Highland pony

[Sb0137]

Hi all! Looking for feeding advice for a healthy, not overweight highland pony. Out in the field ( very sparse grazing) daily from 8am to 4pm, she gets some light balancer and chaff for breakfast and dinner, plus 6kg (as advised by the vet) of steamed hay for overnight. Seems to go through the hay by 8pm despite using small hole net; have tried double netting and hay ball but same story. Worried that by giving more hay she'll put weight on, and equally, not wanting her to be without hay for the best part of the night. Thanks

 

[Exasperated]

Hi all! Looking for feeding advice for a healthy, not overweight highland pony. Out in the field ( very sparse grazing) daily from 8am to 4pm, she gets some light balancer and chaff for breakfast and dinner, plus 6kg (as advised by the vet) of steamed hay for overnight. Seems to go through the hay by 8pm despite using small hole net; have tried double netting and hay ball but same story. Worried that by giving more hay she'll put weight on, and equally, not wanting her to be without hay for the best part of the night. Thanks

Sounds a nice pony!
Twelve hours is rather a long time to be without any forage, could even encourage stereotypies or digestive issues. I’d give her a good bit extra hay (particularly since her grazing’s sparse), maybe add in some oat straw for bulk, and enjoy riding her more to counter possible weight gain.
Ad lib forage deters them from gorging, or getting stressed about having nothing, and you may find she starts to take her time a bit more when she realises it’s always there.

 

[Peglo]

I put a bucket of honeychop oat straw in my ponies stable. She picks at it when she needs it but generally she doesn't touch it but it gives peace of mind she has something.

 

[pistolpete]

Can you get some barley straw and mix it in with the hay or hang a net of 2kgs from a rafter so it’s harder to eat quickly? If she’s in work and sound. Trot and canter work is very useful. Also is she with other horses so she is moving in the field? Soaking hay reduces the calories steaming does not.

 

[gallopingby]

Oat straw or similar is a good idea. If they’re hungry they will eat it but mostly won’t bother. They do tend to regulate hay intake after a while. A round bale disappears very quickly for the first few times and then regulates a bit. Natives are used , or should be, to having to forage in winter unlike TBs who are made dry differently.

 

[Maddie Moo]

Have you tried splitting the hay into multiple nets and hanging / suspending them around different parts of the stable?

Also agree with the others about the oat straw.

 

[Sb0137]

Have you tried splitting the hay into multiple nets and hanging / suspending them around different parts of the stable?

Also agree with the others about the oat straw.

Thanks all! We have tried, alas unsuccessfully, the multiple net trick. The last few days we've been trying giving her a small bucket of soaked oat straw which she totally dislikes but will eventually eat when every single hay blade has been eaten. You'd think the floor has been vacuumed...

 

[Sb0137]

I put a bucket of honeychop oat straw in my ponies stable. She picks at it when she needs it but generally she doesn't touch it but it gives peace of mind she has something.

Thank you.

 

[honetpot]

Feed straw, mine have access to a round bale all the time in winter, sometimes they prefer it to hay, and I use anything that is clean and dust free. If you are worried they are going to binge, mix it with hay and net it.
It has a DE of about 8, so you do have to add it in to the total calorie intake, but it seems to keep them chewing for longer. The waste goes in their bed.

 

[Exasperated]

Thanks all! We have tried, alas unsuccessfully, the multiple net trick. The last few days we've been trying giving her a small bucket of soaked oat straw which she totally dislikes but will eventually eat when every single hay blade has been eaten. You'd think the floor has been vacuumed...

She really does need more forage then, bless her!
Tbh, this time of year when it’s cold and very little value in whatever grass there’s access to, I’d give a native which is being regularly ridden as much as it wants to keep occupied and contented when stabled.
If already fat and doing nothing, a diet is necessary, but that’s not your case.
If you multi- net haybags, sometimes end up with the same kind of tooth wear from all the nylon as horses can get from grazing muzzles, plus thoroughly aggravate the horse, so that doesn’t work for all.

 

[Sb0137]

She really does need more forage then, bless her!
Tbh, this time of year when it’s cold and very little value in whatever grass there’s access to, I’d give a native which is being regularly ridden as much as it wants to keep occupied and contented when stabled.
If already fat and doing nothing, a diet is necessary, but that’s not your case.
If you multi- net haybags, sometimes end up with the same kind of tooth wear from all the nylon as horses can get from grazing muzzles, plus thoroughly aggravate the horse, so that doesn’t She really does need more forage then, bless her!

Tbh, this time of year when it’s cold and very little value in whatever grass there’s access to, I’d give a native which is being regularly ridden as much as it wants to keep occupied and contented when stabled.
If already fat and doing nothing, a diet is necessary, but that’s not your case.
If you multi- net haybags, sometimes end up with the same kind of tooth wear from all the nylon as horses can get from grazing muzzles, plus thoroughly aggravate the horse, so that doesn’t work for all

She really does need more forage then, bless her!
Tbh, this time of year when it’s cold and very little value in whatever grass there’s access to, I’d give a native which is being regularly ridden as much as it wants to keep occupied and contented when stabled.
If already fat and doing nothing, a diet is necessary, but that’s not your case.
If you multi- net haybags, sometimes end up with the same kind of tooth wear from all the nylon as horses can get from grazing muzzles, plus thoroughly aggravate the horse, so that doesn’t work for all.

Thank you. We are keeping a watchful eye on her response to soaked oat straw and she seems to eat it once her haynet is empty. We stopped double netting as it wasn't working and, understandably, made her very grumpy. First couple of days we mixed a few

She really does need more forage then, bless her!
Tbh, this time of year when it’s cold and very little value in whatever grass there’s access to, I’d give a native which is being regularly ridden as much as it wants to keep occupied and contented when stabled.
If already fat and doing nothing, a diet is necessary, but that’s not your case.
If you multi- net haybags, sometimes end up with the same kind of tooth wear from all the nylon as horses can get from grazing muzzles, plus thoroughly aggravate the horse, so that doesn’t work for all.

She seems to be getting used to the soaked oat straw which she'll eat once her haynet is empty. We stopped double netting as it wasn't working and made her grumpy. We are adding temporarely a few crushed coligone treats to the oat straw to add a bit of flavour. Fingers crossed... thank you all for the much appreciated advice.

 

[Widgeon]

Is there a reason you're soaking the straw? Sorry if I missed that. I've never soaked straw, just fed it dry with plenty of water on offer.

 

[teacups]

I asked my vet about soaking nets containing mixed hay and straw, and his view was that soaked straw would have less risk for impaction colic than unsoaked.

 

[brighteyes]

As @pistolpete suggested, if you can swing your net from a rafter, it moves and is less easy/impossible to pin. Or get a foot stuck in!