riding on a full stomach

[500]

Does anyone know if it's bad to ride your horse after they have just eaten a meal? If so, how long should I wait? Thanks.

[WhiteIceGem]

If you've given them a feed, eg course mix or cubes, then its best to wait an hour and a half before you ride. If the horse only has a bit of roughage (eg alfa-a or something like that) ina bucket to enable you to give him any supplements he might have, then as long as you don't intend to do strenuous work, eg only going for a quiet hack, then you will be ok to ride 45-60 mins after the feed. Or less depending on how much roughage you give. obviously if its only having a couple of handfuls, then once you've groomed and tacked up it would have had long enough. A horse that has been munching a haynet doesn't need a break before you ride, horses are trickle feeders and their gut is designed to cope with constant digestion of small amounts.
Basically it depends on how much you're giving your horse and what you intend to do with the horse.
A horse exercised on a full stomach would not perform at its best because a full stomach takes up more room in the horses chest, leaving the lungs with less space to expand, so the horse's muscles won't get enough oxygen. Also, digestion is a process that requires a large blood supply, and during exercise the horses muscles require blood, so the digestive system slows down, causing the food to be not as well absorbed and the possibility of colic....
I could go on but i won't.........

[Jay.o]

There has recently been a threa don this somewhere, maybe do a search for it in each forum with soem keyword will bring it up.

Anyway, the way the horse's body works, it can either digest food with the blood, or exercise; not both at the same time. If the horse has eaten, it takes the blood/oxygen and puts it all there (you kow what i mean) and works hard and fast to digest the food. If the horse is taken out straight after a feed, tacked up and ridden, the food is left in the stomach - undigested. If this happens, gases can build up and also acid/toxins which can harm the horse.

Usually, I give Mysy a handful of chaff, a bit of her beet and a few nuts before a ride. She eats it while I get her saddle out, her brsuhes, do her water buckets and potter. About 5 minutes later, she is finished. I brush her for about half an hour, then tack up and ride. This is plenty of tiem for the amount of food she has. When she comes back, she gets the rest of her 'proper' feed! If you are going to give the horse their proper feed, I would wait for about an hour, at least.

If they are from the feild and been munching on grass or hay, no time is really needed. They digest and eat at the same time, so theres really not alot in their stomachs at that point. The half an hour groom before a ride is use ful though, it clears their stomachs :D

[virtuallyhorses]

I can tell you that if you've just had a big helping of Lamb Korma - don't ride for at least 2 hours :D even then it'll tip you forward ...