Aug
11th
Files under Florida hay, horse hay |
Posted by admin
My 3 1/2 year old filly gets fed hay 2-3 times a day. But we are trying to work on putting her on a diet because she is FAT. She is around 15hh I would guess and I would like to know how much hay she should be getting a day. (She gets some in run-in stall and some spread out in her pasture to encourage her to graze rather than stan around in one spot all day.) Thanks so much in advance!
FIrst, all horses are different and depending on the exercise require different feedings. Quarter horses as a general rule are easy keepers. My 4 yr old quarter horse gets 3 flakes of hay morning and night as well as grazing and about 2 pounds of pellets a day. He is growing and active. I have an old quarter who gets 2 flakes morning and night and a large handful of grain morning and night, just because the others are getting it. My big girl who is 5 and 17hh gets 3 morning, 2 night and about 3 pounds of grain morning and night.
My personal preference is to give them better quality grass mix hay and keep them occupied opposed to adding a lot of grain as they are meant to graze not gulp their food.
You can feed them more grass mix hay than you can alfalfa. So depending on what your barn is feeding that too can put on weight.
As you can see not only from me, but from the others, there are many ways to feed your horse. Ask your vet to give you a recommendation as he will be able to better judge as he can see the quality of the hay and grain that is being fed and will understand better how to adjust to meet your horses needs. Who knows, fat to you may be prep for a growing spurt
Because she is growing i say 8-10 pounds a day.
my two mares, about 900 lb each eat a big roll of hay in a week. is that too much, should i go to baled hay. they get very little exercise
thank you
Rita Wathke
Rita, the size and condition of your mares as well as the size and quality of your round bales would need to all be taken into account for any kind of evaluation. I have found that a mature horse will consume around 25-30 pounds per day total including hay, feed or grain, grazing. A mature horse does well with approximately 12% protein and a lactating mare approximately 16% protein diet.