amount of hay per day

Super Nova, that's exactly why I recommended the nets. They can be given their recommended amount, so not free choice in sense of roundbale in front of them all the time, but due to the greatly reduced intake per mouthful they will eat slower so the portion lasts much longer. I noticed a dramatic reduction in intake and waste and the overweight horse lost weight, the normal keeper still looks good.

Definitely what I've noticed *nods*. And that means they have something constantly in their belly's so acid isn't a concern.

Well if I fed only enough hay to last a hour id have very unhappy horses standing around cold and shaking. We get 40 below zero weather in winter hay is their way of staying warm. My horses have hay in front of them 24/7 if they only had a hour of eating hay three times a day that leaves them with 21 hours with nothing. Sorry that doesnt cut it for me that's a recipe for ulcers. Oh and my horses arent fat either all three are a body score of 4 1/2 so id say they need to be eating all they want in hay.

Mine are both on free choice hay in the fall/winter/spring.

I do lock them off the bale in summer some bc they have quite a bit of grass and both mine are easy keepers.

You really don't want your horse going more than 4ish hrs without forage. If your horse is over weight, then feed 2% of the desired body weight per day in hay. Same goes if they are under weight. Start there, and adjust up or down depending on weight. If he's eating it too fast, then get some type of a slow feeder.

I think, as with many things horsie, there are a lot of different variables. Things shoiuld be looked at with flexibility depending on the horses body weight, temperment, the weather they live in, age, thier daily exercise and type of feed/hay they are fed that is in their area. Each horse is an individual, even within those same limitations.

You can take all of the good advice given here that works for each individual horse, and apply it to your own horse's needs and go from there. Trial and error with the best knowledge possible. Good for you for noticing how your horse is fed and trying to figure out the best possible solutions.

I've done the hay nets with the small holes and at the beginning they would take a couple of hours to eat what would normally take them 30 to 40 minutes but within several weeks they have figured out how to work the nets so they are back to eating their meal in 30 to 40 minutes.......I've given up trying to slow the eating process down as nothing works long term.

I think the bigger problem is that we keep our horses on small acreages with not a lot of turn out......so that changes the way we have to feed and care for our horses.

Super Nova

Even smaller openings, or two nets together.
I space the three nets I have up to make them move around more. And I'm making smaller nets, for max 2 flakes, to have them move even more. Like they would do on pasture, eat a little here, move, eat a little there, and so on.

It might slow them down more if you could hang the nets from above in such a way that there was nothing for them to brace the nets on and shove there noses between the holes.

Also, it might be prefereable for those feeding a small amount of a super high nutrition hay to go to a slightly lower nutrition hay (but still clean and good quality) so that you can feed more/longer without risking your horses health to laminitis, obesity, etc. Or supplement your high nutrition stuff with a filler hay, just to keep the digestive tract moving. (Again, still quality, clean hay, just low calories etc.) Obviously this won't work for everyone/every horse, but its a thought for those trying to figure out how to keep their horses bellies full longer.