Feeding a fat pony

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katymay

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I have a little 10.3hh Dartmoor that arrived with us a couple of weeks ago, he is extremely overweight, we are giving him as much excersise as we can which isnt easy due to the dark nights.
currently he is turned out on about half an acre with a little shetland that suffers from lami if over grassed, the shetlands weight is spot on and the lack of grass is really suiting him, basically the paddock is bare, there is some short grass but they have to move around a lot to find the bits they want to eat, I usually turn them out about 7.30 and put a flap of hay out between them, they come in around 4.00, fat one has a double netted net of soaked hay, around a flap and a bit, with also a small feed of fast fibre and a hand full of dengie hi fi.
shetland has a flap of hay and again and small feed of fast fibre and a hand full of dengie hi fi so I can get his supplements into him.
they both think they are starving and start kicking the stable doors when they see me! am I overfeeding the fat one? is there anything totally fat free that I can give to the fat one in bulk to replace some of the bulk of hay? otherwise I am going to run out after christmas and I dont want to keep filling his net as he is probably eating for the sake of it!
ive heard of honey oat straw but there are no stockists local to us, is the dengi hi fi similar stuff? cant feed normal straw as the shetlands droppings are quite firm as it is
thanks in advance, a chocolate baileys cheesecake is on offer
 
I can't see the need for either fast fibre or Hi-fi, both will be eaten quite quickly in comparison to long fibre. I feed oat straw chaff to my overweight mare but it is Honeychop as we are not too far away from the producers. Could you feed oatstraw to just the overweight one? Do they have to come in overnight, or could they live out more? They would use more calories keeping warm outside and moving around.
 
All the above, but it sounds like you are on the right track...
Soaked hay and bare-grass preferable to anything else - a teeny hand full of hi-fi (is it Hi Fi Lite?) if you need to get supplements in, but don't be lulled into feeling you 'must' feed something in a bucket!
Also, has the dartmoor got a rug on? If so, take it off - lots of calories can be utilised in keeping warm, and with a thick native coat plus extensive fat cover, a rug really won't be needed.
Good on you for actively trying to get the weight off!

Oh, and keep the baileys cheesecake away from the porky pony lol!
 
I would avoid balancers-get something like a plain straw chop (Honeychop do one thats low in sugar and protein) if you have to feed, otherwise stick to soaked hay (if you can in Arctic weather).
they are native ponies, they are efficient in extracting what they need from practically nothing. once he's lost some weight start adding in some unmollassed sugar beet (rinsed).my exmoors get this plus a salt/mineral lick in their box.

no rugs and keep them out as much as possible. feeding oat/barley straw is ok but bear in mind that it can contain alot of calories-feeding a chop means the analysis is done. also, feeding straw in freezing conditions isn't advisable IMHO. I have Exmoors, one retired ond one too young to work, I feel your pain!

and yes, harden your heart!
 
Thank you for all the replies, he came to me with various rugs but I havent put him in any of them, his coat is so thick he just doesnt need it,
he doesnt really need to come in at night, I only started this when the weather was dire and we had all that rain, think the only reason he goes in now is to give him a break from all the mud!
if he is left out he hangs around the shetlands stable door and has worked out how to let him out!
I like the idea of the honey chop, do you know if anywhere stocks it on line? otherwise its quite a trip to get some, just thinking of ways to eak the hay out a little as its good quality, even triple netting doesnt slow him down he just bites through and wrecks the haynet!
he has started to eat the branches off the beech hedge as he thinks he is so hungry!
I will harden my heart, he needs to be on the skinny side for when the grass comes through and the muzzle will have to come out!
 
You could contact Honeychop for a list of their stockists, to find one local to you. They were at YHL so are obviously trying to widen their area. You could also ask a local feed-merchant if they will get it specially for you.
 
I'd cut out the hard feed unless you need to give him supplements and give a bit less hay but mixed with straw so he's getting more roughage with less cals :)
 
My feed merchant gets honeychop the plain one for me I need to give them a fortnights warning but order the next four bags two weeks after they deliver the last ones it works well it great stuff for fatties.
 
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