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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 528
 
Location: Its Freaking Freezing Up Here... | I am starting the process of getting my horses legged up. I have two I am focusing on. One is a racey mare, harder to get weight on, but not overly skinny. The other one gets fat just looking at the bale.
I am trying to decide between two options on where to keep them while legging them up.
Do i leave them in the field with the other horses (a good 40 acres), on a round bale. They move around quite a bit during the day. OR, put them in a smaller pen (big enough for them to walk around) and feed them twice a day.
I will give grain after riding either way.
What would you do? |
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 Expert
Posts: 1295
 
Location: Chehalis, Washington | I like easy access.. so I say a pen! lol. Which way would they get more feed? I have a hard keeper. On pasture she paces and pushes the others around so she loses weight. Her best situation is a stall run, fed twice a day. Hay, grain, rice bran. Just depends on the horse? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 528
Location: Its Freaking Freezing Up Here... | jackismacki - 2013-12-27 5:31 PM
I like easy access.. so I say a pen! lol. Which way would they get more feed? I have a hard keeper. On pasture she paces and pushes the others around so she loses weight. Her best situation is a stall run, fed twice a day. Hay, grain, rice bran. Just depends on the horse?
They definately get more feed in the big pen as they are all on a round bale. Which I feel would be fine for my racey mare, but my gelding looks like he could drop a foal in spring. And i hate to lock him up alone. He'd pace all day. I'd also like to blanket them so they'd shed out faster, but that's not possible in the big pen either. |
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Expert
Posts: 1295
Location: Chehalis, Washington | Maybe having them both up in a pen together then? |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I would keep in the field as legging them up doesn't have much to do with weight, but more on getting tendons and ligaments conditioned. You also improve bone mass, the muscles become more toned and weight loss is a result of the horses using more calories.
If you have them penned and they are only getting feed twice per day you could run into ulcers as horses are constant grazers and they need food in their belly at all times. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 528
Location: Its Freaking Freezing Up Here... | Thank you Cheryl! You made my decision. Great info, much appreciated! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 733
| When I start conditioning I put all my horses in separate pens. Its too hard to feed them they way they need to be fed when they are all out together, but I am pretty anal also. I also like them in pens because I don't like to grain right before or after I ride, when they are in their runs I can feed the hay each horse needs and grain when I feed. |
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