Feeding hunting ponies!

PoniesRock

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Those of you who hunt on ponies what do you feed them?? I spend the rest of the year resticting her grazing and letting her live off of hay! And through the summer she seems to get enough out of the limited grass and good hay to compete and do fun rides all summer.

But this year the grass has gone already,and I'm normally more generous with the grass now, and she's missing a bit of a spark which she still had this time last winter.

She's currently on good doer chaff, high fibre cubes and cool mix. And I would say ideal condition wise, just needs a bit more oomphh!

So just wondering what your hunting ponies are being fed???...
 

TGM

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My pony hunts on grass, haylage and a few high fibres cubes and never lacks oomph out hunting!

Are you feeding any hay or haylage to make up for the lack of grass?

Are you sure the lack of spark is feed related rather than a physical problem?
 

meesha

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mine have had hay adlib for last 2 weeks as well as grazing and one cup topspec lite. - no hard feed - come December he will be on adlib haylage rather than hay.
 

PoniesRock

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Umm, she has had quite a hard summer too. And she worked hard all summer off of the grazing and hay, I'd just put it down to lack of grass now that the colder weathers here.

Maybe I should get some bloods done to check its not a virus.
 

PoniesRock

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Amymay - she's hunting on average once a week.

We are really struggling with grazing at the yard this year tho - more so than we have before at this time of year.
 

TGM

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Umm, she has had quite a hard summer too. And she worked hard all summer off of the grazing and hay, I'd just put it down to lack of grass now that the colder weathers here.

Maybe I should get some bloods done to check its not a virus.

If she has always had plenty of 'oomph' before when working quite hard on minimal feed and has suddenly changed then I would suspect something physical is going on. Not necessarily a virus, could be a sub-clinical lameness (beginnings of spavins etc).

But worth tinkering with her feed first just to rule it out. If you think the lack of grass might be the reason then try adding some soaked grass pellets or grass chaff (Readigrass, Graze-On, Just Grass etc) or swap the hay to haylage.
 

CrazyMare

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Mine has a huge amount compared to yours, so shes probably not a good example. We have no problem with Oooomph! She is a Duracell bunny sort, she doesn't hold weight well now shes 20 though.

She has 1 to 1 1/2 scoops of Alfa A, 1 scoop of Speedibeet, 400g TopSpec Comprehensive, and two cups of TopSpec Performance cubes in her ball. She has that lot to pick at overnight with adlib hay (she doesn't eat much of that, never has done). She won't eat breakfast in the mornings, she just wants to go out for her wee.
 
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