feeding a very good-doer

[princestar]

Hi

My 6 year old new forest gelding is looking too tubby for my liking... hes in very light work, hacking a few days per week, no schooling at the moment. He has a small scoop of hifi good doer as he has supplements (probably about 2 small handfuls), a treat ball (with chopped carrot or apple - not sweet treats) and he has hay split between the manger and a net to slow him down. turned out for approx 8-11 hours per day, every day - field doesnt have much grass at the moment.

Im going to start schooling a couple of days a week but do i just need to cut out everything but the hay at night... possibly lunge once a week when i dont ride so hes doing 4-5 hours a week work?

Also, going to sound silly but how do i work out how much to feed him by using his weight and how do i work out his 'fat score'.

No hating, he isnt fat, just a bit tubby and i dont want him getting any chubbier haha.

Ive got pics but not sure how to get them on here.
Thank You x

 

[Lotty]

I have a good doer and she is laminitic prone, luckily she is a perfect weight at the moment Her hay is weighed & soaked for 12 hours and she wears a muzzle when turned out, so she's not getting vit & mins, therefore I give her hard feed every night. For the past 3 years I've fed fast fibre with a scoop of Happy Hoof and she looks really good.

I do exercise her everyday, sometimes twice a day.

 

[WelshD]

I'd maybe ditch the carrots and apples. I can't remember how much sugar they have in them but do remember that I was very shocked

 

[Mince Pie]

Give pony soaked hay - if you can soak for 24 hours (change water after 12) then you can keep him on the amount he's on as most of the sugar will now be gone. For supps just give enough soaked Fast Fibre to hide supps in - mine gets 1 scoop of soaked grass nuts split into 2 feeds which equates to 1 scoop dry weight per week. Agree with ditching the apples and carrots - if you must give a treat ball then use fibre nuts instead.

 

[princestar]

Thank you, wow im very surprised about the apples and carrots!!! Might cut it down to a couple of days a week ragher than every night, then go from there to reduce more... possibly feed less apples/carrots but mix a bit of chaff from his meal to slow him down without giving more to take him longer.Im sure we got ssome big buckets to do hay in as well. Is it then longer the better when soaking?

Ive heard a lot about fast fibre - im going to do some research and pop to the feed barn tomorrow for some more info (unless you lot could enlighten me ;P)

Thanks everyone

 

[mandwhy]

I would use high fibre cubes in the treat ball, my horses like them and apples are 10% sugar, carrots 7% which is really quite a lot. 12 hours soaking is best.

 

[Tnavas]

DON'T FEED IT ANY EXTRA FOOD! He doesn't need it - his body condition is telling you that clearly.

Does he actually need the supplements - most horses get sufficient from their grazing. If the supplements are just basic minerals change to a mineral block that you can leave in the paddock.

 

[Queenbee]

DON'T FEED IT ANY EXTRA FOOD! He doesn't need it - his body condition is telling you that clearly.

Does he actually need the supplements - most horses get sufficient from their grazing. If the supplements are just basic minerals change to a mineral block that you can leave in the paddock.

Summer grass is rarely deficient in anything. Feed hay, grass, if anything get a vitamin and mineral block... Not a molasses based one... Stop feeding apples and carrots... These are high in sugar and you are only feeding them to make yourself feel good, ned could care less. Hay grass, supplement block... That's it, and if he needs to lose more, invest in a grazing muzzle.

 

[Hen]

Agree with the above posters recommending removing all extras except minerals; not convinced mineral feeding by block is as effective as feeding minerals directly as blocks can be unpalatable but I do remember reading somewhere that an average apple contains 25g of sugar. Well worth ditching along with high sugar carrots. Pony will forgive you after a couple of days for not supplying the sugar fix, mine did and seems to be enjoying life more

 

[PucciNPoni]

I've also got a very good doer. He is on very limited turn out and grazing at the moment doesn't look like much, but he seems to be getting plenty!

However, I managed to get some 80 kg off him over the past few years and to keep him reasonably slim (difficult as he seems to thrive on fresh air). He also has some food issues and if kept stabled he will weave and fret if he's not got something in his net. The obvious solution would be to keep him out but we're not allowed to at the moment and honestly, he balloons too much on the grass, even when it's minimal.

So, my solution which to some folks seems "radical" but it has been an absolute winner for us - is to feed hay and straw mixed. I feed at a ration of 50/50. He gets it in small holed nets doubled to slow him down. The straw is always a good palatable quality, and being mixed in with hay keeps him from choking/colicking.

I would rather he have something in front of him at all times to keep him from forming ulcers and to keep him happy. He is pretty content to much on hay/straw mixed.

He does get a small bucket feed of low sugar/high fiber feed with his supplements, which are tailored to his needs depending on how hard he's working (at the moment, not very). Yes, cut down the sugary apples and carrots.

Feeding soaked hay is also (as mentioned) a good way to get fiber in without the nutrition. I just find that it's a bit of a faff - heavy and hard work compared to feeding hay / straw mixed. You also need to soak it for about 12 hours to get enough of the sugar out of it. Also, with soaking hay, the brown water coming off the hay is effluent which some yards aren't keen for you to dump - particularly near waterways.

 

[putasocinit]

The water from soaked hay would be effluent after 2 hrs, i wouldnt soak it for any longer because your hay would just be sitting in the sugary effluent water, 2 hrs should be enough to get whatever sugar there is out and then spray it with a hose pipe whilst it is hanging up to get that effluent water off it. If you must give a treat i give some fiber nuts instead of carrots, a few in your hand puts a smile on the dial.