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| This is the first winter we are feeding round bales and it appears to be working out just fine for most of our horses but one. He's a 6 year old gelding that looks like he's about to give birth!
I've been doing a bit of research and what I've learned so far is that a horse that is not getting the appropriate nutritional content in their hay will develop a "hay belly" because their bodies will take longer to digest the hay in order to get all of the nutrients out.
In addition to the round bales, all of my horses are fed grain and are on a good worming schedule.
My question to those who feed round bales is, do some horses generally do ok on them where as others don’t or should I be concerned about the nutrient content of the round bales and assume that the rest of the horses are getting inadequate nutrition also but just not showing it yet?
Edited by LAC 2013-11-22 1:24 PM
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2931
 
Location: North Dakota | LAC - 2013-11-22 1:22 PM He's a 6 year old gelding that looks like he's about to give birth!
Is he, by chance, just simply FAT and getting too much to eat? |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 972
Location: Texas! | Some horses will regulate themselves and stop when they are full..Others, will stand infront of that bale and not eat until they pop, sounds like he is the later. |
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| r_beau - 2013-11-22 3:32 PM
LAC - 2013-11-22 1:22 PM He's a 6 year old gelding that looks like he's about to give birth!
Is he, by chance, just simply FAT and getting too much to eat?
I wouldnt think so because when I bought him last year he was really skinny, and although he has been putting on weight, he is still a little thin on his topline. But of course the time we started feeding round bales was the same time we stopped riding daily because of the weather.....so maybe you are right and it was a combination of both and he is getting a bit overweight. |
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| WYOracer - 2013-11-22 3:45 PM
Some horses will regulate themselves and stop when they are full..Others, will stand infront of that bale and not eat until they pop, sounds like he is the later.
Yes, that's what I'm thinking too now. Maybe he just needs some moderation. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
 
| Get the hay tested to see what the nutritional content is |
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | I never let my horse have a full bale in the pen...I fork to all ......less waste and they don't have their head stuck in a bale breathing in chafe and such.....might be something to consider..unless you are forking off a round bale..then maybe check for ulcers.....M |
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Veteran
Posts: 139
Location: Abbotsford B.C. Canada | I agree it is wise to analyze the hay, but also I would analyze the horses. Horses can do ok on a medium quality hay / round bale but get your hands on the horse and see if the horse is getting a bit thin. Look at the horse's top line and hip and make sure they are not slowly losing wieght i.e. bulk. Do you have to do up another notch on the girth?
Horses that have a hay belly are indeed maximizing their intake to try and get enough to eat. It is also a classic sign of protein deficiency if you see the muscle dropping off the horse. The protein is needed by the horse so he can digest the hay and in effect you are feeding the bacteria in the hind gut too. The bacteria cannot digest the hay well if they do not get enough protein for their own use. You say you feed grain, but how much for example.
Look carefully at the horses. If you look at the zebras on the nature shows they have big bellies but they have very good muscling and that is a horse on high hay but decent hay.
If the horse has lost some top line the horse is not doing well on the round bale as it is so high in fiber a horse is literally stuffed before it get enough energy and unless the hay was fertilized there may not be enough protein inspite of a little grain top up.
Just go on the internet and get the body condition score charts and see where the horses are at. Think about how they feel. Are they zippy enough. Feel their rib cage and look at the top line. Does the saddle fit well or sit a bit lower?
Do you think they have the muscling they had before going on round bale? Is the horse that looks worse a timid horse who gets crowed out of the bale feeder? A horse that is timid may actually be getting an ulcer even though he seems ok to you. The social interaction around a bale feeder may not suit some horses.
So look closely at the horses and see if they have a little fat around the tail head, have a good top line and you cannot see the ribs and have to push a bit to feel the ribs.
I cannot see the horse so would need a good picture and could give you more comments if you like to post one. Ask a person who judges qh's to look at them if you want an unbiased opinion.
The starving child usually has a large belly, round face but when you look closely, no muscle or real body condition.
Cheers,
Coastal Rider
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  More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | All of mine eat off round bales. The mares do fine and never over eat. I own 2 geldings that don't know how to take their head out of the feeder. Its a guy thing. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1430
Location: Montana | We have one gelding who has worked as hard at eating free choice hay as he does at everything else and his belly is huge and his butt is too! Probably your gelding is fine. We fork to pens or even pastures with 1 or 2 head in them. But with more horses you take the chance of them running out of hay and in our miserable north country winters that's not nice. So then we feed round bales out with them and we have great luck. We dont' use feeders. People always tell us we are wasting hay . . . but if you walk out there and look, they really don't. If you just drive by on the road . . . good chance to poke fun, I guess.
Sure, hay analysis is always good and you could up the protein in his grain to improve the topline. But chances are, he's fine. |
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My mind still works
Posts: 8912
| I've fed round bales for years and years. Never worried about any of mine. None of mine is wasted because I won't set another out until it's All gone. They are good at picking..lol
I don't fork either. Seems silly to me unless I have stalled horses but that's why I keep squares. Mine stay out 24/7 so my squares last a long time
Cleaning stalls is over-rated...lol |
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