Show horse feeding observation

[Becky]

Horses are designed to digest fiber and I always base my horses' diets on fiber including my show horses. Meaning long stemmed fiber(hay). Over the years, I've noticed that many, if not most, owners, trainers and exhibitors at shows, don't feed any baled hay. I'm assuming they are feeding fiber of some sort such as bagged, chopped alfalfa, alfalfa cubes and/or beet pulp.

How does that work? Do the horses get enough chewing time that way? Do they develop stall vices out of boredom? Are ulcers a problem?

Just curious as to how this works with show horses who are stalled most of the time.

 

[disneyhorse]

My horses are stalled all the time, showing or not. I don't live in an area where we have pasture or turnout available.

That said, I have always offered my horses the majority of their feed as baled hay. Even if it means lugging it to Nationals which is inconvenient, but whatever is best for the horses, right?

Andrea

 

[~Lisa~]

How does that work? Do the horses get enough chewing time that way? Do they develop stall vices out of boredom? Are ulcers a problem?

Just curious as to how this works with show horses who are stalled most of the time.

I have to say growing up in So Cal where space is limited so storing tons and tons of hay is not an option many horses not just show horses in boarding situations get cubes not hay

In addition most horses are stalled be it in a box stall or pipe corral for the majority of the day and honestly you do not see barns and stables full of horses with stall vices.

Horses tend to be creatures of habit and seem to be most happy when things are consistent. I had a T/B we brought with us to ID he was aged and a top hunter/jumper horse in his day who had always been stalled. Let me tell you he never really adjusted to turn out 12 hours a day he much prefered his stall and would spend most of his turn out time standing back in the barn aisle

I think as long as nutrional values are met most horses are fine.

That said my horses showing or not do get hay once a day and then beet pulp and grain at night.

I think the quality of hay does make a difference as to the hay bellies they get

 

[supaspot]

Ive often wondered about that too , how many times a day do you offer hard feed then?

 

[Mominis]

Both of my boys are on chopped hay. Shake, who is in heavy training for the Nationals, is getting straight alfalfa chops and Armani, who is in very light work, is getting timothy/alfalfa chops both horses are also getting Omolene 200.

This is the first year that I've not fed baled hay and I worried about the same things that you mentioned in your original post. They are both doing wonderfully well on the chops. I plan to use them every year, starting when we start conditioning for the shows and ending a little bit after the Nationals. Over the late fall and winter, we plan to go back to baled hay (along with chops, but with greatly reduced concentrates) because, like you, I want to see them grazing on something. That is a time when I won't worry about hay bellies.

 

[jimi]

Hi Mominis

what do you mean by alfafa chops, is that the same as cubes? And how much do you feed of the chops?

Pat

 

[txminipinto]

All of our show horses get a small amount of alfalfa twice a day. And when I say small, any where from half of a small bucket to 2 small buckets of hay (that's just how we measure it). We make up for the fiber, chewing time, and volume of feed with the wet beet pulp.

We have an open type barn that allows all horses to see out and to see each other. They can touch noses and interact through the bars. On the back side of one side of the barn (mainly the stallion side), there is a dry lot where horses can be turned out and socialize with horses in the barn that aren't normally their neighbors.

I have never had any stall vices other than the occasional beaver who chews on wood.

 

[HGFarm]

I feed my horses I am showing the same as I do at home... and I haul hay to the shows or Nationals if I am going to be there longer than a day. It takes up space but a bale goes a long way and they are getting the same consistant feed that they normally do at home.

I have never had a horse develope a hay belly on alfalfa either....... Their weight seems to stay very evenly distributed but they are not eating all day long either. They get fed morning and night with a good quality alfalfa

 

[Mominis]

Hi Mominis

what do you mean by alfafa chops, is that the same as cubes? And how much do you feed of the chops?

Pat

Alfalfa chops are basically just dried, chopped alfalfa hay. They are similar to the cubes, yes. Only these are already broken down. Cubes scare me because of the choke hazard. I don't worry with the chops any more than I would worry with any hay (I am a worrier...lol).

The feeding instructions are 1 lb/100 lbs body weight. Shake (who measured 36.75" at his last show, to give you an idea of his size) is getting 1 lb morning and night and 1/2 lb at lunch. Armani (who is about 32") is getting the same, though he is getting less concentrates than Shake is because he's in less work and he's a smaller horse. Since Armani isn't going anywhere until next season, I don't mind him being a little 'hay fluffy.' I weigh every morsel of hay and grain that my boys get on a scale that I got at Traget for $14.99. I like to be exact.

I would rather have Armani on baled hay right now rather than the chops, since he's only working 3 days/week and then very lightly. However, it just isn't time or cost effective for me right now to go out and get Shake the chops and then try and find a baled hay supplier that I like. So, after the Nationals, I'll be searching for the right baled hay guy to get me through until next season's campaigning starts and we go back to the chops.

 

[~Lisa~]

HGfarm...while I to feed the same on the road as I do at home I am very glad I only feed hay once a day. By the time we get to and from Nationals with travel time we are looking at 15-17 days worth of hay for each horse.. that is a lot of hay to drag around the country lol

 

[love_casper]

I had a combined 18 colics between 5 horses when I fed my minis baled hay so they are now on a diet of half pellets and half chaffe (chops.) We use the Triple Crown brand bagged forage, the Safe Starch when our stores carry it. I like the consistancy of these MUCH better than always wondering if they are going to react to different bales negatively. And TC adds the probiotics to all their feeds, which was a plus for my sensitive little colicker. Also, they take up just two tubs in the tackroom, as opposed to the big horses' hay barn which is piled to the roof with bales that I get to bring in as I need them.

If you soak the pellets or cubes, it does take them quite a while to get through them. And they tend to graze on chops like they would hay. The brand I use doesn't soak that easily, so I feed them dry, and their pound of pellets with about a pound of chops usually takes everyone around 1.5 - 2 hours to finish. My little guys eat slow!!! They gobble up the pellets, play with the chops, toss them around, pick at them, and then eat them up lol! I don't actually weigh anything, but I'm guessing those are pretty accurate numbers because they all get the same amount and I do measure how much we go through a week.

As for stalling, my minis are in their stalls all night because we have too many critters out here for me to feel comfortable leaving them out. I've never had or really even seen a mini have issues with being confined. I think because big horses crammed into a 10 x 10 stall can't move around as much and are more likely to have a problem with it... whereas a mini in the same space can walk around and enjoy himself. In the biggie boarding stable we were at in So Cal, out of 75 horses in the barn: 7 were cribbers, 4 were wood chewers (including one door-eater who eventually had to have his top door closed all the time), 2 bad stall kickers, 1 weaver, and 3 stall walkers. The majority were just fine. The ones who got regular excercise and had jobs usually handled it better.