Slightly weird question about draft horses?

Question

like you thought ALL mah weird questions were done with??

okay here's the back ground:

we're going to replant and expland our fields, to about 3-5 acres of good horse growing grass. at atm i'm only planning on getting one draft horse and a companion horse (or animal).

so with 3-5 acres of good grass during the summer time, and only light use, trails and walking around our farm, how much would you have to feed a draft horse grain wise? how much hay wise?

i was always planning on dropping a bale of hay a day for any horses we got (so they could always have a choice and be able to graze, i spread out the hay in the field too, 2 flakes there/two flakes here, ect) so would one bale a day be enough for a draft horse?

(yeah i never owned a draft horse before, but i've ridden them and find that i perfer them to lighter smaller horses)

any other feeding tips would be nice too, i dont want to over feed and i dont want to under feed. i just wantta know so i can start figuring out how much money it'll take to feed so can save up enough for the first few months.

Answer 1

I went with pasture and high quality hay. I based how much hay I threw in on the horses needs. If she was getting heavy I cut back the hay, skinny I added more. Mostly threw in a round bale for the winter. I'm not a huge grain fan, I always go with a complete feed pellet. One scoop a day as a supplement kept her coat glossy and fed all her muscle without making her hot. I find grain wound most of horses up too much for ride time. If I fed grain it was a hand full and as a treat only.

Also, buying a mineral/salt block seemed to help with anything else the lot were missing out on.

Hope that helps :)

Answer 2

i had 11 drafts on 40 acres.they had good grass in pasture and i would also supplement with alfalfa/grass mix ton bale that was quartered in the pasture and placed in feeders.i also had 5 light horses and one miniature in pasture.a ton bale would last a week and the horses were fat and happy.some drafts will toss down a bale a day but most will eat some baled hay then go out and graze to relieve boredom but in the mean time they are also exercising.i don't grain any of my horses until late fall and winter and stop graining in late april or early may(depending on the weather patterns)drafts tend to sweat a lot and grain tends to add to the problem expecially in the heat of summer.a good grass will keep a draft in good condition.it depends on the horse but most will eat what they need and leave the rest for later.

Answer 3

If he weighs about 2000 lbs, a bale a day should do it....that would be double what I feed my 1000 lb horse.  I also feed him 4 lbs of senior feed and he has pasture 24/7, and 5 lbs of senior in winter, so if you aren't feeding anything but hay, you'd have to see....he might need more.  When you replant your field, are you planning to disc it up?  The reason I ask is because it takes two years for the pasture grasses to establish enough of a root system to handle the effects of horse's grazing.  If you don't wait that long, it's likely to be ripped out by the roots, and also the roots are destroyed by the hooves.  If you can combine the new grasses with established grass, it would be ready to go much sooner.

Answer 4

All horses are different. But generally speaking, mine go through a lot of hay especially in the winter time. I keep a round bale out in the pasture to take it easy on the grass. When I feed inside, i do anywhere between three to four flakes at a time. I feed very little grain-- actually I use an equine senior which is a pelleted feed. They need a lot more hay than grain unless you are working them or showing or breeding. Pleasure horses need very little grain.

One thing I think you should know, is what those big feet do to a pasture. What they don't eat , gets trampled on and they wipe out a lot of ground in a days time. You better have pastures you can keep rotating for this reason, other wise you will have mud lots.

If this is your first draft on your property, get everything set up for their heavy weight and really strong rubbing. Just to scratch his rump can take down a small tree or fence post or even a column in the barn. Mine once took my huge sliding barn door down while scratching his butt! Every thing he can get to needs to be reinforced.

good luck and enjoy, they are truly the gentle giants,

Answer 5

Okay, I have 2 draft crosses a pony and a TB. We have a total of 7 acres split into 4 fields which we rotate around and subdivide at times. 2 of the fields get cut for haylage and that provides enough to last through the winter. So, having said that we have 2 fields of approximately 3.5 acres to graze for half the year - they get that plus a small feed each night ( basically a half scoop of chaff plus oil, garlic and a few carrots) Once the haylage is sorted we use all 4 fields until next spring.

My horses are currently fat.

During the winter they come in at nights and get haylage - as much as they will eat without wasting plus a larger feed which includes sugar beet and a conditioning mix. They get a scoop of nuts in the morning and go out into the fields for the day - I very rarely put haylage into the fields - they don't need it.

Our haylage ( square bales - about 2 or 3 of these would be equal to a round bale)  one bale will last the 4 horses almost a week.

So, having said all that, I'd be hesitant about dropping hay in the fields unless your grass is poor. Drafts seem to be able to put weight on overnight.

I have more trouble keeping weight on the pony than on the big horses !

Edit>http://www.flickr.com/photos/11231383@N0...

That's my flickr album if you want to take a look at the type of condition my guys are in.

Edit 2> If, for any reason I have to buy hay they bigguns can do for a bale a day.

Answer 6

if it is only one horse than i tell you what i do with my 2. i will put a bail in the day and one at night. But thats also cause i get my property bailed for free.

If you use a draft like at all in the day only give grain before being ridden due to the horse's stomach will bind up and you will have major problems.

I give my horse 2 scoops in the morning at night but she is a bit older so you probally only have to give 1 or 1 and 1/2.

But remeber drafts eat more than any type of horse so just expect that.

i normally just go throw like 1 bag (50lbs) around about 2 weeks or less.

I hope this helps you out.

Answer 7

If your not going to be working him hard, You probably don't have to feed him gran, unless of course he's under weight, you could ask your vet what food would be best for him.

For hay, I would throw half a bale for him ( and if you got another horse the other half of the bale ) in the morning. Then throw another half of a bale in the field at night. You could throw the half a bale all in one spot, horses like it better that way. And make sure he has his own pile of hay.