Am i feeding him enough?

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rose bud

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Hi,
I'm just after some advice again please...
I have an exmoor pony who is a very good doer and is a little on the fat side.
He lives out and is in light work (ridden 3 - 4 times a week)
I haven't had him long and when i bought him the owner said not to feed him as he would balloon!
I am currently just giving him 1 section of hay at night. Is this enough? I'm just wondering as the first frosts are here and he has very little grass.
My yo said she doesnt think he needs anything yet but im just after peoples opinions.
Thanks
 
If he's maintaining weight and is out at grass 24/7 then he's getting enough feed in terms of volume and energy - if he's stabled then soaked hay is good as you can feed him more (double netted probably) to keep his gut busy all night. Otherwise I would definitely add a "lite" balancer like Baileys LoCal of Top Spec AntiLam.
 
I also have an exmoor pony. She is also prone to weight gain! A few years ago, her routine was similar to your - she was stabled overnight, and turned out on a fenced of bit of my paddock, which my other horses has grazed down. She was ridden 3 - 5 times a week. She had one section of hay overnight in the summer, and a small feed - Happy hoof, half a scoop. In the winter, she was clipped and rugged as her coat gets sooo thick it was not practical for her to be ridden without clipping. Her feed pretty much stayed the same, but I would increase the hay to two sections. I fed it in a small holed haylage net.

She doesn;t do much these days and lives out. She gets a handful of chaff and has access to a mineral lick.

Sounds like your pony is getting enough to eat to me! I wouldn;t worry too much about him being a bit fat going into winter. My mare is a little tubby now, but she will lose some of that from living out over winter when the grass isn;t growing.
 
Brandy said:
I also have an exmoor pony. She is also prone to weight gain! A few years ago, her routine was similar to your - she was stabled overnight, and turned out on a fenced of bit of my paddock, which my other horses has grazed down. She was ridden 3 - 5 times a week. She had one section of hay overnight in the summer, and a small feed - Happy hoof, half a scoop. In the winter, she was clipped and rugged as her coat gets sooo thick it was not practical for her to be ridden without clipping. Her feed pretty much stayed the same, but I would increase the hay to two sections. I fed it in a small holed haylage net.

She doesn;t do much these days and lives out. She gets a handful of chaff and has access to a mineral lick.

Sounds like your pony is getting enough to eat to me! I wouldn;t worry too much about him being a bit fat going into winter. My mare is a little tubby now, but she will lose some of that from living out over winter when the grass isn;t growing.
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Hi,
Thankyou for your reply - its good to know that i'm not starving him, especially from another exmoor owner!
My last horse was a tb x so its all a bit different!
You are so right about the clipping aswell, its getting very difficult to ride with his big thick coat already! :)
 
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