Off feed for a few days?

I only have a question about 1 of my horses, Horace. The other 2 seem fine, and, in fact, Horace, seems fine, now, too. I've just not run into this before & wanted ya'lls input to see if I'm being paranoid.

I feed once a doy, & they have hay roll & pasture all day long (they are non-stalled 24 hours except for feeding). Horace gets 2 scoops Seminole Gold Chance 12+ per day. On Thursday, I had them in the yard & front pasture (my lawn service! lol) & then stalled them to feed them. Everything was fine & normal @ this point.

When I let then out a little while later, I noticed Horace hadn't eaten all his feed (he normally is the 1st to finish) & was just standing there, not moving around much. Normally, they all go to the other stalls to see what they all left behind. Every so often, he nodded his head down to his chest. His tummy felt fine & I heard gurgle sounds from the gut & he didn't feel "off", or show any of the "classic" colic signs. He sniffed the hay a little, but didn't eat any, but let me massage his throat a bit (in case he has something cought in it) & still he nodded down a few times. Then he moved away & began eating the hay.

When my husband came out, he asked what was wrong, I told him, & he said he didn't eat all his feed the night before, either. ( I was at work, so I wasn't there when they ate) When I called my husband the next day (he was home, I was @ work) he said he was fine. When I fed them all last night, Horace seemed to be like his normal self, finishing all his feed and finishing 1st again. So everything seems to have worked itself out. Does anyone know if this was just an "off" day or could it be something serious? (Now as a note, I am overdue for thier worming. I have the stuff, I've just been sick & taking care of my kid who has been sick, too as well as working over time @ work! I'm going to do it this week - finally off tomorrow!)

oh....and now my husband (he's the cow one, remember...) is saying he was talking to someone and "they" are saying that "if horses have pasture & hay to eat then they only need 1 scoop of feed a day"! I'm just hoping that he doesn't decide to cut costs & only give 1 scoop on the days that I work!

I'm guessing it's an off day, but if it happens again I'd call the vet. With the worming, my opinion is the sooner it gets done the better! Good luck with all that!!! ;)

I have always been told to feed a minumum of twice a day. My horse is on pasture all day and is never stalled and I feed him grain in the AM and PM along with a flake of hay at each grain feeding. But the hay I just started in preps for the winter. Doesn't sound like too much to worry about unless it starts happening more frequently. I'd keep an eye on him though.

Actually, lightly worked horses are fine with little or no feed at all. Our mares are ridden once or twice a week, have free choice hay, minerals, and only get a cup (not even close to a scoop) a day.

Thanks. So far, everything seems to be ok, I'll keep an eye on him though. I've also cut back a little on the feed. Still give 2 scoops, but they are not full scoops.

We grain the pasture horses PM only. Have for years.

OP - Could be the grain had a different taste on the day he didn't eat it. Have you recently purchased a new supply?

mls: No it was like 1/2 way through the bag. He's not turned away from feed before. About the only thing is apples. He doesn't like apples, for some strange reason. If I put an apples slice in thier bowl as a treat, he will pick it out. However, apple flavored treats, he's ok with. lol But other than that, he is NOT a picky eater...at...alll! lol But all seems to be well now.

I used to feed twice a day, but with my work schedule it was hard for me to do it, and my kids would forget to do it sometimes when it wasn't show season, so we've been feeding in the evenings only for a while now. My guys aren't ridden on a daily basis (unfortunately...) so it's not like they need the extra calories. Now the show steers are fed twice a day, so if the horses are up front, I'll throw them a 1/2 a scoop, but that's only if they are up front, and who's there, too. They seem to be doing fine with that. (other than the 2 days of Horace being "off")

sometimes they do have off days... if the barometric preasure drops they can get a little tummy ache or if they get a little bit of a bug, have you checked his temp? I would just watch him for a few days, make sure he is drinking plenty. Also just glance inside his mouth to make sure there is no issue in there...