New to self care...

[Beethoven]

I have worked at barns before and even at barns where my horses are boarded, so I know how to take care of horses. Its just nice having free range as now I buy everything for my horses, so I can give them as much as I want. I mean I always snuck them a bit of extra hay when I was working at the barn, but not too much as thats wrong.

Well now I am taking care of them myself and buying their hay and I feel like I am going through a lot for just 2 horses, but I am one to believe hay 24/7 is the best way to go. In 5 days I have gone through 3-3.5 bales of hay for 2 horses. Is that too much? Or does that sound about right?

They are getting about 3 flakes morning and night of T&A mix. I like to feed more by weight than by flakes.

I just want to make sure I am not overfeeding them, but they are 2 TB and are definatly not fat by any means.

So how much hay do ya'll go through??

[SeeHowSheRuns]

I feed 3 horses, and over the winter when there is no grass, I feed between 1 1/2 - 2 bales a day. It is an orchard/alfalfa mix, and bales are roughly 50 lbs. All 3 are in good weight. They also get minimal grain.

[spotmenow]

We have 10 horses here, varying ages/breeds/weights and go through 8 bales a day of timothy/grass mix 50-60 lb bales. You are not overfeeding them. The more calories/nutrition they get from hay vs. grain, the better.

[Beethoven]

Okay so I am not feeding too much then. My two do get grain. They get 2 quarts of Seminor Senior and 2 quarts of Perfect 10 2x a day. The barn they came from they were on even more grain than that but less hay(maybe 2 flakes a day) as they were turned out more but there was grass to eat but not much as its winter.

The turnout at the new barn is on more of dirt lot then grass(there is a bit) so they get hay out there to make up for it.

[Lori]

My ponies eat a bale a week between them. :) Square bales.
Back in VA my old pony ate 1/2 square bale all winter long (only ate it when it snowed) and grazed the 10 open acres of grass.
Mine are super duper easy keepers.

[spotmenow]

The turnout at the new barn is on more of dirt lot then grass(there is a bit) so they get hay out there to make up for it.

I was going to suggest more frequent (and perhaps smaller) hay feedings, but sounds like that is covered.

As long as they are cleaning up what you give them, I'd stick with it. And, if they were to start putting on weight, I'd still cut grain before hay.

[jen0601]

I just started self board this weekend also. Now granted it is only day three, but I love it. It is so nice to be the one taking care of my horse. I am surprised at how much hay he going through through. I would say about 25 pounds a day or roughly 1/2- 3/4 bale a day. It isn't very dense hay, mostly just pasture grass. I feel badly that he only got 2 flakes am and pm at the boarding stable so I might be over compensating a bit. I am going to buy different hay but I don't know enough about types of hay yet. We are midwest so any suggestions would be welcome. I have seen brome, fescue, alfalfa, and orchard. Other than hay, I am feeding him PN Grass formula and Envision.

[spotmenow]

I just started self board this weekend also. Now granted it is only day three, but I love it. It is so nice to be the one taking care of my horse. I am surprised at how much hay he going through through. I would say about 25 pounds a day or roughly 1/2- 3/4 bale a day. It isn't very dense hay, mostly just pasture grass. I feel badly that he only got 2 flakes am and pm at the boarding stable so I might be over compensating a bit. .

Dear Lord-4 flakes a DAY???? We feed 2-3 flakes a feeding and feed hay 4-5 times a day. Good for you, Jen for doing self care and feeding him an adequate amount of hay.

I am in NYS, so we basically get stuck with timothy/broome/orchard grass. Careful with the alfalfa-it is rich and you can't feed as much of it. I'm not sure what grows well in the midwest, but I'd try to pick hay that is typical of the pasture in your area.

[manyspots]

Granted I am feeding good quality grass hay and no alfalfa, but I go through at least a bale a day for two horses. Mind you, they do not get grain but rather beet pulp meals, but when it is cold I load em up. I would rather use more hay now than feel guilty about not giving them enough!

[mkevent]

In the winter I go through 3/4 of a 50# bale per day per horse. When the grass comes in, I'm lucky if I can get them to eat 3-4 sections each per day. A lot depends on the time of year and the pastures. I vote with what's already been said-all is good advice!

[JB]

Can't talk about flakes!!!! Is that a 2lb flake or a 5lb flake or a 10lb flake?

2% of the body weight a day in forage is where you start. More if it's good and cold or they are harder keepers or just really large.

I end up with about 30lb/horse a day, with them nibbling Winter grass too, for a 17h WB gelding, 16.1h TB mare, and a 15.2-ish TB/Perch gelding.

[Beethoven]

Like I said I feed them by weight not by flake. I am feeding them about a bale a day, but it depends on weight. The heavier bales(70) I do not go through as fast, but the lighter (50) I go through more definatly.

I did not like the last bales I bought so I am going to a different feed store this time. There are so many choices between straight timothy, straight alfalfa, preimum t&A, canadian t&a, and orchard/alfalfa.

Like I said I am just trying to figure it all out still. I am thinking I should plan on feeding them a bale day and to buy hay accordingly so I can buy it for a week or even two.

[Bogie]

I always aim at 1.5-2 % of body weight. That is a lot more hay than many people realize a horse needs.

Personally, I feed enough so that the horses are just able to finish it off at 12 hour intervals. If there's too much left, I cut back. If I come during the day and they've eaten everything, I give them more.

I use a hay feeder to cut down on waste but also put a few flakes out in the paddock.

Can't talk about flakes!!!! Is that a 2lb flake or a 5lb flake or a 10lb flake?

2% of the body weight a day in forage is where you start. More if it's good and cold or they are harder keepers or just really large.

I end up with about 30lb/horse a day, with them nibbling Winter grass too, for a 17h WB gelding, 16.1h TB mare, and a 15.2-ish TB/Perch gelding.

[betsyk]

We used to figure 1/2 bale per horse per day year round when we had to calculate hay needs for the year. That's a really vague number, but if you consider that (around here) you don't have to feed hay most years from May through September, it works out. On the other hand, when I worked at a different barn, the TB's in full work through the winter got almost a bale each in their stall at night and polished it off pretty well, with a few pounds (<5) of oat/corn mix each day and more hay outside at turnout. It is amazing how quickly you go through it when you have to get/store/feed it yourself!