Feeding for energy without adding weight

[Thriller]

I have three minis so do not need any weight on them at all, weight off would be nice!

I just find atm they are a bit dull. My driving mini takes a bit of encouragement to trot on and my show two lack a bit of "sparkle" and just seem like they can't be bothered.

Could maybe be the time of year, getting warm and they have not much in the grass (hay is adlib from 4pm-going out in slow feeder nets)

Currently they're fed a handful of dengie lite chaff and a handful of red mills cooked mix. It's more a token feed to get them in at night.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

The best thing you can do is to get the extra weight off. Any feed will put weight on, especially if the pony is already on the tubby side. As they lose weight, they will have more energy. I would knock out the mix entirely and make sure that their chaff is extremely low chaff.

 

[Thriller]

One is perfect weight and can verge on skinny if not fed (American mini) the other is just getting to a good weight and my driver is the tubbiest but still not obese if you know what I mean. Maybe fitness would up their energy? They've hada very lazy winter. I've tried them without the mix before and they all got even duller and coats were getting rough. I'm not really willing to cut out feed all together.

 

[JillA]

Carbs for energy, oil for low energy calories and coats - maybe try a little micronized oats or barley, with a small amount of micronized linseed, - but it does need converting into fitness if the starches are not going to have an adverse effect on digestion or feet. Straights might be best - sometimes there are unwanted elements in a mix. It sounds as though they aren't getting much in the way of carbs - how good is their fodder?

 

[Shay]

At this time of year sometimes my good do-er cob lacks sparkle. He seems to come back with Propell for a few days. I don't understand the science of it - but I do know it works for him. He puts on weight on thin air so adding anything, even low calorie, would not be an option for him. He is hunt fit and perfect condition. Although he wouldn't stay that way if I gave him oil, linseed etc!

 

[TGM]

You might be better cutting out the mix and replacing it with a balancer or a vit/min supplement. If you are only giving a token amount of mix you won't be feeding enough of it to supply the full RDA of vit/mins. At the end of the day, energy IS calories, so if you add extra energy into the diet, there is always the risk that the animals will lay it down as fat instead of being livelier. However, foods that contain quick release carbohydrates (sugar/starch) can make some animals more 'fizzy' but have no effect on others who will just put on weight instead. With minis, I would be particularly cautious of feeding much in the way of sugar/starch containing feeds due to the risk of laminitis. Providing a vit/min supplement or balancer, will ensure that they are getting the full range of micronutrients, which should hopefully make them feel better in themselves and coats etc look better too.

 

[Thriller]

Carbs for energy, oil for low energy calories and coats - maybe try a little micronized oats or barley, with a small amount of micronized linseed, - but it does need converting into fitness if the starches are not going to have an adverse effect on digestion or feet. Straights might be best - sometimes there are unwanted elements in a mix. It sounds as though they aren't getting much in the way of carbs - how good is their fodder?

Hay is extremely good quality. My bag of mix is nearly done so I was actually thinking about straights. How much would a 7hh-8hh need?

I'm going to buy a bag of balancer as well.