Am i doing this right??

[Cazza525]

After years of keeping horses, i feel i need to have some feedback on how i manage my ponios!!
I currently have 2 ponies, one purebred welsh b and a welsh X 25 yr old companion.
They are out still being strip grazed as i have too much grass and have a field shelter. 4 or 5 days a week they come in for at least 4 hours. The purebred gets lunged, long reined or ridden by a little girl rider i know. The old girl is retired so does little apart from the odd lead out like a dog!
I leave them with half a section of hay whilst in so about 2 lbs, and i have started (yesterday) giving them a small feed each (small handful of good doer and about 10 pony nuts each!!). To this i add garlic, a splash of codliver oil and biotin cos the old girl gets cracked hooves.
They both look well and are still unrugged and will be for as long as possible this year as i think i have rugged too early in the past.
What do you all think, would you all do about the same??

 

[Annagain]

Sounds great to me, the oldie might need a rug sooner than the little one but you'll know when that is. My IDx is off work at the moment with foot problems and is living on half a scoop of Dengie Healthy Hooves and apples. He's out on good grass 24/7 and is unrugged. This time last year he was working fairly hard, clipped, rugged, in overnight and fed on calm and condition. He looks much better now than he did then! Every horse's circumstances are unique and they all need different things at different times, but you're best placed to judge that.

 

[Gentle_Warrior]

sounds the same as I do with mine. like you hoping to not clip this year and leave rugless until it freezes. He is already VERY wooly

 

[Magicmillbrook]

Same as us. My companions are both v wooly and wont have rugs on at all, mind you they are 10 and 19 and on the tubby side. Mine have a token feed of chaff and unmollassed sugar beet with a GP feedbalancer all year round, it just gets a little bit bigger as the days get colder. They will start on hay/haylage once the grass gets eaten down hard. The two ridden horses are not rugged until Nov, then its only for our convenience. Our big girl will probably be clipped cos shes a fatty and sweats for England. My old girl is fairly fit and doesnt work too hard over winter so will manage un clipped.

Mine only come in for the odd night if we have a period of very cold/wet/windy weather. Last year it was about 2 or 3 nights. I think horses do much better out than people give them credit for, plus its cheaper and easier (if you have the land). We had a loan TB returned to us last Dec in poor mental and physical condition. Living out with simple ad lib forage did her the world of good.