Leaving a horse in the stall morning ot night?

Question

I live in north florida and I have 5 horses at a boarding factility I feed them square bales of hay and I try to feed 1.5% of their body weight and I was leaving them in their stalls all night so that they had time to eat it... But they are wasting quiet a bit of the hay I give they have no grass in the pasture so I was reading about horses eating for 16 hours straight so would it be better to leave them in their stalls with hay for 16 hours during the day or night? which is better? I gets very hot and muggy here and I dont know which would be better? we have a pretty good number of flys at our barn and it is an out door barn but I have fly bags and they all have fly spray and fly masks on so which would be better stalled during the day or stalled at night?

Answer 1

Definatley at night. It is less hot and they don't get very hungry during the day. But they do get hungry. Just give them plenty of water.

Answer 2

Personally at our yard we all put fly sheets on our horses. They are light weight and so the horses don't get hot and they stop any sunburn that a fair skinned horse would get whilst keeping the flies off them during the day. We keep our horses in at night as you do then turn them out during the day. Because of the lack of grass we do what we like to call haying them, basically we put about four sections of hay in the field for each horse, but make sure that you spread each pile out to prevent them from fighting.

Hope this was helpful

Answer 3

During the summer, we usually stable/stall our horses during the day and turn out at night. Without grass in your paddock, I think it could be difficult. I would certainly keep them in at night. Carry on giving the hay but try cutting it down a little to prevent wastage. Providing they are getting worked or taking plenty of ridden exercise, then I see no benefit in turning out for longer than a couple of hours in a grass less paddock.

Answer 4

Can you find a boarding facility with run-in shelters so they can decide for themselves when to be in or out?  I keep mine that way, and run fans from inside the barn that blow out the door (gated doorway) 24/7.  They go in and out all day and night as they please.  Putting hay in various locations will encourage them to get more exercise as they wander around eating...more like horses with access to pasture grasses.  I would never stall a horse for 16 straight hours no matter how much exercise I provided through training etc.  If they get some exercise, they will eat...constantly.

Answer 5

I personally think it would be better to have the horses stalled during the day with a fan running to keep them cool. However horses tend to eat less when they are kept inside. I think if you put them outside during the night with their hay, they probably wouldn't waste so much of it. The night tends to be cooler so they wouldn't get overheated. Also if you give them their hay outside at night they might eat more of it because there is less activity going on so they could eat more and look around less. The other thing you could do is give them a little feed in their stalls at night and a little outside during the day. I don't know which one will work best for your horses. I have seen it and done it many different ways and all I can say is to try out the dfferent possibilities and see which one works best for you and which way the horses prefer better.

Answer 6

I live in Alabama, so I know all about those hot summers. I keep my horse up during the day, from 10a-4p and he is out the rest of the time. During the winter he is out during the day and up at night. It is ok to keep them up during the day as long as they have a fan and the barn is well ventilated. Your horses would probably be happier if they were out 16 hours instead of up. Just toss the hay in the pasture with them. They do not have to be in their stalls to eat hay.

Answer 7

Any time you board outside of your home you are going to run into flies, parasites and all sorts of unhappy little critters that you don't want your horse to have to deal with. A good wormer will help you get rid of your parasites and a high quality fly spray will keep the flies at bay. You can never get rid of the flies and you will never get rid of the parasites. Fly masks are great if your horse will keep it on it's head, fly sheets not so good unless you have someone who will continually watch your horse day or night, horses may roll and get tangled up in them.

As for feeding, horses are herd animals that graze 24/7 little bits at a time. I read some of your answers from other people and yes spreading out the hay in their arena or corrals will help them to continue to eat. I also agree with another one of the answers that you received that you may want to re-evaluate the facility you have or at least look at the size stalls that your horses are in. Are they big enough for the horses not to be bored. Are you exercising them enough and spending enough time with them to keep their minds active. A dead mind is a depressed horse that will not eat.

Answer 8

I personally do not beleive in keeping a horse stalled for any length of time unless the horse is injured or sick.

Horses get bored very easy and when confined to a small space, such as a stall, they become behavorial. They pace, paw, chew on wood, get aggressive to anyone or thing that comes near their stall, and in some extreme cases may even self mutilate.

If at all possible, the best thing to do for your herd is to let them stay outside where they can roam and forage as they please. Since you don't have grass in your pasture, place your bales of hay in various places for them (So they don't fight), and let them 'graze' that way.

That, combined with fresh water and a three sided shelter will make your horses happy. (Of course, if you grain your horses in the barn, they will always want to go in it becasue they know they'll get yummy food.)

During the heat of the day, or when the bugs are at their worst and the horses just seem miserable and the fly repellent doesn't seem to be working, putting the horses in the barn for a couple hours of reprive is ok.

Answer 9

They "waste" hay because they are bored.  It is not good for a horse to be in a stall for so long and certainly not 16 hours a day.  You can't equate grazing time with stall time.  One has nothing to do with the other.  You should stall your  horses as little as possible and turn them out as much as possible.  If they can be turned out together, put their hay in the pasture and scatter it around so they have to move about to eat.  That will make their lives a bit more normal.  Have you ever thought about finding a different facility?  It doesn't sound like the one you have is adequate.  Horses are foraging animals and need time in a social atmosphere with some good food sources in order to be heathy, happy and not suffer behavioral problems.   In general, stalled horses have more health, foot and leg problems than horses who have access to good turnout.

Answer 10

Horses are grazing animals with digestive systems that are made to work continuously throughout the day.  Ideally, horses crop and nibble their forage and take in small amounts at a time.

When we feed hays and grains, we automatically take horses away from their natural grazing behavior by providing a large amount of food at one time.  This can present challenges in terms of possible colic because the digestive system had been idle and is suddenly overloaded.  

It is best to feed smaller amounts 2 or 3 times per day, as opposed to one giant feeding at night.  Your horses are literally stuffing their tummies with as much hay as they can hold, but not as much as they need on a daily basis.  At the very least, I would try to feed a dinner and breakfast 12 hours apart -- say 7 am feed and let out at 8 am and return to barn and feed at 7 pm.  

You can also feed your horses half of their hay when you take them out to their field.  Just divide the hay up into several piles spaced at least 20-25 feet apart and make sure you have at least one more pile of hay than horses.  This way the lowest ranking horse will still be able to find something to eat after getting chased away from his pile! ;-)

One more thing - 1.5% of total bodyweight is a feeding guideline.  Depending on your type of hay, horse's body type and level of exercise they may need more or less hay.  Watch their weight -- you should be able to just barely see and feel their ribs -- and adjust accordingly.

Good luck!