seems to have hit a plateau with weight gain. I’m taking my time letting her down, mainly working on ground manners and lunging with trot polls. She has a light workload. Even with her improvement you can still slightly see a few ribs. I’d prefer not to see them at all going into winter. Do you think she needs more hay to put on the extra weight or a supplement like cool calories because she might just be a hard keeper?
All of the other horses are fat and happy including my 8 month old warmblood. He actually leaves some grain behind from time to time. They are fed together but they have their own designated pan spaced out. He stands in each pasture with a whip until everyone is through eating to ensure no one gets run off.
Thanks for everyone’s help!
