# free feeding



## Hexe (Mar 8, 2007)

http://academialiberti.blogspot.com/2012/02/thermoregulation-in-horses-in-cold-time.html

The above is a good read that I came across and I incidentally keep my horse(es) pretty much as is described in it, with one difference: I don't free feed hay. I attempted to do so a few times, but my gelding will eat and eat and eat and eat - you get the picture. The horses get hay twice a day and when I can finagle it, three to four times a day. 

My question is this: who free feeds and how do you deal with greedy eaters? 

Thanks.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

In my experience, if you set out a thousand pound bale for cattle, they'll eat until full then lay down and chew their cud. Same way for sheep and goats. But horses will stand there until it is gone.
The web site listed was more directed to temperature regulation. I've raised horses in an area that often sees minus 30 F temps, a hundred inches of snow. I work horses in the winter until they are wet with sweat. Given a choice of being inside a barn or out in pasture, the horses chose pasture. They spend far more time in shelter in the summer to escape the flies.
Recently, I have used a cooler to pull the moisture off a horse after a workout. I recommend that anyone working horses in cold weather, use a cooler.


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## gunsmithgirl (Sep 28, 2003)

I can free feed my TB he always has hay.
The Belgian on the other hand would stand there and eat until it is gone. I give him hay twice a day otherwise he would way overeat.I even tried the slow feeder nets, he just bites right through them and tears them up, so no free-feed for him. I think it just depends on the horse.


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## birchtreefarm (Jul 22, 2007)

Mine have done really well with a slow bale feeder. I can put a whole small square bale of hay into it, then I use carabiners to clip it to a wooden pallet, to keep it off the ground and so they can't drag it all around, through their poop, etc.

They nibble on it as they wish. The walker will pretty much eat slowly all day, the Icelandic will eat some, take a break, eat some more, etc. By late afternoon there is still half the bale left; by the next morning it is gone.

Both of them are maintaining their weight - the walker has just a bit of rib that you can feel but not see, the Icelandic has more padding, but is not fat.

The hay is late first cutting mixed grass hay, so it's not really high quality, but that's OK. I feed a hay balancer vit/min pellet, hoof supplement, and the walker gets some black oil sunflower seeds.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

I free-fed hay from round bales in a feeder for years and it worked very well. At first the horses ate constantly but the novelty wore off and they would not be at it all the time. Even the ponies stayed at a good weight and didn't get chubby. 
The only reason I don't feed that way any more is that we only have two horses and the round bale would go bad before they could come close to finishing it. We used to replace the bale once a week.


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

We free feed hay with round bales when we lived in TX and it worked very well. After they demolished the first bale or two quickly, they slowed down and ate normally. 

We don't make round bales now, and only are feeding 3 horses so we feed square bales. They get enough hay so they usually have some in front of them. This time of year they get a little chubby, but that's better than thin when it's cold.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

It was -42C when I woke up this morning and all my stock is on free choice in the winter. I find they adjust their own feeding requirements according to thermal requirements and right now, they need all they can get.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

-9F here and even the chubby pony is being kept in constant hay.


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

I feed RBs, but peel them. (I have 3 horses, but don't know how much the one really eats since he's missing teeth) If I put a whole RB out, they'd waste a ton of it. Normally, they'll still have some hay the next day. If I find that they need more hay, I put more out. If they leave quite a bit, I put out less hay. And, when I'm done w/the RB, I'll move the feeder.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

dizzy said:


> I feed RBs, but peel them. (I have 3 horses, but don't know how much the one really eats since he's missing teeth) If I put a whole RB out, they'd waste a ton of it. Normally, they'll still have some hay the next day. If I find that they need more hay, I put more out. If they leave quite a bit, I put out less hay. And, when I'm done w/the RB, I'll move the feeder.


We had no issues with round bales and our feeders as far as wastage.


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## Work horse (Apr 7, 2012)

I don't free-feed my two horses, even though we get -30 temps here. I tried that before and they got dangerously fat. They eat 2 or 3 times per day and have lots of time in between with nothing. And they are still fat.


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

LisaInN.Idaho said:


> We had no issues with round bales and our feeders as far as wastage.


I have one that pulls it out of the RB feeder, and will poop and pee on it if there's a whole RB in there. Plus, only have the 3, in the summer it can last up to 3 or more weeks. If I put a whole bale out then, it would mold B4 they ate it all. I board-do self care, and don't want to have to use the owner's tractor more than I have to. I've already decided that I'm going w/SBs next year.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

I've always fed horses small square bales. But most of the round bales I saw have either been stored outside or at least got rained on prior to being stored under cover. However, I discovered a way to provide high quality hay, without the labor of small bales or letting it get moldy in a round bail feeder.
Imagine a pole barn, eight feet square, with a low pitched roof, 8 feet off the ground. 2 inch thick side boards, from the ground up about 3 1/2 feet. This structure is built so three sides stick out into the pasture and the fourth side is the fence line. The fence line side is built so the side boards are removable, stacked on top of each other. With the boards removed, a large bale can be loaded into this structure. The rain and snow stays off and the horses have three sides to eat from. After the bale is set in place (remove twine before setting it down), replace the boards. The large bales are stacked in the barn until ready to be placed in the feeder. Very little waste. I did line the bottom with old boards and haven't had any mold.


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## loli (Aug 14, 2011)

Mine are free fed, and they do not stand there and eat and eat all day. The only ones that I have had that do that are in a small dry lot, the other wander. If they are out on the pasture they only hit the round bales about once or twice a day. I feed very minimal grain or any kind.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

dizzy said:


> I have one that pulls it out of the RB feeder, and will poop and pee on it if there's a whole RB in there. Plus, only have the 3, in the summer it can last up to 3 or more weeks. If I put a whole bale out then, it would mold B4 they ate it all. I board-do self care, and don't want to have to use the owner's tractor more than I have to. I've already decided that I'm going w/SBs next year.



That's why I don't free feed any longer. When I had enough horses that the bales disappeared quickly before any mold started (a week) it worked perfectly. 


Our round bales were taken right out of the field and barn stored. Perfect condition, high quality hay. And the farmer temp checked them as well for any decomposition that might indicate a fawn or something and botulism.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

How one feeds is a lot more complicated than just picking a method. A lot depends on how many horses you have, how you're set up, quality of feed and weather conditions. 

Many consider free choice to be an easy way to feed but you have to watch horses carefully for changes in condition because it isn't uncommon for an overly dominant horse to push a passive horse off feed. 

I don't see a lot of waste but I also move my feeder and leave the horses to clean up for a day before I feed another bale.


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## nchobbyfarm (Apr 10, 2011)

I bought a hay hut which was fairly expensive, and feed round bales free choice. I can put the waste in a large trash bag after a 900 lb bale for my two horses. The first 3 bales went fast, now they last 12 to 14 days for two horses and their weight stays great. I am extremely pleased with my decision and figure it will pay for itself in two years with reduced waste.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

nchobbyfarm said:


> I bought a hay hut which was fairly expensive, and feed round bales free choice. I can put the waste in a large trash bag after a 900 lb bale for my two horses. The first 3 bales went fast, now they last 12 to 14 days for two horses and their weight stays great. I am extremely pleased with my decision and figure it will pay for itself in two years with reduced waste.


My friend that bought a Hay Hut this spring loves it too.


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

I know someone who has one and I'd never want one. It's hard to move around and doesn't seem to do any better at saving hay than a regular RB feeder.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

dizzy said:


> I know someone who has one and I'd never want one. It's hard to move around and doesn't seem to do any better at saving hay than a regular RB feeder.



My friend is a 50 year old woman with back/hip problems and doesn't have an issue with moving it at all. :shrug:


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

I'm 52, have back problems and have helped my friend move it. And it wasn't easy at all. Don't know if height has something to do w/it, I'm 5'4. When we were moving it, I kept wishing I was a bit taller.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Here is a photo of the feeder. Outside the pasture, the boards are not nailed on, just slide in place. When the hay is gone, remove the boards and slide in another bale. Generally there is very little waste. This bale has a lot of some course grass the horses don't like much, so they throw more.


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## cedarcreekranch (Nov 24, 2010)

Nice feeder, Haypoint! I'll show that to my hubby (he dreads me showing him pictures of such! LOL) We feed our cattle and horses round bales in rings, no trouble with overeating. The ponies in particular (which surprises a person) eat at the bale, then go off and hunt around in the pasture. The big horses will hang out by it a bit more, but all have to walk to other end of pasture for water (where the pond is) and a lot of times they will not come directly back. Last winter, we tried something new with the cattle and it worked well - might try with horses, too. Let them up in one of the pens by the barn at night to eat, then turned them back out in the morning. They go to the pond, drink and then just sort of 'hang out' all day, coming back of the evening to come in a eat. There is some grass to munch on out there, just not much to it then. They stayed well fed, had good calves, & produced plenty of milk for them with this routine all winter. Don't know if the horses will like that plan as well - if we try it, I'll let ya'll know how it works!


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## mulemom (Feb 17, 2013)

We've been feeding round bales to our horses for over 20 years free choice. If the bale is close to water they will eat all day, if it's further away they'll go to the water tub and hang around the salt block for a good while before they go back to the bale. Bossy ones go first then rest get to eat while they're gone. Hay is stored outside but we don't have a problem with that bothering them. They'll eat from the inside out and leave the bad stuff. If you're only feeding a couple I'd do like Haypoint and put it under cover so it doesn't get wet-once it gets rained on it will mold inside and if they're forced to eat it it can cause problems. If there's only a couple in a particular pasture then we'll peel the round bale and fork it to them. We put it on the ground when its frozen or in old water tubs when it's muddy to keep the waste down. If you're going to peel the bale try to keep it under cover until you use it-if you don't you'll have to pull the outside off until you get down to the clean hay and that's a real pain-especially when it's frozen. If you're peeling you can keep it in the open when it's below freezing but put a tarp on it when it's warmer. We'll put the bale flat side down then put an old fortex tub in the middle to hold the center of the tarp up so rain will run off. It's a pain peeling bales 'but good exercise' and round bales are a lot cheaper around here than squares. You have to have a place inside to keep them but we've used the big squares (3'x3'x8') for our horses too. Be careful when you buy because the hay has to be REALLY dry when it's baled and it's hard to pull anything out of the inside to check for mold. Advantage is you still have flakes (big ones) and it's easier to tell how much you're feeding at a time. The bales are heavy (about 800lbs) and hard to move by hand but it can be done. We'd drop a bale in the aisle then dh and I'd do the 1,2,3 push to roll them into the hay shed. Like others have said-we can all tell you what's worked for us, but take it all as suggestions, you have to find what works for you. Haypoint-I love your feeder but how do you keep the mud down? Do you have a gravel pad or something in front of it? We put tons of slag around our old one and still wound up with a mudhole, now we put hay out in the pasture and just keep moving the feeder to a new spot each time. Come spring we have to disk to get rid of the mess.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Feeder is in a well drained area. Horses don't use it much in the summer, out on pasture. In winter it freezes up. I have scraped the manure away a time or two. But it doesn't get muddy. I put boards in the bottom, so they can clean up every bit of leaf without eating dirt.


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## mulemom (Feb 17, 2013)

Thanks Haypoint. Must be a difference in soil. We're all yellow clay and I swear it eats stone and slag. Our ground was starting to get solid the week before Christmas but then it warmed up and we're back to mud.


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

Free feed with a round bale feeder here...four horses, one easy keeper (gypsy), two older horses (paint & Ky Mtn) and one TWH that's a medium keeper. 4x5 net wrapped, barn kept bales last 7-8 days, depending on the temps. Without the constant hay, at least two of the three would be a bit ribbier than I like.


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## rod44 (Jun 17, 2013)

I used to free choice round bales but my Haflingers got way too fat. Now feed about a half a small bale apiece. I swear my Haflingers can get fat grazing in a Walmart parking lot!!


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