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Post by lorddaxter on Jun 24, 2014 12:54:50 GMT
I was just wondering how you did it, I've never been in that position, always boarder or had more grass than needed but I know a lot of people have 3 or more horses on just a couple acres and it's just like a dry lot.
What do you do, feed them hay all year round, how much, how many bales a year per horse, any supplements, is it difficult to manage?
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mistersmom
Junior Member
Abita Springs, LA
Posts: 3,749 
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Post by mistersmom on Jun 24, 2014 17:59:13 GMT
I'm not going to be much help. At my place, there always seemed to be enough grass (well except for winter). Growing up, the barn I rode at had horses out in paddocks that had basically become dry lots. They were given hay twice a day all year long. See...not much help from me!  |
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Lipizzan
Junior Member
Europe, Croatia
Posts: 2,572
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Post by Lipizzan on Jun 24, 2014 18:03:13 GMT
Oh boy, where do I start. I have 10 horses.(with the foals)
I feed the horses with hay, grazing, oats, wheat, corn, also they always have a block of mineral salt, and occasionally they get some carrots, apples, turnip, and what ever they finde in the orchard.
As for the qouestion about the amount of hay, before we would give a bale of hay per horse a day(We have small cubical bales-30lb) but now as they are in pasture 12 h a day so they graze if they want to we give them 3 bales of hay during the day, and 5 bales during the night when they are in barn. So if you do the count, we spend around 2 000 bales a year and more.
I think if you have just one horse and you feed him only with hay(we feed alfalfa also), you would be covered with 350 small cubical bales per year, maybe less if the horse has acces to pasture. That is how we here feed horses. Also it dependes on what work does the horse do of course. Not every horse needs same amount of food.
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Terry
Junior Member
Central Illinois, USA
Posts: 1,466
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Post by Terry on Jun 25, 2014 2:00:29 GMT
I have 2 horses on a pretty small piece of land. We have 3.3 acres total, and I think I figured it up one time that our pasture is only approximately 2 acres. My horses are in the dry lot only all winter long. In the spring we begin the process of slowly weaning them out to grass. Eventually, once we finish the weaning process, my horses are on pasture for approximately 10 to 12 hours per day, and then they get brought back into the dry lot for the night. I give them grain twice a day year round, but the amount of grain I give them is drastically reduced during the part of the year that they can graze. I give them their supplements once a day year round (they each get a hoof supplement, and I have Sis on a joint supplement as well). They have access to water, salt licks and mineral licks 24/7 year round. During the winter, especially a really harsh one like the one we just had, we go through about 1 small square bale of hay per day. During the summer months when they are able to graze during the day, I just give them a total of 3 flakes of hay when I put them in the dry lot each night. This has worked out very well for us. Our horses are fat, sassy, and generally very healthy.  |
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mingiz
Junior Member
Los Lunas, NM
Posts: 3,320
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Post by mingiz on Jun 25, 2014 3:06:29 GMT
I have only about 3 acres fenced for 6. I feed round bales. Now they are getting more grass. So the round bale last longer. In the winter I was doing a round bale a week. They got grain 2 x a day. Since I bought the bale buddy the bales last longer and I have no waste. They only get grain in the am now. No supplements and they are fat.  |
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Post by lorddaxter on Jun 25, 2014 12:16:41 GMT
Interesting, not as much hay as I thought but mind you, you are all in the USA and Europe, much milder than canada overall!
Thanks everyone:)
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