Hi, can anyone tell me if it will be safe to free feed a mix of good quality grass hay with a mature oat hay once a day to my mature, pony-type, easy keeper kept in a barren pasture? I am currently unable to get out to moniter him except during my lunch time. He is boarded at a remote location where the owner will be gone for a several weeks. he seems happy with just the cows in the next field for company, and has access to good water. Currently I am leaving him about four flakes of mature oat hay (no grain heads to speak of) and two flakes of grass hay. He seems to eat the grass hay and then I think that he picks through the oat hay for the rest of the time. There is always oat hay scattered about, with some traces of grass hay when I get out to feed. So far he appears content and hasn't shown any signs of colic or impaction. I would appreciate any thoughts on this subject. Thanks

I had numerous friends in Texas that use to turn there horses out in large pastures in the winter and only check on them every couple of days. They would put out a large round bale of hay and the horses had ponds to drink out of and every few days they would check on them. I did have a few that would check once a day because they did not have access to round bales they would throw out enough hay for the day. The good thing about grass hay and even the oat hay is that it can easily be fed free choice with out any problems. Our use to eat a mix all the time. I would just make sure it is oat hay and not oat straw that you are feeding. If it is oat straw, I would rather leave out extra grass hay than the straw. The straw is more for bedding than feeding. Hope this helps, good luck.