I need some help with feed quantities

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HaffiesRock

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My pony lives out 24/7. He is a healthy Haflinger gelding who weight tapes at about 425 kg. He was very fat when he came to me in August but has stabilized at around the above weight and looks better, although still a tad padded.

The grass is no longer growing in his field, and although he is losing weight at a very steady pace he is getting hungry.

He will be getting fast fibre for breakfast and the same for tea with hay in the field in the evening (cant during the day but I wont go into that)

So my question is what weight/quantities of hay and fast fibre should I be feeding to keep him healthy but continue his stead weight loss?

Thanks
 
It is recommended to feed 1.5% bodyweight of feed for weight loss, so that would equate to about 6.5 kg total feed daily, you could try soaking hay and feeding straw to increase his fibre intake if he is hungry.
 
He should really have something to eat whilst out in the day...

Is there any grass he can pick at? Or are the fields totally bare?
 
He has grass in his field and its a big field, but gets grumpy when hes not stuffing his face constantly! There is plenty to pick at so dont worry he isnt being starved!

I was thinking bout giving a bit of straw actually so he has stuff to chew on. How much straw to hay ratio should I feed?

Thanks
 
I tend to just put an additional net of straw in so that they can pick at it once the hay is gone, although my mare never eats the straw even if hungry!

If you're mixing it in I would start with a small amount to begin with and build it up to about a third of your hay at a guess.
 
I feed my mare 1.5% of her body weight and her hay is weighed and soaked. Our grass has stopped growing but there is plenty of it so she is still wearing a muzzle.
 
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