Feeding Advice (again...sorry!)

[Bertolie]

Hi. I need some advice on what (or not!) to feed my good doer cob.

To give you some background, my other horse had an accident 4 weeks ago and as a consequence is now on indefinite box rest whilst his injuries heal. He gets very stressed in a stable and the only way to keep him calm is to keep my cob in with him. We are able to 'borrow' a pony at the yard so that the cob gets some turnout (6-7 hours every other day) and on the days we cant borrow said pony, both horses are turned out into a 'hospital' paddock for about an hour. I have not been able to ride the cob since the accident as I can only ride at weekends and that is when the pony's owner tends to ride.

My cob was weighed about 5 weeks ago and needed to lose about 30kgs but since being on 'companionship' box rest, I have noticed that he is putting weight on Its not his belly (I can feel ribs easily) but mainly his neck and crest.

He is currently fed one cup of Baileys Lo-cal balancer with two small handfuls of Dengie Hi-fi Good-doer, this is split into two meals. He gets one small-holed haynet of hay (about 6kgs) at night and one during the day, which from this evening will be soaked for at least 12 hours. Does this seem too much?

Also, he's unclipped at moment - does he really need a stable rug on whilst in at night? I feel really mean about leaving him naked in the stable overnight

Any tips or advice would be very welcome!

Sorry for the long post - choccie biccies for anyone that has gotten this far!

 

[LaurenBay]

Deffiently soak the hay. Maybe double net too so takes him longer to eat. Maybe try mixing in straw with the hay too.

What time does the pony owner get up to ride? Could you not get up earlier/later and excercise your cob whilst Pony is in?

 

[Bertolie]

What time does the pony owner get up to ride? Could you not get up earlier/later and excercise your cob whilst Pony is in?

Unfortunately my boy will not hack out on his own! Trying to find a time when the pony's owner is not riding but when there is also someone else about to ride out with is proving difficult! I also cant lunge him myself as I suffer from an inner ear disorder and cant do 'round and round' so have to rely on my daughter being around when said pony is in to lunge my cob for me

 

[Tammytoo]

Leave his rug off - he will use up some of his excess energy (fat) keeping warm.

I don't know how much he weighs, but if you know what his ideal weight should be, then he should be fed NO MORE than 2% of his ideal weight (not his current weight). This includes any hard feed he may get.

I think the amount of hay you are feeding is far too much, our 14.2 pony only gets half this amount of hay. The fact that he is putting on weight bears this out. I would also worry that he is getting cresty as this can be a sign of impending laminitis.

I would halve the amount of hay he is getting (and soaking is good) and pop in a couple of flaps of clean oat straw instead. The straw has little feed value, but will keep his digestion going and stop him getting bored.

Good luck!

 

[LaurenBay]

Unfortunately my boy will not hack out on his own! Trying to find a time when the pony's owner is not riding but when there is also someone else about to ride out with is proving difficult! I also cant lunge him myself as I suffer from an inner ear disorder and cant do 'round and round' so have to rely on my daughter being around when said pony is in to lunge my cob for me

How about long reining instead?

 

[dumpling]

I would agree the amount of hay seems too much. My chap(14hh welsh c x coloured cob) is on 6kgs at night but that is haylage. 6kg of hay I think is roughly 4 sections? I would even make it 3 and soak it and double net it and if he's still a bit tubby reduce it again.