Why won't my horses eat their hay?!

ladywiththebaby

ladywiththebaby

Active Member
Mar 6, 2007
2,374
0
36
Cambridge
When I first got Po in Oct, I was told she shouldn't have any hard feed, just hay twice a day. I tried that, but any hay I put in the field, she ignored. Put it down to the fact that I have a bit more grass then where she came from, and she just was more interested in the grass and stopped putting it out in the morning. When stabled at night she would eat it, so that was fine.

Roll on 6 weeks or so and her and Tango were then living in same field. Every now and again I would try giving hay in field, but still they ignored it. Oh well, they just prefer the grass as we still had a paddock with slightly longer grass.

Tried again in Dec as surely nothing left in grass. No luck.

Even NOW when there is snow on the ground, I turn them out in the snow for the day with a slice of hay each (not wasting any more than that!) and EVERY evening, the hay looks barely touched. In fact this morning I watched Po canter passed it with barely a backwards look at it!

The other night, because I was worried that I might not be able to get up to let them out of their stables in the morning (well Tango is left in the yard bit outside stables with his door open) I left them out, but with access to both stables with their Haynets inside. When I made it up in the morning, they hadn't even eaten all their hay!

WHY are they not eating it?! I gave some to a friends horse to see if he would eat it and he gobbled it up apparently! :unsure:

I should add that Tango is not thin, in fact is possibly a bit too well covered, but he also gets hard feed (Fast Fibre). Po is a bit more tricky to tell as she always looks a bit ribby but also has a bit of a belly. She looks like she may have had a foal in the past.
 
Last edited:
If they are not eating the hay then they are getting plenty of forage. Mine that are still out in the snow are leaving their haylage, preferring to dig in the snow and rootle in the hedgerows for food!! So you don't waste the hay on the floor could you tie up a couple of nets in the field so they can have the choice??
 
I would count how many poos they are producing a day. If they are doing, say 5 to 8 each per day (I don't know the exact number for a healthy horse) , I would say that they were getting enough forage and just don't fancy it.
 
I expect they are having plenty of grass.

Ours are all in for huge amounts of time and tiring of their own hay. We are now swapping hay around - someone else's left overs are far more interesting!!! We have hay from different people, so I guess different lays.
 
If they have access to the hedge and grass, then won't be interested in the hay. Counting poos is a good one as that means they are obviously eating something ! ;)

I wouldn't waste the hay, I'd pop it up like EML has suggested in haynets to save on wastage.
 
My boys were saying "meh" to their hay and just spreading it around until it snowed. Now they are hoovering up every strand!

They'll eat it when they're hungry :wink:
 
As long as its on offer and they are drinking well I wouldnt worry too much. Mine hoover up the hay and take the haylage slower, but all have gone off bucket feed.

If you are concerned you could get some chopped hay like simple systems timothy chop hay to see if she will eat that :wink:
 
Ah thanks guys! You have made me feel better! They are both doing about 5 poos overnight so plus the day time ones which are obviously harder to work out whose are whose, I reckon they are getting enough!

Phew! Thank you! :dance:
 
Flipo's Mum said:
I had the same stress in December when it has snowed for a couple of days and my boy was still not interested in hay. The poo counting keeps you sane!
Click to expand...

I used to count-the cob could do 3 if she was in during the day. You get a tad obsessive if she only did two and your waiting on the other!
Its like-well how many times a day do you pee-depends how much i drink and the weather.

Ponies are designed to forage and the grass has been growing.
 
I'm a poo-counter too.... although it has all gone awry with the snow as I don't know how many have been buried!!! AND it is snowing AGAIN!!! :help: If mine do between 8 and 12 (minimum) each in a 24-hour period, I'm happy that they are getting enough.
 
Lol, I wish I could say our pair won't eat hay! Hehehehe, only joking, they wouldn't touch it probably if they were out and about, but they are still confined to the school because of Chloe's legs. Next week when they go back out into their field I think the will tell me where to stick the hay!
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back