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Feeding Horses

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pebblelu

New member
I was wondering people with horses think of free feeding.
I always feed 2 times a day. My husband wants to know if we can just put a bale of bermuda out there for them. I thought as long as it's just bermuda and not alfalfa it should be fine. But now some one that really knows horse told me that would not be good for my horses cause i feed them twice a day and if i switch there gut will tie up. I was wondering what you thought.
Thank you for you thoughts.
 
pebblelu said:
I was wondering people with horses think of free feeding.
I always feed 2 times a day. My husband wants to know if we can just put a bale of bermuda out there for them. I thought as long as it's just bermuda and not alfalfa it should be fine. But now some one that really knows horse told me that would not be good for my horses cause i feed them twice a day and if i switch there gut will tie up. I was wondering what you thought.
Thank you for you thoughts.
Click to expand...

As long as where just talking hay you will be fine. Horses are grazing animals & their system actually does better when they can process food all day instead of 2 big meals a day.
They only thing NOT to be fed freely is grain. Grain does have to be limited to 2 to 3 feedings a day. Can't be free fed & is also not good giving as 1 big meal. Just like the hay the more you can spread out the grain the better too for your horse.
Hope this was some help to your question.
Owner of horses for more than 28 years.
 
pebblelu said:
I was wondering people with horses think of free feeding.
I always feed 2 times a day. My husband wants to know if we can just put a bale of bermuda out there for them. I thought as long as it's just bermuda and not alfalfa it should be fine. But now some one that really knows horse told me that would not be good for my horses cause i feed them twice a day and if i switch there gut will tie up. I was wondering what you thought.
Thank you for you thoughts.
Click to expand...

Free feeding hay such as Bermuda or Timothy is actually BETTER for them! Many people believe that since we feed our horses twice a day that is the way it should be. Horses have a digestive system that is at work 24/7 that only will process so much at a time. That is why you will see unprocessed grain in a horse's manure, and why flies love manure so much! It is actually healthiest to feed your horses SMALLER amounts of grain 3 - 4 times a day than larger amounts twice a day for optimal digestion and nutritional intake.

As for hay, it is actually better to give them free reign to hay (esp if there is not grass in their pasture). You HAVE to watch esp. if the hay is sitting outside in the weather for mold! If you have a run in shed for your horses, I would place it there in a hay ring. Check for mold periodically, as a horses cecum is very sensitive to molds and other changes in their diet, and that can cause a horse to colic.

During the dry summer months here in Texas, I would put three round bales out every 6 weeks for my 8 head that I had at home as there was not grass, and they also got fed their grain with a small amount of alfalfa hay in the morning and at night.

If you are trying to put some weight on your horses or get a shinier coat, an old show trick... 1 cup corn oil and 1/4 cup white vinegar in their grain. You will see results within a week.
 
If it is only hay, that is free fed, you should not have any problems.

OTOH Allowing a horse to graze on grass, at will, after they have not had grass in some time (only hay) ... without weaning them back onto grass ... could cause some problems. Switching of grain, &/or the adding of another (non hay) feed type, should be weaned as well (and, of course, should not be free fed).

I feed (grain) my horses twice per day and give hay three times per day.
With the exception of the stallions (&, at times, a mare or two) who are grained twice per day but have free feeding, off a round bale, all day long (esp. if not on grass/pasture).... with some short periods, of time in between (days or a week?), where they are not free fed hay (due to having to wait for more round bales because I do not have the room to store several round bales <can only store square bales>).
 
I went to a talk by a feed company representative to a group of farriers this year and they were relating continual feeding of chopped feeds throughout the day to better nutrition and hoof health with less chance of developing metabolic disorders such as laminitis. I've got the print-outs with references to studies at home.
Basically the crux seemed to be that a horse's gut is designed to be working continually throughout it's length, throughout the day to work properly.
 
diamondlil said:
Basically the crux seemed to be that a horse's gut is designed to be working continually throughout it's length, throughout the day to work properly.
Click to expand...

'Tis true ... Horses have small stomachs and are designed to feed/graze all day long (with some breaks, to rest/sleep or due to having eaten enough for that moment, of course ;) ).
 
diamondlil said:
I went to a talk by a feed company representative to a group of farriers this year and they were relating continual feeding of chopped feeds throughout the day to better nutrition and hoof health with less chance of developing metabolic disorders such as laminitis. I've got the print-outs with references to studies at home.
Basically the crux seemed to be that a horse's gut is designed to be working continually throughout it's length, throughout the day to work properly.
Click to expand...

Yes, horses digest using bacteria unlike cattle and other rudimentary animals. This bacteria needs something constantly in the stomach/gut to maintain a healthy balance and a healthy level of bacteria (not too much not too little).
 
The best thing (apart from all the burly farriers, they were a distraction) about the talk was that as well as the talk, the slideshow and the printouts, we had a life-size model horse's gut to pass along, it was ginormous!
 
diamondlil said:
The best thing (apart from all the burly farriers, they were a distraction) about the talk was that as well as the talk, the slideshow and the printouts, we had a life-size model horse's gut to pass along, it was ginormous!
Click to expand...

A horse's gut is ginormous! LOL We had to dissect a horse in equine anatomy and physiology in college. It was a two year old draft that had broken his hock and was going to be sent to the meat factory... so we took him, had him put down... Learned a lot in that class!
 
You've gotten sound advice. Free access to GOOD pasture or hay is the best thing for the horses' digestion and for their mental state. I have only a small word of caution: sudden free access to really rich hay like good alfalfa might lead to fat horses!

(Pat yours on the neck for me. I had horses my whole life until last year, and I miss them desperately.)
 
Absolutely! I'm so lucky to have good friends with ponies, otherwise I'd never get the chance to be around them. I haven't the time or finances to own my own....yet!
 
Horseless is HORRIBLE! I love my other critters, but I can't exactly mount my diffuse caramel and head out into the woods.....
 
Horseless is HORRIBLE! I love my other critters, but I can't exactly mount my trusty li'l diffuse caramel and head out into the woods.....
 
My horses are freefed. I fed a mixed bale of alfala, orchard grass and timothy. They always have the hay available to them and they are on a grass free turnout 24/7. They are also barefoot and are given a low carb/low sugar grainless feed twice a day (two 8 oz. coffee mugs full) probiotic powder, electrolytes during the summer and a vitamin/mineral supplement to make up for any loss in the hay. They also have access to mineral and plain salt blocks. While a horses' intestines are huge, their stomachs are not. They are not designed to eat large quantities a couple of times a day. They are made to eat small amounts all the time. Bacteria to help digest feed is made in the stomach and gut. When the stomach becomes empty the bacteria die off releasing toxins. Then when the horse eats again, the system has to produce the bacteria all over again to digest the huge meal. It's no wonder most stalled horses and horses fed limited feed suffer from colic and ulcers! We have coastal bermuda available here but it is known as "colic hay" as it was developed for cattle not horses and many lack the enzyme necessary to digest it properly. Add to that, it is a fine long grass that tends to ball up in the stomach. Most colics in our area are due to coastal. That's why I spend more on either straight timothy or the mix.
 
Thank you to every one for your post. I feel a lot better now about giving them free feed.. It will be just bermuda thats free feed. I always give bermuda and never had any problems with it. And i'll still feed the grain and alfalfa in rations. They don't have a pasture. the ground is all dirt.
 
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