How much straw?

[pipstar]

Hi

Im a newby to this forum but I often have a browse round to see what you are talking about.

I have just purchased a new pony. My vet suggested that I continue feed her on straw and no hard feed as she is quite cresty and thinks she could be prone to laminitis.

I have never been in this situation before and have no idea how much straw a 11hh pony should be eating daily! I have been soaking some low grade hay and combining with the straw.

Any more advice is very welcome.

Thanks in advance.

 

[moses06]

I mix 2/3 straw with 1/3 soaked hay and give a general all round vit/min supplement, plus plenty of excercise!!

 

[CBFan]

you should be feeling your pony 1.5-2% of it's bodyweight in fibre a day and you should be particularly strict about it if it is a type to be prone to lami and or is looking fat / cresty.

tbh feeding straw can be a bit of a waste of time as many vets will tell you it can have similar nutritional value to hay. TBH I would just soak the hay to feed very well (12 hours) and feed it from small holed haynets. I'n sure you'll see the weight fall off.

Although I agree that she needs no hard feed for weight / condition it is important that she gets some nutritional support for her feet in particular so you might want to look into feeding a handfull of a bland chaff like hi-fi lite with a lami supplement in it...

 

[pipstar]

Hi

Thanks so much for your advice, nice to know I'm doing things right! I have the Dengie Chaff without Molasses and just giving her a bit with some garlic,I'm gonna look in to Laminitus supplements today.

Thanks once again, it's really appreciated.