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Discussion on Feeding Schedule on Lush Pastures, No Hay
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - 10:06 am:
I am having a problem I don't mind; lush pastures!
Better than no pasture like we've had the last 2 dry summers.
My questions:
How to break up daily grazing when I don't want to add hay? Horses are border line heavy right now, but will slim down by mid summer.
If the horses are used to a winter feeding schedule of getting hay in the a.m. and p.m., (dawn and dusk basically) is it o.k. to allow grazing time a.m. and p.m.? Say 3-4 hours each time?
I will sacrifice a flake of hay in the stalls if a horse is in there after being worked. It seems every one who limits pasture though feeds grass hay at other times.
Just wondering if grazing for a few hours twice daily is any different than eating hay for a few hours twice daily? A bale of hay lasts them about 3 hours each time.
I want to conserve hay, let my pastures stay healthy after investing in seed, weed killer & fertilizer this spring,
AND,
keep my horses happy, and healthy.
(asking a lot huh? )
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - 11:46 am:
Boy oh boy, Angie. This is always my biggest problem. I have read in Dr. O's articles that a horse can eat a full day's worth of grass in 4-5 hours when restricted, so it seems to me that there can't be much time allowed on it at all in order to make a difference.
I mow and I mow and I MOW all summer long to keep up with the grass. I bought a muzzle for Cleo, but haven't had the nerve to try it yet. Would love to hear more tips and success stories on the use of that. I don't know whether to leave it on all the time, or take it off and let her eat--but for how long?
Hardest is that the two older ones need the grass to maintain weight, Cleo balloons up on the slightest amount (she inherited that from me, I swear!). So added to the equation is how to let 2/3 of them eat all they want, and the other stand and watch. Or in her case, stand and tear the fences down. That's why I got that darn ball!
Would love to see some concrete time numbers to guide us.
Erika
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Member:
leslie1
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Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - 2:05 pm:
How about letting them graze for 4 or 5 hours and then muzzle them? Lets them stay turned out and slows down intake
Plus gives 'em something to do
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - 2:56 pm:
Hmmm...hate to invest in muzzles, trying to cut expenses, not add to them. I may have only 6 weeks of this "lushness" although right now the way it's raining my next worry may be buying good dry mold free hay!
By mid summer I will be leaving them out 24/7, and hoping they get ENOUGH to eat, while crossing my fingers my hay guy is making hay, as I watch my hay bales disappear.
I also mow to keep weeds down, and it kinda irks me to think I am spending money on gas for the mower and it feels like "wasting grazing", ha!
Muzzles attach to the halters, right? Can you use them with fly masks? So have to leave halters on too? Which would mean buying another halter as I use the rope halter on everyone, and don't even own pasture halters for all 4!
Wonder if I own a fish tank yet? Maybe I should take up fish as a hobby; if the little buggers croak I can just flush them down the toilet,
'Nways, for now, mine are getting 4 hours of grazing, and 1/2 bale of hay at night, just because it's raining...still thinking grazing in the a.m., working them mid day, and grazing at night briefly, which may screw up things as sometimes I decide to ride at night too, and then ya all know what happens if you remove one from the herd!
Need to put a sign that says; "Horses for Sale" seriously.
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New Member:
melis2
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Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - 3:02 pm:
Last spring we had a really lush pasture that resulted in a very fat horse with probable laminitis. I pulled both boys off the grass and put them into a dry paddock with hay. This spring I'm not taking any chances. Both horses are wearing grazing muzzles. They are out for 12 hours grazing then back into the dry lot with hay for the overnight. So far they haven't gained any weight.
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Member:
melis2
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Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - 3:08 pm:
You can buy Best Friends Deluxe muzzles that have the halter attached but I found they were too big and the horses could rub them off. The regular muzzles are smaller around. You'll need to attach them to break-away halters. Fly masks are fine to use and actually can help to keep the muzzles on.
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Member:
leslie1
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Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - 3:10 pm:
Yeah, 6 weeks doesnt seem worth it.
FWIW they sell a "best friends muzzle" that is a halter/muzzle combo. I like them cuz they are breakaway...which gives me peace of mind.
Spongebob did figure out how to remove his tho (too smart for his own good) but the 2 mares havent figures it out.
LOL my hubby says that horses are NOT grazers...they're nitpickers
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - 6:45 pm:
Angie can you make smaller pens and move them around? The step in stakes and a little elec fence wire goes a long ways (if your horses respect elec fence) I can make, or move a pen in less then 5 mins. That way they can stay out and nibble and THINK they are getting something. I move the fence a little bit every couple days...works well and has really cut down the hay I feed + they are not getting fatter and actually are starting to loose a little (and they need to!)
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 9:05 am:
Thanks guys,
Grazing muzzles seem spendy, I did check on them.
Diane,
I feel like I had a "duh" moment reading your post! I was telling hubby I think I'll take up the fence along the woods trail, which is a temp fence, and use it to FORCE them to graze all areas instead of just their favorites...well, "hello? How bout using the temp fence to enlarge their grazing area bit by bit?" \clip art{biggrin} It's the Horse Guard Fencing, they do know it & respect, and if I need more temp posts, heck, I can buy plenty of them for the cost on one muzzle (I'd need 4!)...and the horses are not confined to the dust/mud/muck area.
Yup, that will work I think.
Of course for today, I need to put flippers and masks with snorkels on them, \clip art{rofl}and no pasture after 2 1/2" of rain! Don't need no more holes and dug up turf.
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 9:40 am:
So if one were to use the grazing muzzle, do you just put it on and et 'em go? Or do you have to teach them how to eat with it? Sorry Angie, would you rather I start a separate thread about muzzles? I don't know if it interests you in the scheme of what you're posting.
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 9:58 am:
I'm not fussy Erika. So many things tie together as we know. DrO might like it separate though.
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Member:
melis2
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Posted on Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 11:02 am:
I had to teach them. The first time I put them on and let them go, they went all the way around the 6 acre pasture making a full circle, stopping every few yards-heads going down then quickly popping back up. Once they got back to me, Brody came up and gave me a big whomp in my chest with his nose. It was like he was saying, "ok, stopping laughing at us and take these blasted muzzles off!"
It took about 15 minutes for them to fully understand it. I helped them by picking a few pieces of grass and stuffing them up into the hole to show them.
I'm currently putting a small sample of hay into the muzzles before putting them on so they will want to stick their noses into the basket. Now they know that if they want to go out and graze, they need to have their muzzles on.
In a perfect world, they would be able to graze 12-14 hours without the muzzles and not gain weight and/or I'd be able to ride them for a few hours everyday but it just doesn't seem possible. The muzzles allow them to still graze (in a limited fashion) and be out walking around.
Last summer I was working on the weight reduction plan so they were stuck in the dry lot with small portions of hay.They became very good at chewing on the trees and the barn. They were miserable and so was I. The grazing muzzles offer a much better solution.
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Member:
leslie1
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Posted on Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 11:47 am:
Erika,
I just introduced them to it in their stalls, for an hour or so the first few days. (so I could keep an eye on them). Pumpkin had the hardest time getting used to it, the Irish Draught took it all in stride and of course Spongebob figured out within 10 minutes how to get the offending thing off! ( I use a piece of twine and tie on the nose piece to his halter so he cant rub off anymore)
They all figured out how to sorta shake their faces so the grass will poke into the drink hole at the bottom. But it is hard to do and keeps them occupied.
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 2:50 pm:
Thanks for the muzzle tips. I'll try it with Cleo. She gets the least grass, the most work, and she's still the fattest...
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 4:41 pm:
Erika, Hank was very offended by his muzzle . He could not figure it out well and would drag his nose on the ground. I do think the height of the grass they are on makes a difference if they can get any grass through the muzzle.... Grass that is too short or too long seems to be the hardest.
I made the hole a tad bit bigger and he got along with it pretty well that summer, he did seem to get hotter with it on and would go pout occasionally.
Making the pen a little bigger once in awhile so they can still pick seems to make him way happier, and worked well last year and is doing good this year too. I'm not usually home during the day and didn't want to worry about the muzzle.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 5:16 pm:
Angie, you could try 2 to 3 hours twice daily to see if your horses reduce to an acceptable condition and if not cut back from there. But it is a lot of time for just standing around for horses with nothing to do (no hay). You might find them chewing the boards and a bit more difficult to handle as they release all that pent up energy.
DrO
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 6:37 pm:
DrO,
You got it right, my horses have become beavers! I noticed this morning the stalls had lots of fresh teeth marks, even after putting hot sauce on the boards last night. Guess they like Mexican flavor now?
Ugh..what I don't understand, is eating hay for 3 hours twice daily, with a mid day "snack" basically, over the winter months, they did not eat the stalls, barn doors, barn frame, etc.! Suddenly they are chewing the heck out of everything; grass must really affect them in a different way, like a sugar high or like caffiene.
Guess they get spring fever like we do. No wonder when you see horses in dry lots those pens are made from steel piping.
Erika,
Let me know how the muzzle works out. I don't think I will buy any, unless by some miracle we have a rainy summer and can't keep the grass ate/mowed down. It has happened. I am going try the idea of moving the fence, I'll set it up tomorrow.
I guess I feel the same way about muzzles on a horse as I do on a dog; don't like to see the poor animal being bugged by 'em. I've made a muzzle for my JRT, outa vetrap, to trim his nails. Not the same as a horse grazing, yet I still think it's...weird.
Hubby let horses out on the smallest pasture a couple of hours ago, I'd better see what is going on in my horsedom.
3" of rain since it started Wednesday!
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 10:47 am:
Angie, I'm with you. I've owned this muzzle for years and never used it. I end up feeding them fence boards instead, too. Makes my husband supremely unhappy. I just repainted all the fence boards with deer repellent mixed into the paint, put two strands of hot wire around the top two boards. We'll see if they decide to get through all the obstacles for a nice yummy chunk of wood.
I am especially reluctant to try it on Cleo, the fat one. She is a "busy" horse. Very curious and good at manipulating things. I am afraid of what she'll do with a muzzle! I am going to have to try it, though. Until I got hurt last week I've been riding her daily and she is still puffing up before my very eyes.
Need to mow again, too! I've been keeping two of the pastures mowed so far. The third I could bale at this point! Gotta get in there with the brush hog it is so high.
All that rain will help the grass grow!
Erika
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Member:
lvmyhors
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Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 2:46 pm:
Hi Angie, my horses were turning into busy lil' beavers when I kept them penned up, and I was spending way to much money on all the commercial "stop chew" stuff! Then a friend told me to get a plain ol' bar of Irish Spring soap and rub it everywhere they were chewing, and they stopped! They REALLY don't like the taste or smell of the soap and at 69 cents a bar you can't beat the price! sorry for jumping in on you guys but I had to share this with ya
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 3:43 pm:
Really?? Heck we have Irish Spring soap on hand all the time, I'll try it. I am sure it will be less messy than the "hot sauce" lol! Cody, who is a light silvery grey, had an "orange" neck & chest today, he was itching on top of the stall.
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