Feeding Hay Right Before Riding and After

[JLC7898]

Long story short, i board my horses at a barn where they are supposed to be giving hay. I went out yesterday and was surprised at how LITTLE hay they do get. I figured until i can relocate my horses then maybe i should buy my own hay and let them eat it while i am tacking up, and while i am untacking. I figured it would be better than what they are getting right now.
Would this be okay to feed the hay RIGHT before and RIGHT after riding?
I am just confused i have never purchased my own hay, i have always boarded my horses.

Thanks!

[Icecapade]

Had an intersting discussion about this on the dressage and the endurance forum the other day...

I was told by a local russian trainer... NO water for 2 hours after (hot horse- the whole black beauty syndrom) Apparently that was/is SOP for almost all other sports sans endurance- maybe not 2 hours worth but the idea of watering a horse directly after was totally a no go.

But he told me hay always... feed and water no. Apparently hay isn't feed. (In california it was pretty much all we feed, very little graining unless for our highly competitive horse's)

I've never had a problem with it. I wouldn't feed alfalfa, thats like trying to eat a steak before you go run, but a little lettuce won't hurt. That and from what I understand about ulcers, horses are better with some food in there stomachs to help reduce acid splashing and creating/exacerbating ulcers.

IMHO. We have never had a problem. =) but I would feed as much as you could if said horse isn't getting enough.

[JLC7898]

Thanks Alot. I feel a little obsessive. I love my horses, they are like my children. I just want to make sure they are getting everything they need. What kind of hay would you suggest?

[TBrescue]

As part of an ulcer prevention feeding plan we always let our horses have hay for about 1/2 hour before they are ridden at the advice of our vet. We have OTTBs. Just my .02

[Hollywood]

I try to always feed hay before a ride. Sometimes in a stall, in the field, or with a hay bag while tacking up.

[sublimequine]

I feed my mare 2-3 lbs of wetted down (not COMPLETELY soaked) alfalfa cubes before every ride. Never had a problem with it. :)

[deltawave]

Hay good. Empty stomach bad. :)

[JLC7898]

Well i feel much better. I will be feeding them as much as they want while we tack up in a hay bag.

Any suggestions as to what kind of hay to buy?

[arena run]

The only down side of feeding after a ride is that they'll soon grow to look forward to the end of the ride. ;) Maybe lengthen your cool-down and then let him stand tied for 10-15 minutes before untacking and letting him munch the hay? sylvia

[Auventera Two]

It is absolutely OKAY and in fact desirable if you have a horse with ulcers. :cool: I won't ride until my horse has eaten at least a whole flake, and preferably more. I do endurance, and you go into a vet check and your hay and beet pulp/grain is waiting for your horse. They eat almost immediately after coming off the trail, then they go right back out on trail.

But no, I would not feed more than a pound or so of grain and then expect a horse to go back to work. I think feeding large quantities of concentrates is rarely a good thing anyway.

As for withholding water - phooey. I've never known of an endurance horse to die or colic, or whatever, from drinking water while hot and working. Those horses canter up to a water hole or tank, drink their fill and canter on down the trail. Of course you're generally talking about warm'ish water that's been sitting in a tank in the 80 degree weather. I would not give ice water, or cold well water. I don't have any science to back that up, I just wouldn't feel comfortable with water that cold going into a system that's that hot.

[Petstorejunkie]

As to what hay to buy I can give you my suggestions based on my experiences. I am in the southeast. Each region will have their own local hays. Be sure to talk to your hay store about your horse and activity level to come up with a good plan
If your horse is average in every way and not planned to become pregnant, I like fescue. Its cheap, nutritious (although can sometimes be high in sugar depending on cut)and its coarse.
For horses in competition or work more than 4 days a week I love an alfalfa mix. I use orchard alfalfa, but I also have timothy alfalfa available

Straight alfalfa is good for underwieght or hard keepers, and those prone to ulcers.
I avoid bermuda or coastal hay as it is very fine in texture ,d most horse people I know won't feed it for fear of impactions.

Water is always ok. They did studies before the 96 olympics here and concluded water ok to drink or get wet any time. I still pay attention to temperature because I know on hot days when my pulse is up I hate cold drinks.


You mentioned you are doing all of this because you feel they are not giving enough hay. Before jumping to relocation, why not talk to them about giving a few more flakes?

[Gloria]

Hay, anytime; water, anytime; grain, anytime but 1 hour before and after.

The notion of not watering a hot horse is actually an old wife's tale and has been proved as false. As long as the water is not icy cold, your horses will benefit from the watering.

The higher protein content in alfalfa will not make a horse hot. What makes a horse jittery is the sugar in the grain. The higher calcium content in alfalfa hay may actually help with preventing ulcer before the ride.

[pines4equines]

My horse never goes anywhere on an empty stomach, hay wise. I don't have a riding arena so I have to trailer to one or to a trail head. Always hay in the trailer and always enough for him to munch while I get him ready and enough for him to eat after the ride. My horse has some ulcery symptoms so I'm pretty diligent about his hay eating. We have our own place so we can easily do free choice. Much harder in boarding situations and I feel for you. Good luck!

[2DogsFarm]

You mentioned you are doing all of this because you feel they are not giving enough hay. Before jumping to relocation, why not talk to them about giving a few more flakes?

Totally agree - a reasonable BO should be able to explain why they are feeding your horse the amount you feel is not enough.
One place I boarded cut my horse down to a single flake - as noted on his stall chart. I was upset until I asked why & they showed me the bales they were feeding from - flakes were huge, equal to at least 2 of the other hay fed.

If you don't agree with their rationale, and BO will allow you to supplement with your own hay, if you have never bought/stored hay before you might want to consider a few things:
-Hay must be kept dry & well-ventilated - do you have a suitable place to store it? If not you will end up tossing out spoiled hay = wasted money.
-If your plan was to store extra hay at the barn, how will you avoid other boarders using your hay?
-Can you recognize moldy hay (really not trying to be snarky here - some people can't)?
-You will pay top dollar if you are buying a bale or two at a time - bulk orders (say a ton or more) get the lower price

All that said - if you do go ahead & buy your own, I'd feel safest feeding my horses a plain grass mix hay - orchard grass, brome or timothy.
Unless you have a broodmare, weanling or performance horse alfalfa is too rich (& pricy) for most horses. Also too high in calcium for older horses.

[JLC7898]

2DogsFarm, You don't sound snarky at all. Honestly i was worried about buying hay myself. I could not live with myself if i fed my horses something that would harm them.

I will talk to them and see if this is their usual routine, or if the person working on the days i was there to see this just doesn't know how much each field gets and was guessing.

I appreciate all the advice.

[ryansgirl]

Hay good. Empty stomach bad. :)

Agree :yes:. My horses always have hay in front of them - 24/7 unless it's summer and they are out grazing on good pasture. Mine never go without hay (they are designed to graze almost constantly) even if I planned on riding. :)

(Another reason why I rough board - I have 100% total control over them)

[Huntertwo]

I always give my mare hay and water after riding. I don't believe in the with holding of water. (I know I'm hungry after a ride ;))

Since my BO works during the day, there is no one there to feed lunch hay. Although they do get 3 flakes in the morning and 2 at night.

I asked her if I could store 3 bales in an empty stall on pallets. And it was not a problem. In fact another boarder stores a few bales in the stall as well.

The BO just made "Name tags" and placed them on our bales. And no one has touched them yet. I don't buy in bulk because I just give her a flake or two at lunch time. So 3-4 bales lasts some time.

Before doing this, I just kept a couple of bales in my garage on pallets.

[pj]

The only riding I do these days is trails. I feed before we load up, hay and a couple of cups of their pellets. Hay bag is on the trailer so they probably eat all the way to where we are going. Hay bag is tied to the trailer so they eat until we saddle up. They start on the hay again when we come in and my mare gets a couple of cups of pellets then, too.
We stop at every stream and allow them to drink and they have water in their buckets when they come in. I do try to bring them in reasonably cool.

[FootPerfect]

Yup, hay, hay, hay. All the hay they will clean up. When ever. Keeps them busy, happy and out of trouble.

[Simbalism]

I keep bagged forage usually alfalfa to feed my mare while I get her groomed and tacked up(about 5lbs). I do this to supplement the amount of forage that she gets as part of her board. She gets good quality hay, but I don't feel like she gets enough. The farm does not do any weighing of hay to know if they are feeding enough. When I am done riding, I fix her a bucket of beet pulp( two lbs dry weight)soaked with some goodies mixed in(oatmeal, bran crackles, corn meal, ground flax seed, and a touch of brown sugar). She slurps it right up. So in a relatively short amount of time I can get 7 lbs of forage feed into her. I occasionally throw her some hay in the field(an orchard/timothy mix), but then I have to throw extra because of this pain in the butt gelding that is on pasture with her.