Can grain be fed in the middle of the day?

Just curious. I won't always be coming to the barn in the afternoon/evening. Ushually around 12:00-1:00ish. Could you give a couple scoops after he's been ridden and groomed(I know feeding right before riding is a definite nono)? I am terrified of taking a wrong step and causing my horse to colic.

I'm not quite sure what you're asking.

Are you saying that the horse won't be fed again until the next morning, after you've fed him at 1:00 p.m.?

What time does he get fed in the morning? If he's getting fed at 8:00 a.m. And you're feeding him again at 1:00 p.m., that's too close together unless he's getting a 3rd feeding in the evenings.

You shouldn't feed him two meals close together, and then nothing again until the morning. You could be setting him up for the very colic you're concerned about.

Is he boarded? If so, are they feeding him hay and you are just wondering about the timing of the grain portion of his diet?

Yes I will board so, so the horse will be given hay twice daily unless you say otherwise. I'm just asking about grain.

If you only grain once a day then it doesn't matter what time of day you grain, so long as it is at the same time every day. But if he is being fed twice a day then you want to make sure those two feedings are not too close together.

Each barn has their own schedule for feeding so you should be asking them about theirs. If you are asking if you can/should feed grain in the middle of the day after a workout, the answer is no. Horses should be kept on a fairly ridged time table for feed (an hour either way should be the maximum difference). If you wanted to give your horse extra hay, that would be fine, but not grain.

Your barn feeds your horse hay in the morning, and again in the evening. You can only get there mid afternoon. You are wondering if you can feed your horse his grain in the mid afternoon. Like lunch. Yes?

Why can't your barn feed his grain? But if I understand correctly, yes, you can feed him his daily grain in the middle of the day. As long as your horse is cooled down after a ride, he can eat afterwards. And I've never heard of a horse that colicked because he was fed before a ride, or a horse that colicked after being worked and cooled down APPROPRIATELY. The risk comes when you work a horse hard, then feed and/or water him without giving the horse time to cool out.

Sorry I tend to disagree.... I find that it is horse that are kept on such a rigid schedule as you describe will actually colic, or have issues then those that are not.
If horses are fed w such rigid routines, its when something unforeseen happens and they get fed out of the norm, their systems go into complete "shock" so to speak, and will end up having more episodes of colic, or tieing up then horse w a more relaxed schedule.

Our horses sometimes get their am grain at 630 (summer hours), and in winter as late as 9:00am. There evening grain can be anywhere from 3:00pm to 6:00pm.
I have not had any colic issues or tieing up issues, or adverse effects from such, as our horses aren't so used to a exact feed time that their systems don't go into shock the minute something is different. Horses are hardier then we give them credit for.

I do agree that your feedings should be spaced out appropriately though. So if you want to add a noon feed, talk w your barn Manager and see what the routine is for feeding in am, and you can adjust accordingly.

I guess after 30 years of feeding over 90 horses of my own as well as others like that, I must have been very lucky. The only case of colic I can remember had noting to do with my feeding schedule but rather from a helper putting a horse up wet after a workout.

Horses, like people, have an internal clock and their stomachs start to secret digestive juices. That is when there is a problem - not being timely. Are there times that I will miss a feeding at the scheduled time, certainly; but it is an exception rather then a rule.

The best time to feed a horse supplements/feed is when he's at a normal heart rate/breath rate, and when he has hay in his stomach. Having forage in their systems before any grain makes it easier on them. Time of day doesn't particularly matter as long as you keep it consistent and make any changes minimally and gradually.