How much to feed welsh b?

Cazza525

Cazza525

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Now I know these posts can get a little tedious,but I could really do with some constructive advice.....good or bad!!

I have a pure B,sent her away end of Feb to be ridden and shown lightly. When she arrived at producers, it was after the snow and she was a little toey (not full on lami,but threatening if you know what I mean). She was unrugged and out on little grass and getting haylege like the others,but is an exceptionally good doer!!

Well thiongs have gone well,she was ridden and shown,and kept in and qualified etc. She has come home now for 6 weeks before she goes up there again for a few county shows.

Now basically my job is to keep her in top notch condition and weight off.

I grab her in in the day and give her one section of dampened hay through a small hole net. When she's turned back out in the evening they get a couple of sections of dampened hay to munch overnight. She is out with an oldie companion. No grass in paddock,but may start to seep through slowly now. She is on no hard feed. She will be lunged and longreined most days also to keep topline.

Am I starving her?? She really is a portly stocky welsh B.....only 12.0 hh.
 
No, that sounds absolutely fine. I certainly wouldn't be giving her any hard feed, especially as the grass will be coming through soon.
 
3 sections of hay in 24 hours is not enough imo. Let alone sharing 2 of those with another pony. That means long periods without food, which is a) bad for the digestive system and b) encourages the metabolism to slow down and the body to hold onto fat.

Weight loss is a long term project. As a show pony i expect she is well rugged at times? unfortunately this will not help, as she will use the rugs to keep warm not her body fat.

Starving a pony/horse is not an answer to weight loss. They need exercise, no rugs and a controlled diet. And it can take months. I really do think 3 sections of hay shared with another is insufficient. Soak it before feeding to remove most of the nutrients and provide a mineral block (unmollassed). Keep up with the exercise and no rugs.

If the pony is toey/footy/whatever you want to call it IT HAS laminitis. A mild form but laminitis all the same. Laminitis is an illness and you shouldnt starve an ill animal. You are going to have to work hard over the next year to get the weight off but with a controlled diet, not starvation.

I own a sec b show pony. She lives out with no hard feed and minimal grass but she has alot more hay than that! You can easily feel her ribs, which is how it should be. The only rug she wears is a LW when its wet. It can be done but its hard work!

Good luck!
 
Hiya,thankyou for your replies....even thouh they contradict one another....

I sould point out Teddy,that this mare is now at a suitable weight,and has been for the past month. She looks great as she is,I just don't want her to put on at all. My land is well maintained and I have put them in a smallish paddock(about 1/2 an acre). The grass is just starting to come through.

I should also point out that my mare has been vet checked this week,life heighted and vaccinated. The vet pointed out that she looks well,not ill. I am most certainly not in the habit of starving my horses and would never expect them to go without for long periods of time. They are always grazing whilst out on what is there....I'm just careful not to put them on too much.

I feed all the others a hard feed breakfast and tea,I do have happy hoof for my oldie girl and have toyed with giving it to welshie...but she hasn't been fed hard feed whilst away so I'm reluctant to change regime now.

Thankyou
 
Im glad she is ok now but if she was footy a month ago then you have obviously caught it just in time. But you have to be very careful as if footy that recently, she is borderline. There have been alot of frosty nights and sunny days lately, which increases fructans in the grass. More hay would be better than happy hoof as it will take longer to eat.

In your op you said there was no grass, hence i felt 3 shared sections of hay was not enough. if she is grazing then the hay might be ok. But i cant see your field or the pony! Just going on what you said in the op.
 
My thoughts were exactly the time of year. We had quite a lot of snow down here and I was unable to get any of them in due to the ice,so was putting haylege out. She never looked foot sore at all at home,but once in the indoor school at producers she stood very wide front end for the first few days whilst there. I put it down to concussion/haylage and caught it in time,I hope!

Sorry I didn't make my grass situation clearer in OP. I keep them in a paddock where the grass is the shortest....I give TB's the rest!It is just starting to green up......eeeek!
 
You need to weigh what you are giving her and aim for 1.5% of her bodyweight, I persnally would say that the hay she is getting is enough to keep her ticking over - don't forget she'll be picking at what grass is coming through too - she is definatley not being starved - this is a native pony evolved to live on sparse grazing not a TB type!! You could always put out some good quality straw for her to pick at if you feel she is getting very hungry - I have a section C of about 13hh that thrives off 3 sections of hay split throughout the day, although we don't show her.....The only other thing I would give is a broad spectrum vit/min supplement to keep her top notch - good luck with her - she sounds nice!!
 
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