[janmorr]

I tried to introduce free feeding for my mare last year. She constantly searches her pen for the tiniest scrap of hay that might be there. I thought it was going ok with one full bay feeder with nylon webbing and two slow feed bags. My barn owner was highly upset. She insisted Lucky was going to gain 300 pounds and founder any minute. Lucky wasn’t hungry at feeding time etc. I held out for almost two weeks, but the constant dire warnings wore me down and I gave up.

I wish we had been able to continue. She’s fed grass hay three times a day with timothy pellets in the evening so she’ll get her supplements.

Turnout to grass pasture is available, but she rarely gets it. Lucky had to have full uv protection in summer or she’ll sun burn. Barn owner thinks her fly sheet should come off for turnout and considers it a huge hassle to remove and put back on (it takes about a minute).

I really wish she could have 24/7 hay, but I guess I’ll have to give up on that.

Sorry for the long post.

[janmorr]

Hi, I’m Jan. I’ve read all of Anna’s books and love the philosophy. I’ve loved horses all my life, but got my first horse at age 57. She was a green broke three year old paint I fell in love with. The beginning middle-aged rider and green broke three year old had quite a learning curve, which unfortunately resulted in several wrecks and broken bones for me. Lucky and I have persisted and 16 years later have a good relationship. That said, there is always room for improvement and I look forward to learning new ways to deepen our relationship.

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