question for those whose horses are kept on drylot
- Thread starter kdtexas
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Grass is a rarity here in Az, so all my horses would be on "dry lot." I feed them twice daily (thrice would be better, but not feasible), and I give them lots of grass hay that lasts them hours. Yes, free choice is better, but we do what we gotta do...
Jessi
Jessi
SandyWI
Well-Known Member
My horses are drylotted all winter because the stock tanks are near the barn and it's easier to plug the stock tank heaters in without running cords out to the pasture.
We have three small pastures for the minis and two big pasture for our two big horses. Before we turn anyone out into the pastures we take a cutting of hay off it, so generally no one gets on pasture until mid-June, except for the big horses who are put into the pasture we don't make hay off.
However, we'll halter all the minis every day starting around May 1 and walk them into the pasture for ten minutes of grazing before we bring them in for the night.
In the summer, they are brought into their stalls at 7 PM and at 7 AM they get their morning supplements and are turned out into pasture for four hours. They are brought back into dry lot until they are put up in their stalls at 7 PM, but they do get some hay at 2 pm in the drylot. I never leave them in the pasture past 12 noon, as the fructose levels in the grass start rising then, and fructose is a contributing factor to laminitis. They are also fed around 1.5 pounds of hay at night. Usually by morning there's still a bit of hay here and there in their stalls, but not much.
I used to worry that 12 hours was a long time to go without hay, but I figure that when they are fed at night they aren't eating every bit of it at once, so it's maybe more like 9 or 10 hours they go without hay. This does concern me but it's just not practical to give them hay any later in the evening, as our barn is so far from our house that we have to drive the four wheeler to it, and in the winter that's pretty cold at 10 PM! In the winter, of course, we increase their hay intake at night quite a bit.
We have three small pastures for the minis and two big pasture for our two big horses. Before we turn anyone out into the pastures we take a cutting of hay off it, so generally no one gets on pasture until mid-June, except for the big horses who are put into the pasture we don't make hay off.
However, we'll halter all the minis every day starting around May 1 and walk them into the pasture for ten minutes of grazing before we bring them in for the night.
In the summer, they are brought into their stalls at 7 PM and at 7 AM they get their morning supplements and are turned out into pasture for four hours. They are brought back into dry lot until they are put up in their stalls at 7 PM, but they do get some hay at 2 pm in the drylot. I never leave them in the pasture past 12 noon, as the fructose levels in the grass start rising then, and fructose is a contributing factor to laminitis. They are also fed around 1.5 pounds of hay at night. Usually by morning there's still a bit of hay here and there in their stalls, but not much.
I used to worry that 12 hours was a long time to go without hay, but I figure that when they are fed at night they aren't eating every bit of it at once, so it's maybe more like 9 or 10 hours they go without hay. This does concern me but it's just not practical to give them hay any later in the evening, as our barn is so far from our house that we have to drive the four wheeler to it, and in the winter that's pretty cold at 10 PM! In the winter, of course, we increase their hay intake at night quite a bit.
CAM
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We are all drylot here but I have always leased pasture close to home, generally for my larger horses though. I do seed the drylots although it is more to decrease boredom because it doesn't last long but does give them something to graze on here and there through the summer. This is the main reason we have our house for sale. We are looking at a 150 acre property with about 70 acres of pasture. If we get it we will have to make an official "Jenny Craig" lot for those times we need to pull the horses off pasture. Crossing our fingers things work out.
Roxane Martin
Well-Known Member
We dry lot as we have not enough acreage of it, and because of the founder problem the original horse here had. We feed hay (orchard grass) 3 times a day--~6:15 - 7:15 am, 3 - 4pm, 7:30 - 8pm. We have to accomodate work times. When the ultimate day comes that I don't have to work (a l-o-n-g time away I fear!), then will probably adjust differently. Sometimes they eat all of the hay given; othertimes not, but then clean it up with the next feeding.
shminifancier
Well-Known Member
Mine are pretty much in a dry lot a few blades of grass around but not much and get eaten off quickly. And I feed at around 7AM and then about 6PM so close to 12 hours apart. And when I was working they got fed at 5AM and then not till 7PM but did good on going over 12 hours between
But now that I am around all day I feed roughly 12 hours apart. May and I say MAY give just a little snack in the middle of that but not very often. And mostly just a good grass/mix hay I feed. And very little if No Grain at all unless a mare in foal or a nursing baby and then bay will also get grain till 2 yrs of age then pretty much just get grain once in awhile as a treat.
But now that I am around all day I feed roughly 12 hours apart. May and I say MAY give just a little snack in the middle of that but not very often. And mostly just a good grass/mix hay I feed. And very little if No Grain at all unless a mare in foal or a nursing baby and then bay will also get grain till 2 yrs of age then pretty much just get grain once in awhile as a treat.
