How much hay to feed?

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rose bud

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Hi eveyone,
I'm just after some advice please.
I have a 13hh exmoor pony who will be living out 24/7 over winter and in light work.
He doesn't need any hard feed as he is a good doer but i was wondering how much hay he will need?
Is there a formula or something to work it out or can anyone tell me please?
Thank you for any help
 
Ad lib unless there is a reason you need to restrict his intake.
I have a good doer that I simply dont rug and then he can eat all the hay he wants..far better than a grumpy miserable pony who is always hungry!
 
Unless he is on very restricted grazing I would not feed any hay until the weather gets bad or he starts to lose weight.
An Exmoor will get overweight very easily and then you will be battling to get it back off in the spring it is more natural for them to drop a bit during the winter.
If you could weigh tape him regularly it will help you to keep a check on him and then give hay as required.
 
be positive said:
Unless he is on very restricted grazing I would not feed any hay until the weather gets bad or he starts to lose weight.
An Exmoor will get overweight very easily and then you will be battling to get it back off in the spring it is more natural for them to drop a bit during the winter.
If you could weigh tape him regularly it will help you to keep a check on him and then give hay as required.
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Thankyou for your replies.
He could do with loosing a little bit of weight but there is very little grass at the moment so i am getting worried about him being hungry, although don't want him putting on any more weight!
 
Hes a native pony he will always think he is hungry:) If you do need to give him some try a small amount of very well soaked hay,either in a double net or I often spread it very thinly around the field so they have to keep moving to get it.
 
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