Feeding advice for pony please

Boxers

Boxers

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My daughter's pony is about 14.1, 6yrs old, and medium weight. We got him in July and were told that he is a good doer.

At the moment his paddock is pretty low on grass and so he is having some hay (small bale one 'fold' from it each day) and also 2 double handfuls of Spillers Happy Hoof.

He's ridden 4 times a week - usually 20 mins schooling then 40min-1hr hack, also 2 15min lunging sessions each week.

He will be coming in soon and his turnout will be almost nil.

So what should I feed him?

Is the Happy Hoof enough on it's own with hay or should I add some mix or cubes of some sort. Obviously once he's in his hay ration will increase from what he's getting now.
 
When he comes in for the winter, I would start off by feeding just hay and the Happy Hoof. If you are worried about him getting all his vits and mins then you can feed a broad spectrum vit/min supplement with the Happy Hoof. (Although Happy Hoof is supplemented, it has to be fed at a much higher rate to supply the RDA of vits and mins).

If he maintains his weight well and has enough energy on that diet then you can leave it like that. If he drops weight make sure he is getting adlib hay and then add some mix or cubes. What type of cubes/mix you choose depends whether he gets fizzy or not - if he fizzes up then something like High Fibre Cubes might be a good idea.

As he will get little turnout it is important that he has plenty of hay to keep him occupied but as a good doer he might tend to porkiness on adlib hay. You can counter this by using a small hole haynet to make him eat more slowly and you can also consider soaking the hay to remove some of the carbs if you really find it a problem to keep his weight down.
 
our pony has dengie alfa a oil + vit and min supplement twice a day and a big haynet at night during the winter, we dont feed as much as dengie say and he kept his weight and condition on despite doing lots of pony club at weekends and being ridden every night ,poor thing!!!
smile.gif
 
thanks for your reply. High Fibre cubes or mix were what I was thinking but I will see how he goes. Once he's in and the nights are dark he will be ridden on weekdays for about 40 mins in a floodlit arena and then hacked at the weekend.
 
Have you considered feeding your pony a feed balancer? They are designed to be fed at very low quantities whilst still providing the correct ration of vitamins, minerals and protein, but with minimal energy and starch, so are excellant for good doers and fizzy types. I fed my good doer mare on Bailey's Lo Cal Balancer mixed in with a double handful of Hi Fi Lite. I soaked her hay for 12 hours to reduce the energy content further. She looked in perfect condition throughout winter, and placing her hay in a small holed haynet kept her occupied for longer during stabled periods. Hope this helps alongside the other helpful posts.
 
[ QUOTE ]
thanks for your reply. High Fibre cubes or mix were what I was thinking but I will see how he goes. Once he's in and the nights are dark he will be ridden on weekdays for about 40 mins in a floodlit arena and then hacked at the weekend.

[/ QUOTE ]

He is going to be in most of the time and just ridden for 40 mins?
crazy.gif
 
Unfortunately we have very limited winter turnout. He will go out in a paddock for about 2 hours a day, and ridden for about 40mins.

It's not always easy when you are on livery to manage your horse in the way you would really wish to.

If I had a choice he would be out 24/7 but that's not an option here.
 
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