|
|
Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
 
Location: Oklahoma | Can I give free choice grass hay 24/7 (as in round bale in front of him at all times)? My gelding on stall rest seems to be losing some weight. I'm not sure if it's because I had to switch him off his 10-12lbs/daily of alfalfa to grass hay, the fact I cut his Renew Gold ration once he wasn't getting rode (from 1lb a day to a little over .5) or the fact that he lost his grass grazing abilities... or all three combined.
He gets his blend of THE MM (blended with the ulcer product, so I don't suspect ulcers) nightly and he has two hays bags that I fill 3-4 times a day for him AND a slow feed hay net (but he only touches that when the easy bags are out) and I upped him to .75lbs of the RG about 3-4 days ago. I can't really guage how much hay he's getting since I've not weighed the bags (I just pull the hay from a round bale, not flakes that I could estimate weight of), but I'd think it's about the same as he was getting with the Alfalfa. Oh, and I started giving him about 5lbs of soaked Alfalfa/Timothy cubes at night just to get some forage in him.
Is it the change hay quality that's got him looking different? Is it safe to let him eat all he wants or do I need to change hay and keep portioning it out? | |
| | |
  Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | Longneck - 2014-10-21 8:24 AM
Can I give free choice grass hay 24/7 (as in round bale in front of him at all times)? My gelding on stall rest seems to be losing some weight. I'm not sure if it's because I had to switch him off his 10-12lbs/daily of alfalfa to grass hay, the fact I cut his Renew Gold ration once he wasn't getting rode (from 1lb a day to a little over .5) or the fact that he lost his grass grazing abilities... or all three combined.
He gets his blend of THE MM (blended with the ulcer product, so I don't suspect ulcers) nightly and he has two hays bags that I fill 3-4 times a day for him AND a slow feed hay net (but he only touches that when the easy bags are out) and I upped him to .75lbs of the RG about 3-4 days ago. I can't really guage how much hay he's getting since I've not weighed the bags (I just pull the hay from a round bale, not flakes that I could estimate weight of), but I'd think it's about the same as he was getting with the Alfalfa. Oh, and I started giving him about 5lbs of soaked Alfalfa/Timothy cubes at night just to get some forage in him.
Is it the change hay quality that's got him looking different? Is it safe to let him eat all he wants or do I need to change hay and keep portioning it out? Â
Yes, we have done it with anything in the corral for 15 yrs now. I started to use the great big hay nets on my big rounds. Otherwise they pull so much out and waste it. They weren't impressed, but since they stand there and eat all day anyways, they might as well be pulling it out of a teeny hay net lol | |
| | |
Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | If he is on stall rest like you said, that alone can cause ulcers, being away from his buddies and change of feed. The ulcer prevent should sure help though. If he doesn't gain with more feed, you may need to up his ulcer goodies.
I would maybe give him a mush with beet shreds/pellets and I usually add alfalfa pellets to add taste. Soak this and give in the am if you are giving Renew Gold and MM at night. Something about it has always helped add weight to my horses.
I have one on corral rest and last winter had one for 4-5 months on small pen rest (he freaked when left in the barn alone). It sucks, but if you can give them something to eat all day, it helps their mind and their belly. | |
| | |
Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | wyoming barrel racer - 2014-10-21 9:33 AM
If he is on stall rest like you said, that alone can cause ulcers, being away from his buddies and change of feed. The ulcer prevent should sure help though. If he doesn't gain with more feed, you may need to up his ulcer goodies.
I would maybe give him a mush with beet shreds/pellets and I usually add alfalfa pellets to add taste. Soak this and give in the am if you are giving Renew Gold and MM at night. Something about it has always helped add weight to my horses.
I have one on corral rest and last winter had one for 4-5 months on small pen rest (he freaked when left in the barn alone). It sucks, but if you can give them something to eat all day, it helps their mind and their belly.
Thanks! He was always alone, but after a week of his stall rest I brought one my older geldings over to keep him company... I think he liked his only child status better! lol
He gets RG 2x a day (about .5-.75 solo cup full each feeding), but I will get some beet pulp to help get him a heftier meal in the AM and I'll put him back on MM 2x/day.
Poor guy, I'm afraid lack of grass has been his greatest downfall. He was a little thin when I bought him and he didn't have much grass, but I put him on MM and grass and he bloomed! | |
| | |
 Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
  
Location: N Texas | Yep, that's what I did! Mine had to be cooped up for over a year, and I wanted to make sure he had enough in his belly to hopefully prevent ulcers, and to help him from being so bored. He actually went through bales pretty quickly, but keeping him happy and healthy was a top priority. Since he was able to eat as much hay as he wanted and he wasn't using up any energy, I didn't give him much feed at all. Basically enough for him to get the nutrients he needed, but that's it.
Luckily I was able to rig up a pen so even when he was strictly confined to a stall, I could get the round bale close enough to him that he could munch all day.
Edited by Gunner11 2014-10-21 10:03 AM
 (Gunner Hay.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
 Gunner Hay.jpg (20KB - 186 downloads)
| |
| |
| |
Folks on-line