Update - who still isn't feeding hay?!

[rummi]

I remember a thread about this not long ago, but thought I'd do a quick check!

I have an ongoing problem with the owner of the other horse in my field, to cut it short, she doesn't want me to move the electric fence to give them more grass. They are out 24/7 and the routine over the last 6/7 years has been that the rested part of the field is slowly strip-grazed back to give them their winter grass.

In only one of the last 6 or 7 winters have we had to feed hay, and even then only 2/3 slices per horse from mid jan to mid march.

This year, if i get the 'problem' resolved, i think we'll have enough grass to last until the spring. Rum has never lost too much weight on this system and always looks well on it (he sometimes needs to lose a bit of his summer wieght through winter, but this year he looks good so i just want to maintain it!)

On another forum, someone has said they don't know anyone who keeps a horse out on grass alone during the winter. I'm sure its not that unusual. Surely a horse can be fine on just grass? (plus a small amount of alfa beet and supplements).

I'm not a mean Mum, I monitor his weight and will give hay if he needs it......

Anyone else has horses living out 24/7 and not expecting to feed hay?

[Gee Gee]

i'm not feeding either of mine on hay, other then the odd haynet when grooming. They have a huge field between 6 tho so loads and loads of grass

[fluffypony]

Mine wont be hayed either. One mini shetland...and the other is a 13.2 arab x
Loads of grass. Will hay if it snows. Rugless both. Hoping they will both lose weight then will strip the field before the spring grass comes up. Then next winter, will do the same as you have, give them bits of the long ( hopefully dead/hayish ) rested side until they can have it all for the winter...and so on. So no, if you have good doers and plenty of it, sounds good to me. Mine do get a balancer though, in a tiny portion to ensure they have all vits and mins.

[Susan]

we are not haying the field but we do have our own electric and can move it, as we see fit.. and monitor our field for our own horses.

[zack]

I feel like a bit of a meanie, but my 16.2 cobx isn't getting hay (a bit when she's being groomed etc, but she doesn't think that counts!) and only gets a bit of speedibeet and chaff to put her supplements in. She's so fat she's still wearing her muzzle on the odd day-I can't believe it! Friend of mine with a TB says she just trashes any hay she puts out so she's stopped bothering. I know it's warmer down here, but i didn't expect to go through the whole winter without giving her hay, but it looks like I might!

[horsemadpeter]

Abbi lives out all winter without any additional hay, well, she steals the hay I put down for the sheep....greedy Fell Pony, she still looks overweight.

I keep her out in the winter and bring her in during the summer, she puts weight on just looking at a field of grass....so winter is an easier time for me, just building repairs etc, summer is mucking out time.....ahhh well, she's worth it!

[Charlyfarly]

Hi rummi, the other thread was mine....I've taken to giving mine haylage when I catch him in. he's also getting chaff and speedibeet as a base for his arthritis supplements and danilon. he has a rug on too.

he probably doesn't need any of it. the others have had a whiff of the haylage and are very jealous, but they won't get hay until it freezes again or snows.
I wouldn't worry until you can see ribs, or rug before you do (if you aren't already!!) I love feeding my horse, and he loves it too - regardless of whether he needs it or not!!

[Dora]

My 3 TBs have a 6 acre field and because of the wet summer there is plenty of grass on it, so they will not be getting any extra feed. They are fat from summer and if they lose a bit of weight that that will be good, but not shown any signs of weight loss yet!

[lolamae]

Oh Crikey! I am jealous.

I feed hay all year round. That is normal here.

We have had snow on the ground from the beginning of November and probably right through to April, after that the fields are down to hay and the horses are inside from 7am-9pm anyway (by choice) because of the flies and the heat. The forest has plenty of grass but no-one, including the horses, enters because of the mosquitos. It is only really from the last cut of hay in September or whenever, that the horses are out to grass properly and even then there will be round bales available to them because there is very little rain, so our grass is generally just crackly and brown.

I do miss having grass all year round. There are advantages to living in a rainy country!

[kya]

My companion cob barely touches hay offered to her. Still lots of grass here.

[samamber]

Up until now i haven't really needed to feed my lad hay. Also it was a bit tricky trying to make sure he got some as he's bottom of the pecking order so gets pushed out. However, at our new place we've got lovely stables so i have been bringing him in at night so he gets his hay. I always thought i had a stable shy horse who hated being in. I've since been proved wrong as he is asking to come in from about 3pm onwards.

[rummi]

oh thats better now!

The poster on another forum had really surprised me by saying she thought horses need more than grass in the winter!

My boys are definately of the 'see-grass-and-get-fat' variety!

I'm very lucky that if our boys DO eat through the 'rested' grass in the middle section we can always move them into the big geldings field until the spring, which has 12 acres with 5 horses - and ALWAYS has loads of grass!

Our system seems to be working well, using the corridor around the outside to limit grass in spring/summer, while the centre bit gorws. Then use the centre bit for grass in the winter. I can also move bits of the fence into the grass as and when they need any extra!

(I just need to convince the owner of the other horse in our field who believes her horse doesn't need any extra grass in the winter, and he has NO extra hay/haylage.)

[joto]

Me! not exactly true, they hve ad lib hay available but arnt interested since they have been let onto the fresh grazing in the shut-up paddock.

[lizzypeg]

mine started getting as lib hay in field in round bales from end november as the grass was being eaten faster than in could grow.but they dont get any extra hard feed except a vit supplement in a handful chaff and are out 24/7 unrugged.

[rrosie]

No hay fed here, only to give them something to do when groomed etc. Three tbx are out in about 5 acres and getting two feeds a day for supplements but nothing else, they are finally losing their grass tummies that we inherited!

Not too much though!

RRosie