what to feed if won't eat hay.

[peggyloo]

Felix is not a typical good doer type.
Hes 4 and still growing.He's about 430kg.
He had to stay in his stable from saturday lunch time to sunday evening last weeknd as i moved him to new yard.
He usually lives out 24/7.
When he was in he had ad lib good quality hay and only really ate about 4 slices(8kg)at most from sat 12pm to sunday 4pm.
Hes not greedy anyway.
He doesn't fret or look bothered about being in, infact he was sound asleep on the floor when i got there at 9am sunday.
But i worry that it isn't really enough food/fiber especially as all he gets at moment apart from hay and grass is top spec balancer fed straight as it is.
He looks ok at the minute but im worrying that as the grass starts to die off and the colder weather sets in he'll need to start eating more hay to keep his weight on.
He will have to come in overnight if this is the case as i cannot feed hay in field.
Last winter he lived out 24/7 in a good field(20 acres with a few other horses) and came in for about 4 hours each day to have his hard feed,(alfa,pony nuts and top spec) with hay but again only picked at the hay whilst in and probably only ate about 2kg at most.
But he wasnt in work last winter so he kept his weight on ok with this and the grass.
He's now backed and hacking a few times a week which im hoping to increase up to 5 times a week and im worrying that he'll start to drop weight as the grass dies and if he won't eat enough hay will not be able to maintain his weight through winter.
Has anyone experienced this in a native before and what can you feed instead of hay if he really won't eat enough of it.
My other native was typically greedy and would finish off the same amount of hay in a few hours and be asking for more so i've not experienced this before in a pony that probably shouldn't be fed haylege and those type of hays.
Also will add that before we got him(last autumn and he arrived underweight) he was running in a herd with other geldings and probably just got fed round bale hay and no hard feed throught winter.
Any advice on ways to get him to eat more hay or suitable hay replacers would be apprieciated.
Also must add that he's wormed regularly and his teeth were done very well(under sedation as had wolf teeth removed) in april.

[debbiec]

Well I wouldn't worry untill you need to. Horses have a way of eating what they need. If you really don't think he's eating enough then you might want to look at whether he has some discomfort in his stomach. Could be worms or worm damage from a while ago.

Have you tried him on a different hay. If it's hay specifically he won't eat then maybe there's something in your blend he doesn't like - could possibly be the fertliser that the farmer used, could eb a type of grass in there. Who knows. Try a few different types of hay and see how he reacts.

Debs

[khristyne]

I agree dont worry until you need to. you could try one of the Dengie short chop products if you get worried. or add oil to his feed. I think his appetite will increase as the grass quality declines. Get a weight tape and monitor his girth, then you will notice any weight loss quickly.

[shaklana]

definitely try some different hay. sometimes soaking/washing the hay removes enough fertiliser/weedkiller to make it palatable so you could try this if you are restricted to one hay source. if you end up needing a hay replacer there are loads out there: readigrass, graze-on, hi-fi, grass nuts, le brick, fibre p. simple system make 5 different dried grass products that would all be suitable.

[julie]

I would not worry if he coped last winter. try using simple systems lucie nuts and add sugar beet and oil if he needs weight on as this can be fed in large quantities. Sounds like he is doing fine and has a small appetite. If he is still developing and growing make sure he has his vitamins, and delay over riding if he is croup high