Do Horses on Pasture During the Day Need Hay at Night?
- Posted by Clair Thunes, PhD
—Janet Bryant, Templeton, Massachusetts
A.In many areas with climates that support good grazing, grass is typically abundant by this time of year. As a result, many horses can meet their calorie demands and maintain condition if they have access to good pasture and aren’t working too hard.
Feeding to condition is a major component of any equine nutrition program. If your horses are maintaining a body condition score of 5 (or slightly above or below), your feeding program is meeting their calorie requirements. And good news: It does sound as though your horses’ caloric needs are being met at this time from consuming only pasture all day
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Written by:
Clair Thunes, PhD
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4 Responses
That’s what i do for my Horse Donkey and my friends Mule
We bring our horses in at night as well. They are in a barnyard with their stalls and we hay at night. But the last few nights, they havent been eating their hay. Could it be they are just full? They ate their oates
We bring our horses in at night as well. In the summer they go out around 6:15 AM and don’t come back in to their stalls until 8:30 PM. In the winter they go out at the same time, but they come in a lot earlier…around 6:30PM. In our area we have a LOT of coyotes, bob cat and even an occasional mountain lion passing through. No way are we leaving our horses vulnerable to attack at night. Instead they get hay, plenty of water and a soft bed of shavings. All seem pretty content!
Many good points about here about ulcer risk, gastrointestinal health and 24/7 turnout that every horse owner should already know. Also, horses only sleep a 3 or at most 4 hours per day, not all of that at night.