Horse feeding schedule?

How do you feed your horses? Do you feed them at 7 before you leave for work and then at 5, just before you sit down to dinner?

Or is it 7 in morning and not until 7 that night, working on a strict 12 hour schedule? How many of you find yourself bumbling around in the dark, a flashlight held between your teeth as you balance hay in one hand and try to undo the electric gate with the other?

ANd how do you keep your horses from pawing their food, pooping in their food and stamping it into the mud where they refuse to eat it because it's muddy and poopy? We have tried various feeders only to have them yank the hay out of the feeder and perform the stomp, poop, refuse manouver.

When I had horses it was morning and evening whenever I woke up and then a bit after I got home from work. The times were always totally random. My thoughts were thus: If they are expecting a routine and I break it, I may upset their little horsey brains. I also never fed the moment I got home so they would not associate that with the meal.

I threw the hay on the ground and they ate it all up. There was little waste. If there was they would get less the next day.

I would also feed beet pulp- I would put water in it first thing in the morning, then before bed they would get the mushy pulp. Took the edge off those -40 degree nights.

My trainer, who is a good horseman always said be Absolutely on time or totally random with the feed -they'll figure it out.

the way to stop them from stomping their food and not eating it... theres only one way. Do not feed them so much. If they are only getting enough hay that they need, then there wont be leftovers. If they are getting more hay than they can eat in one meal, then they will get full, bored, and then sleep on their leftovers... then poop... and refuse lol We feed 10+ horses here every winter, and thats the only way we do it. No feeders, no free fed round bales. They get a certain amount forked over the fence twice a day, and thats that. And if there is leftover, they are made to clean it up before they get any more, new, hay. They learn quickly.

Horses need to eat all the time.
Small meals.
They have a very small gut and stuff gets prosessed very fast.
So what happens with only two meals is ,,they get stressed ,bored etc when they run out.

If you put their morning hay in a bag made out of a hunk of old poultry net.
They learn how to pull the hay out.
Slow small bites,,,,all day feeding that helps their guts and it is controled.
Way better for them,less waste and no stress.

Hang it high if you have horses shod...or halters.

I feed my goats this way as well .
Round bales I wrap and use a draw string top and bottom.
Sqares I just wrap the bale and thread a bale twine to close it up.
I do barefoot and never leave a halter on anyway...so no problems
Goats dont seem to get tangled in it either

uno wrote:How do you feed your horses? Do you feed them at 7 before you leave for work and then at 5, just before you sit down to dinner?

Or is it 7 in morning and not until 7 that night, working on a strict 12 hour schedule? How many of you find yourself bumbling around in the dark, a flashlight held between your teeth as you balance hay in one hand and try to undo the electric gate with the other?

ANd how do you keep your horses from pawing their food, pooping in their food and stamping it into the mud where they refuse to eat it because it's muddy and poopy? We have tried various feeders only to have them yank the hay out of the feeder and perform the stomp, poop, refuse manouver.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

here is a pretty good link

WHen the horsey teen is in charge of feeding, she's quite a hard nose about it. She figures if you stomp your hay into the poop and mud, you will have to eat poop and mud before you get more hay. Me, I worry that they will chip a tooth on a rock, perhaps get chapped lips from the poop, for sure they'll be re-worming themselves eating poop. Worse, they will develop complexes, thinking that we don't love them because we make them eat poopy, muddy hay. So I scoop up the yucky hay, pack it out by the wheelbarrow, present them with fresh to have them do the same again.

You know...I think those horses know how to work me. They only get out on my watch and run amok. THey do not dare get out and be dweebs when the kid is around! No way. They know that she kicks some horsey butt. BUt me! I flap my arms and try to bribe them to be good, which they aren't. THey point their bums at me, give me a dismissive shoulder and poop in the hay.

Which reminds me. HORSES FOR SALE! SUPER CHEAP! TO ANY HOME!

Yes horses are designed to be grazers and benefit most from having food available throughout the day. Having said that I do not believe it is in their best interest to be feeding "on time" all the time which in my 20 yrs experience has only created anxious, demanding and sometimes ulceric horses if the schedule cannot be kept.
I feed when I can get outside and feed after the baby has gone to sleep. They have walkout paddocks so are not locked up. I feed "free feed" hay so they are never more than a few hours without food, but I do believe you should not go more than 12 hrs between "feedings".
I hear you on the hay wastage though. I have one vaccumer and one waster. I have tried reducing the amount and she leaves the same relative waste. I've tried soaking it (always remove hay from water before feeding and do not feed the soaking water) I've tried hay mangers and hay nets. If it hits a certain spot on the ground she simply won't eat it. Sometimes there just isn't much you can do.

I'm with Somewhat-Scheduled-Sue and Giddyup. I feed when I get out the door in the morning (usually in bathrobe and boots, sometimes Sorels and Carhartts over said bathrobe!!), and when I get home at night I don't waste time getting out there to chuck hay, but I don't kill myself to get home at a particular time either. As you know, sometimes that just isn't an option for me. So my horses are never anxious or pacing or worried when I do feed, but they always have an appreciative nicker for me. If only I could have trained the x-husband...

I am considering these [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] for this year. A local woman makes these Uno. Maybe it would be a workable solution for Lily? It would keep her busy much longer than a loose flake of hay would. And because you can get ones that hang on the fence, it might alleviate the pooping/stomping/wasting issue?

Anyway, I have left you my horses and dogs in my will, just in the event something happens to me. You sound like a perfect home!

More on the slow feeding nets: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Farmchiq I loved the link! That looks like a great idea! I have a couple hoovers that would eat until they exploded if I let them so I don't do round bales. I do flakes from small bales (4x's daily) but I think the net thing would keep them from eating so fast and keep down the boredom between Jan-Apr when winter just seems never ending. I wonder just how strong that net is though because they actually ate holes in the 1x1 fencing we have on the coop to get to the hay I had in there for the geese and ducks!! It certainly wasn't because they were starving but I couldn't believe they were able chew horse head size holes in the coop in order to steal hay! I wonder if they have a smaller sized bag for on the ground since I was told that horses should eat off the ground for better chewing and tooth wear but I wouldn't want to put out a full bale for them. Guess I'll have to do some checking
Oh I feed 4x's daily for my horses (I'm stay at home mom) starting first thing in the morning when I get up and then last feed when I head to bed at night but not on a strict schedule just 4x's split up during the day. If I do any supplements etc as well I switch up when I give those as well. My horses always clean everything up as they are Hoovers! so never any wastage around here

Happy it's of interest to you. $30/each doesn't seem too much either when you consider the health benefits. I am considering ordering two for my guys.

Thanks all!

FramChiq, I am honoured that you have left me all your critters in your will.

I AM LEAVING YOU THE HORSEY TEEN IN MY WILL! I'd love to post more but must go practice my dynamite juggling. Just so you know, the teen likes her sheets turned down before bed and a mint on her pillow. You'll LOVE having one of THOSE in your home! Ha ha ha (evil laughter)

The slow feeder works in certain scenarios. We have two horses that live on pasture 24/7. Then there's my Mustang. Designed to survive, he can only be on pasture for an hour or so at a time in the growing season. Aside from that, he has to be locked up, or muzzled.
When paddocked, he gets his 2 meals, breakfast is hay only. Dinner includes hay.
Without the slow feeder, he would burn through his hay in about 20 minutes. Then, he stands around, for 8-10 hours with nothing passing through his system. Not good for an animal that's designed to constantly be eating something.
The slow feed net has increased his hay inhalation time to 2-3 hours. You can see the benefits in this in this particular circumstance.
He does NOT leave a speck of anything behind though.

My schedule is worked to minimize the time he doesn't have food in his system. However you can lessen that time, the better.

What slow feed net do you use Hillbilly? I find this a really interesting idea and yes my horses usually have their hay pretty much gone before I've finished my chores and then stand around in winter with not much to do. I worry over them gobbling their feed then standing there all those cold nights with nothing. I guess I have some research to do

Because I'm only feeding one horse, I use a bag. It is identical to the one in the picture, but has a drawstring to hang it by. I tie it to a fencepost so it stays well above the ground.

Uno....I use one of those elasticized headlamps. Canadian tire always has them. Great for wrenching in the dark too. J would like one too!

When there is grass the horses are out on grass all day and then locked up at night with hay and sometimes hard feed. They are then let out again in the morning, back on grass. Morning let out is usually between 9 or 10 and lock would be after we ride in the evening, just on dark.
Now that there is no grass to speak of they get morning feed around the same time and evening feed just on dark. Hard feed will be introduced slowly so in the cold of winter they have that as well.
The only real time schedule is morning and night!

FarmChiq sent me some links with different slow feed bag models and suggested, no, CHALLENGED me to sew one!

She has the netting. I made a quick trip to the thrift store to see what they had in their fabric bin. Sometimes there is good stuff in there. Lo and behold there were two huge, canvas tree planting bags! That canvas is excellent and I'm wondering how to incorporate them into a slow feed bag. Will have to sleep on it.

I would love to put hay out in morning and know it will last longer than an hour. However I do worry that skinny racehorse will not be able to pack on the pounds I'd like him to just nibbling one straw of hay at a time. I have also been told that skinny racehorse is likely to always look that way, TB being part of the problem. But I won't give up without a fight! A food fight!

Make sure it is heavy net 45 gage is the best.
I have seen some netting that was so fine ,the nags will rip it in seconds

uno wrote:FarmChiq sent me some links with different slow feed bag models and suggested, no, CHALLENGED me to sew one!

She has the netting. I made a quick trip to the thrift store to see what they had in their fabric bin. Sometimes there is good stuff in there. Lo and behold there were two huge, canvas tree planting bags! That canvas is excellent and I'm wondering how to incorporate them into a slow feed bag. Will have to sleep on it.

I would love to put hay out in morning and know it will last longer than an hour. However I do worry that skinny racehorse will not be able to pack on the pounds I'd like him to just nibbling one straw of hay at a time. I have also been told that skinny racehorse is likely to always look that way, TB being part of the problem. But I won't give up without a fight! A food fight!

AbPride this stuff is the same netting they use to hang at golf courses. Made to be hung in huge vast sheets (usually to protect roads, homes or cars) so it's got strength, and is UV-tolerant. It's the right size too. It's all good!

perfect ! thats the stuff to use.
keep us all posted on how it goes
if you get it figured out,let me know and I would gladly pay you to make a few more for me
my bales this year are over 1800 lb and mine will not fit them.

farmchiq wrote:AbPride this stuff is the same netting they use to hang at golf courses. Made to be hung in huge vast sheets (usually to protect roads, homes or cars) so it's got strength, and is UV-tolerant. It's the right size too. It's all good!

abpride wrote:...I would gladly pay you to make a few more for me

Did you check the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] link I posted? That would be faster I'm guessing, and you can pay online etc.

(did you check the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] link I posted? That would be faster I'm guessing, and you can pay online etc)

Not big enough.So looks like a costom order .
At least they will do custom orders by the look of it.
thanks

I am no seamstress. I make quilts. Maybe I can make a quilted horse feeder? But it is beyond my scope to make anything for an 1800 pound bale! I can't imagine tying to wrestle anything that large into a feeding bag! Yikes!

haha no you dont wrasle it into the bag.
You toss it over top and cinch it closed at the bottom
haha

uno wrote:I am no seamstress. I make quilts. Maybe I can make a quilted horse feeder? But it is beyond my scope to make anything for an 1800 pound bale! I can't imagine tying to wrestle anything that large into a feeding bag! Yikes!