# How long to wait to ride before/after feeding grain?



## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

My understanding is that you shouldn't give a big meal of grain on an empty stomach and then ride. Because grain is hard for them to digest, especially if they are working hard. If your horse has been in a pasture with grass (doesn't sound likely right now in Canada LOL) or has had access to free choice hay and still has some hay left when you get there, and you don't feed her a big meal, then you should be fine. If it's just hay you are giving her, you shouldn't have to worry about it. I've actually read that feeding a small meal of hay before riding is actually helpful for the horse.

If it's feed you want to give her rather than hay, can you wait to feed her until after you ride?


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## JazzNFancy (Jan 23, 2020)

I can absolutely feed after riding! That's probably the best way to go I suppose. I aim to try to have hay in front of them all the time but it doesn't always work out that way. This particular mare though should. She's a picker. LOL Thanks!


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

If she has had free-choice hay to eat then her gut has food in it which buffers the acids from sloshing around potentially causing irritation....
Ride her, cool her down completely then groom her, then after returning to her stall and hay pile for a bit, _then_ give her her feed.
_Do not _place the feed in the stall then go ride expecting her to remain focused on you when she knows food is waiting she wants...that's not fair.
_Do_ _not_ place feed in her stall and feed it as soon as she returns...that creates a nasty cycle for many of rushing horse, impatience and pushy behavior.
After you are done doing all your chores, then give the feed...bring it into the stall and give...
Make sure she respects your presence and not crowd or push you seeing you coming for your safety.
Now, if you are pulling your horse out when everyone else is feeding...that is a different situation and scenario you will be dealing with. :|

Enjoy your ride time and horse this cold winter season. 
:runninghorse2:...


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

JazzNFancy said:


> Anyways, I've always been told that it's not safe to feed and then ride. I'm not sure if there's truth to that or if it's just a thing that folks say, but... IS it a thing? How long should you wait to ride after feeding grain? And to the opposite, how long should you wait to feed after riding?


Yes, if you're feeding a big grain meal a horse will find that difficult to digest. But hopefully you are not feeding actual grain (corn, oats, barley) since those are not great for horses anyway, but instead are feeding a pellet which people call "grain," even though it is something like hay pellets, beet pulp, or other roughage. Horses digest these like hay, so there is no problem with feeding them before or after riding.

If you are feeding roughage, or even a small amount of grain as in a pound or so, it is actually much better to feed a horse before riding rather than have them exercise on an empty stomach. Horses are meant to eat and exercise constantly throughout the day. They actually do not have lining on the upper part of their stomach, which means if they exercise on an empty stomach, the acid can splash up and cause ulcers. The natural state of a horse is to have food in the stomach nearly all the time, and it is natural to exercise with food in the stomach. 
So many people such as myself make it a point to always feed some hay, pellets or grass before exercising a horse.

Endurance riders feed horses at every vet check along the ride, making sure they keep their digestive system working throughout the ride. This helps prevents metabolic issues and fuels the muscles for long distance. They also give horses water as often as they can, under vets advice, disproving another "old wives' tale" that you shouldn't give horses water before or after exercise .


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

A small alfalfa/Lucerne feed before riding has been proven to reduce the incidence of stomach ulcers. This is partly due to reducing acid sloshing, and partly due to the alkaline nature of alfalfa. 

I would wait to feed grain/a heavy feed until after riding, but letting a horse have a few mouthfuls of alfalfa while grooming/tacking up is a good thing ime.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

I always try to feed a bit of hay before riding. Put them in the stall with maybe 1/2 cup of pellets, and a flake of hay. They usually will have the hay about 1/4-1/2 gone by the time I get out my tack and brushes. (I take my time) then they stand calmly while I tack and groom. 

The reverse after our ride, untack, groom, put horse in stall to relax and finish hay, put tack away, then feed if the right time or turn out if still daytime. 


Happy horse, happy ride


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## JazzNFancy (Jan 23, 2020)

She gets Evolution Elite feed, 6 quarts per feeding plus Equiline Shine supplement @1/2 cup per feeding as a top dress. This is the ONLY feed I have found that she will eat consistently. She is an EXTREMELY picky mare, and an even harder keeper. She is a paint/thoroughbred cross and used to be very high anxiety/stress. Though that was due to her management before I took her on. (Kept in a 10x10 stall pretty much all day every day with really inconsistent feeding... some days no feed at all, some days a lot of feed. She spent her life weaving and stall walking and screaming in the boarding barn I used to board my other horse at). 

Since I've taken her on about 1.5 years ago, she has a huge pasture (12-15 acres) during the day with a small group (4 other horses generally), a 10x12 stall to come into at night to eat and sleep and relax. She has not weaved since the early days and doesn't stall walk unless she's in alone for some reason. Most people would still consider her high stress but she is night and day to when I bought her. She ad a reputation in our small town as the "Crazy Paint" and has hurt people due to her (justified) reactivity. She is a little light in the fore when she's worried, but she's a totally different animal now. She prefers the "show horse" life I suspect because that's how she's always been treated. When she first came home she stood at the pasture gate SCREAMING until all the people left and I have no idea if she stayed there longer. Now she is happy to get out and stays out until I call everyone in. Not so dramatic and reactive. I absolutely adore this lady now, where when I bought her my plan was just to upgrade her conditions and work under saddle long enough to resell to a good home. She's a keeper now. 

I can absolutely give her a small amount of her grain and hay before I saddle up, then ride and cool out properly before she goes back to bed for the night, then feed her remaining portion. Sounds like an easy plan to me!


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Well, “back in the really old days”, granddad made us wait the proverbial swimming hour 

He always fed early in the AM. By the time cousin and I had breakfast, the horses were good to go.

I have always had more or less subscribed to that theory. My horses have not had any grains for years but, if I wanted to ride, I would feed them first to let their digestive process work while I did other stuff


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

walkinthewalk said:


> Well, “back in the really old days”, granddad made us wait the proverbial swimming hour
> 
> He always fed early in the AM. By the time cousin and I had breakfast, the horses were good to go.
> 
> I have always had more or less subscribed to that theory. My horses have not had any grains for years but, if I wanted to ride, I would feed them first to let their digestive process work while I did other stuff


She feeds 6 quarts though, that is too much to ride after. The hour rule is a good one! I used to figure on two hours after a full meal. 

I would get up, feed horses and other farm critters, return to house and feed kiddos and husband. Then send off everyone to school and work. Have cup of coffee or two then change clothes and go ride. Turn out afterwards & clean stalls. By that time, ready to make lunch for husband after shower or swim. I rode a minimum of two hours per day. 

That was the life!


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

AnitaAnne said:


> She feeds 6 quarts though, that is too much to ride after. The hour rule is a good one! I used to figure on two hours after a full meal.
> 
> I would get up, feed horses and other farm critters, return to house and feed kiddos and husband. Then send off everyone to school and work. Have cup of coffee or two then change clothes and go ride. Turn out afterwards & clean stalls. By that time, ready to make lunch for husband after shower or swim. I rode a minimum of two hours per day.
> 
> That was the life!


I missed the six quarts of feed yeah, a hour or two after eating for sure

I wish I still had all your energy. I have gone from getting more done on accident in four hours than many could get done in a day, to being lucky I deep cleaned one stall, surface cleaned the other and made two stops in town yesterday to buy cat food and groceries, lollol


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

When I came home from work and intended to ride I would bring the horses in give a very small treat of grain, just a handful to encourage them to come and if it's winter and no pasture give a small slice of hay while I went up to the house to change.
By the time I got back they have usually finished the hay and then I would get ready to ride.

I don't expect a horse to go out on an empty stomach and work properly, just a small feeding sets the scene for a pleasanter ride for both of us.
Plus that;s about what I did for myself, just a small snack before working hard.
After cooling and untacking and depending on the time I would do some barn chores and when some time passed then their regular feeding or turn out to pasture.
I never had a problem with the horses following this routine.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

My horses are out on pasture 24/7. When I ride, I usually catch them all, and tie them all to the trailer. I feed a small amount (around 1/2 to 3/4 pound) of alfalfa pellets, and then put up their slow feed hay nets. I ride who I am going to ride that day, and when I am done, then they get their "grain" which (depending on the horse) is 1 eight oz cup of Purina Outlast, about 3/4 pounds of Purina Ultium with gastric support, and a scoop of their T.H.E. supplement. I don't feed all that much "grain" because they just don't really need it. I'll give Shotgun (my main competition horse) a little more than the rest, but still not that much. 



I like a little something in their tummy (which is why I choose the alfalfa pellets) before I ride, in case they had happened to be standing around and not eating when I caught them, to avoid stomachs that are totally empty. 



I myself do not like to work out on a completely empty tummy, so I figure my horses do not either. (Nor do I like to work out with a full tummy)


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I don't feed grain anymore, so I can ride whenever. Since I stopped feeding this 4 years ago, I have saved money, no more ulcers and much to my surprise, the horses are in better shape. Who knew?


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

6 quarts could be as much as 8+ pounds depending on the feed. Likely more if you fill the scoop. That is too much for one feeding whether before or after a ride. Better are more smaller feedings than one or two big feedings. If she has to have that amount then you want to look at adding calories some other way. 



As for riding - we do both ways but none get more than 3 pounds (most get less) of feed and all have free choice grass or hay up to and after a ride. They also are not fed immediately after when worked hard. They are cooled down first.


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## JazzNFancy (Jan 23, 2020)

> 6 quarts could be as much as 8+ pounds depending on the feed. Likely more if you fill the scoop. That is too much for one feeding whether before or after a ride. Better are more smaller feedings than one or two big feedings. If she has to have that amount then you want to look at adding calories some other way.
> 
> 
> 
> As for riding - we do both ways but none get more than 3 pounds (most get less) of feed and all have free choice grass or hay up to and after a ride. They also are not fed immediately after when worked hard. They are cooled down first.


She is currently fed AM and PM, and my work schedule just doesn't allow me to feed 3 meals right now unfortunately so she does need to eat that amount. Because she is so ridiculous about what she will eat, this is the only solution I've found. I have tried oil, I have tried pellets (she won't eat pellets, regardless of what it is.. for more than one or two feedings. She literally will just let it sit in her feeder. FOR WEEKS. I tried waiting her out once, it did not work. Ahhhhhh), I have tried some hemp supplements (body builder), I have tried everything I know of to try.. even sweet feed (I tried her regular "Atlantic Horse" feed in sweet feed version as well as "Mare and Foal" to see if I could get more calories into her that way). She will have none of it. I tried a supplement called "Athlete" that everybody here was RAVING about. She WOULD NOT TOUCH IT. OR her grain if there was so much as 1 kernel of it in the grain. I tried mixing it. Ironically the Elite feed DOES have a small amount of the Athlete in it apparently, and she will eat it that way... but if I try to add more... NOPE. I have been brought to tears by this horse on many occasions because she looks like HELL but she just will not eat. She doesn't look like hell now, I've found keeping her in work keeps her hungry which means she wll at least eat the amount of feed that keeps her in DECENT shape and she then develops muscle which helps with her awful topline. I have never owned a horse like this lol. It's AWFUL!


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

I understand that but the recommended maximum pounds per feeding is 4 -5 lbs based on research. Going above that increases the chance of colic, increases the chance for ulcers and depending on the feed has the potential to dump too much sugar at one time into their system. That would be why I made the above comment. Picky eaters are no fun. I've found that anise for some horses makes the feed more palatable. I've had the most success with Calf Manna added to get a horse to eat that was picky. It has anise as the flavoring. Don't know if that is available in your area.


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## JazzNFancy (Jan 23, 2020)

QtrBel said:


> I understand that but the recommended maximum pounds per feeding is 4 -5 lbs based on research. Going above that increases the chance of colic, increases the chance for ulcers and depending on the feed has the potential to dump too much sugar at one time into their system. That would be why I made the above comment. Picky eaters are no fun. I've found that anise for some horses makes the feed more palatable. I've had the most success with Calf Manna added to get a horse to eat that was picky. It has anise as the flavoring. Don't know if that is available in your area.


I will definitely look into that! I know calf mana was hard to find when I was breeding rabbits, that was great for a supplement for nursing does. I had found something that was available here that was very very similar to calf mana that worked for the doe rabbits. I would be more than happy to give it a shot for my girl! Thank you for the tip!


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

I looked up feed op is feeding it has no grain in it. It's forage based so shouldn't be an issue to feed then ride.

I feed ice 5 lbs of Timothy /alfalfa mixed then ride 10 minutes after. No ill effects. Even when I fed grain I'd ride within 10 to 15 minutes after horse ate he was fine. 

First part of ride is walking so maybe another 15 minutes goes by. If you take it easy horse will be fine. Heck they walk around in field after eating.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Horses are 'trickle feeders', built to have very small amounts of 'low grade'(compared to modern rich 'improved' pasture & grains) food going through their system near constantly. A horse's stomach also produces stomach acid constantly, so they don't do well on an empty stomach either.

Their stomach is quite small & empties quickly(about 15mins). They are not built to cope well with large or rich 'meals'. When the stomach becomes more than about 3/4 full, it will empty, regardless of whether the food's been there long, stewing in enzymes. Starch/sugar is only able to be broken down in the stomach enzymes and is not digested well in the 'hind gut', which is for fermenting/digesting fibre. When undigested starch hits the hind gut, problems, such as acidosis & ulcers occur.

So... when people talk of not feeding horses before exercise, the real deal is, it's not good to feed large, rich meals at any time, but that hard exercise may exacerbate the issues, as does exercise on an empty stomach.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

My horse's feed doesn't contain any grain anymore, she's on pasture 24/7 (w/ unlimited access to hay) as well. I always feed after I ride, not before. No issues. Her stomach isn't necessarily empty when I ride (since she eats hay).


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

ACinATX said:


> My understanding is that you shouldn't give a big meal of grain on an empty stomach and then ride. Because grain is hard for them to digest, especially if they are working hard. If your horse has been in a pasture with grass (doesn't sound likely right now in Canada LOL) or has had access to free choice hay and still has some hay left when you get there, and you don't feed her a big meal, then you should be fine. If it's just hay you are giving her, you shouldn't have to worry about it. I've actually read that feeding a small meal of hay before riding is actually helpful for the horse.
> 
> If it's feed you want to give her rather than hay, can you wait to feed her until after you ride?



This is why when we camp, the horses get free choice hay for breakfast, lunch and dinner (during the winter, less during the summer), and feed after, and only after, we get back from our last ride out... usually about the same time Human Dinner is ready, so about an hour after we get back and we're done for the day.


Everyone's tummies seem happy and the horses are fine with this arrangement.


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

It's forage based no grain in it, can feed and ride after horse eats. I feed forage pellets and cubes before riding. Ride within 10 minutes of horse being fed 5 lbs. 

Makes for a happy horse who likes coming in,to go for a ride. My horses know coming in means going riding. They also know they get fed before and after ride. They have free feed hay so not hungry. 

Never have trouble catching our horses they see a halter, and come running to gate. 

No need to wait an hour or two before riding it's forage. Nothing wrong with feeding a big meal of forage pellets before riding. 

Split it up into two feedings 4 lbs before ride 4 lbs after ride.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Just read a few of te replies. @jazz if your horse is that fussy I'd say it's highly likely she has gut issues. Stomach ulcers may mean it hurts when food hits her stomach... have you been treating for ulcers or anything?


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

rambo99 said:


> Nothing wrong with feeding a big meal of forage pellets before riding.
> 
> Split it up into two feedings 4 lbs before ride 4 lbs after ride.


Not meaning to pick on u Rambo just that I'm reading last few replies... 

Yes, there can well be probs with feeding large meals, even if not rich. However, 4lbs per feed should be ok. But it is worth considering, is that dry weight or water added? Don't forget that pellets are dehydrated & will swell...


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

It's dry weight that's cubes and pellets mixed. Fed dry horse won't touch soaked feed. 2 lbs of pellets 2 lbs cubes. 

I always feed by weight if I soak it's always weighed dry, then soaked. I soak cubes /pellets for cinder. He choked bad here 2 weeks ago.

Op could split up amount into two feedings. If horse will eat soaked feed then soak it. If horse is picky I doubt he'll eat soaked feed...my picky eater won't touch soaked feed. 
@loosie ,never even crossed my mind you were picking on me.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

^No? Good. I never do pick on anyone, but I like to be clear, as sometimes we're taken in ways...


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