Feeding a 13.1hh New Forest 19 year old mare....

[FestiveSpirit]

she is out during the day and stabled at night - how much hay would you give her per night? She is my niece's pony on loan and my sister has asked me, but I havent got a clue as I feed by eye? She says a standard bale of hay is lasting around a week at the moment

 

[PennyJ]

I can tell you what I feed my 13.1 NF 9 year old mare, which is a starter I guess until someone with a more comparable pony comes forward. My one is a good doer, in at night, out during the day. She gets 4 kg hay at night (non edible bedding by the way) and her feed is 1/2 scoop alfa a 1/4 fibre beet plus a cup of baileys lo cal balancer (stubbs round scoops). If anything she's a bit chubby. She's also in foal. She's not really ridden at the moment (an hour once a week) following on from tendon injuries in March and now being in foal. However, the gelding she lives with is 14.1 and gets exactly the same rations and is in full work (apart from the snow/ice limitations of the last week). Really I ought to cut back her feed, which has never been reduced from when she was in full work up till 9 months ago, but I can't quite face being so mean to her when there's not much of it anyway and its so cold...

She's a sturdy little thing by the way, built like a tank, takes 5'6/5'9 rugs...

 

[haras]

If its as good doer as my old NF pony, who was a similar age, I fed 2 sections of a small bale double netted in haylage nets to slow her down. She'd have eaten a whole bale if I'd have let her! They don't need much!

 

[FestiveSpirit]

Thanks for the replies I've never had a pony that small, in comparison my 15.2hh TB is such a poor doer he goes through 1/2 a bale a day when it is cold

Sounds like she is getting enough, she certainly looked in good condition when I changed her rugs tonight (the pony that is, not my niece/sister )

 

[CrazyMare]

I have two 13.2s...One eats a whole section of a Heston type bale at night, the other gets through abotu half a slice of a Heston at night. Unfortunatly the fatty has the better appitite and gobbles her way through more!

In this weather, I wouldn't be restricting fibre intake at all, they need it all to keep warm.

 

[Dubsie]

Our 14h NF isn't in at night as such, but is in a pretty bare paddock overnight, out in the big paddock for the day which has more grass. He has about 2-3 slices of hay a night, would let him adlib but he'd just eat and eat and eat, he's quite podgy at the mo due to lack of work with this weather