|
|
Post by judyh on Sept 10, 2016 20:02:44 GMT
I would not give a good doer hard feed. Extra hay to fill her up and keep her happy.
|
|
|
|
Post by sjw87 on Sept 11, 2016 16:03:59 GMT
I would consider whether she has gastric ulcers if she's behaving so extremely when hungry. Although it's more common in horses who spend a lot of time stabled and are of a stressy nature, research has found even horses out at grass 24/7 can suffer too.
Sent from my SM-A300FU using proboards
|
|
|
|
Post by fanfarefan on Sept 11, 2016 18:22:46 GMT
i would also consider the fact that she may have ulcers ,,,, to me its not your every day behaviour of a horse that thinks it maybe hungry ,,,, that said ,,, can you leave her out 24/7 ,,, and put the hay out in the field ,,,, i have a very good doer ,,, who for various reason i cant work, and is not ridden ,,,, so in the summer he spends all of his time out ,,, on a paddock with no grass ,,,( well it looks bare , but obviously it does grow , but they keep up with it) 5 of them graze it during the day and 3 of them at night ,,, however they have almost a bale of hay aday to keep them happy ,,,, i know it may sound a lot ,,, but its cheaper than the vet and treating for laminitis ,,, they are all at a perfect weight ,,, and are all happy ,,, maybe worth thinking about, good luck sx
|
|
|
|
Post by lucynlizzysmum on Sept 12, 2016 7:23:55 GMT
Thanks for your replies. I had a hunch re ulcers but as I've no experience of them it's hard to know what to look for. It's definitely something to rule out if nothing else. How does the vet diagnose them? Have a look at equine ulcer diagnosis by Mark DePaolo on Youtube - however, your vet will need to do a gastroscope to give you an accurate diagnosis. |
|
|
|
Post by Toaster on Sept 12, 2016 15:39:45 GMT
I have a pony that is similar but of not quite so bad
He is in during the day with a decent amount of Horsehage high fibre and a tub of oat straw chaff and out at night with a compressed hay block and more oat straw chaff spread about so he has to wander about to eat. The compressed hay blocks are very useful
If his little rider comes to ride him and finds that he has an empty net/tub he is given a feed of chaff to line his stomach, when they are on restricted diets and the tummy isn't so full it can get very acidic which splashes around when they are ridden and is apparently very unpleasant so he is never ridden unless he had recently eaten a small meal of chaff. As a rule if he is unhappy being girthed he will be unhappy when ridden. He doesn't have ulcers though thank goodness
Makes for a much easier and more pleasant pony
|
|
|
|
Post by honeypot on Sept 12, 2016 18:32:45 GMT
I have a good doers, they have a bale straw to pick at, that they will eat even if the grass is growing. In summer they do not get hay at all unless they are in overnight and that is 50/50 hay straw.
Mine live in herds and I find there is less fighting, bullying and general agro when then have a continuous supply of something to eat. A lot of fat ponies lead a miserable life with not enough to chew, I can tell the ones that have had to fight for food and they become food aggressive, more so when stressed. You mare is bottom of the pecking order, she is fighting for her food and get past the 'mean girls' to get at it.
From what you describe there is more than one thing going on and given her any sort of hard feed or any feed in a bucket will give her something else to worry or fixate about. I would separate her out from the rest with her own patch and a bale of straw, and add hay is the she needs it. If she has ulcers as well the trickle feeding will help.
|
|
