How long do you/ should you wait after riding before you feed?

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shoniedaspony

me+horses=smiley person
Aug 22, 2003
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Having seen people at various yards wait 5/10/20/30 mins up to an hour and sometimes not wait at all, i was wondering what time frame was recommended?

Also, what constitutes "hard feed"?
I feed alfa-A and sugarbeet, and would guess that alfa isnt hard feed as it is chopped alfafa, but wasnt sure?
i tend to wait 30mins after riding before feeding as he gets a substantial feed size, but would love opinions/advice on that?

cheers
 
I don't tend to leave it long at all. I just feed a bit of chaff and in the depths of winter may add speedibeet and some hi fibre nuts and feed it once I've untacked her.
 
you should always wait an hour after giving ANY feed before you ride. the stomach lays next to the lungs so when it has hard feed in it then the lungs don't have as much room to expand so breathing becomes more difficult and the horse may struggle to take deeper breaths if need be and it may cause panic for the horse:)
 
I usually feed pretty much as soon as I've untacked. Logic is on Alpha A and sugarbeet at the moment.

It's very rare that she would be back at the stable out of breath or hot, but if she were then I'd prob wait about 10 mins till she'd returned to a rested state.
 
All the rules about feeding after exercise relate to hard feed, ie cereals, which are digested in the horse's stomach as opposed to the hindgut. If you aren't feeding cereals (alfa and speedibeet would be one example) there's absolutely no detriment in giving your horse a big bowl of dinner whilst you untack.

After all if wild horses had to wait an hour before eating anything after escaping from a predator they would have been at a serious evolutionary disadvantage :)
 
I feed pretty much after untacking, however always cool my horse down on the way home, so he is never out of breath, and sweat has dried off. Don't know if this is OK? Interested to hear more - not sure why it should be a problem, especially aas he is out most of the time he is always walking about anyway (and we always walk the last section of a hack to cool off).
 
Yann said:
All the rules about feeding after exercise relate to hard feed, ie cereals, which are digested in the horse's stomach as opposed to the hindgut. If you aren't feeding cereals (alfa and speedibeet would be one example) there's absolutely no detriment in giving your horse a big bowl of dinner whilst you untack.
Click to expand...

Another excellent reason why to feed fibre feeds:D
 
Agree with Yann.

If they are getting concentrated I wait untill they are breathing normall obviously then wait untill they are cool and at the normal temperature and not sweaty. I usually ride then muck out then feed.
 
I normally wait half hour, untack, groom, put everything away then feed but then i do walk her off for at least 10 minutes after strenuous work so she cools down first
She only gets a 'token' feed of chaff, lo-cal, garlic and fruit and veg :p
 
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