Managing a good doer - winter

W

Walrus

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 January 2007
Messages
2,433
Visit site
hello,

my pony is a ridculously good doer - it's quite scary! He currently goes out first thing (7.30ish) onto a pretty bare paddock (sandy soil, poor gazing), YO bings him in about 3ish and he has 2kgs hay, he's then ridden when i get in from work and gets his night hay which is about 4kgs and tea which is a handful of hifi lite and the spillers lite balancer. He's 13.2hh and I'd guess aound 400kg (fell pony). Condition score he is about right at the moment, he's lacking in muscle, the vet said the other day he was fine but didn't want to be any bigger.

Problem is there is now nothing in the field (actually right now there is snow!), he's hungry, YO brought him in early yesterday cos he was stood at the gate. I'm worried he's totally starving and not getting enough fibre but the hay is good (this years - unfortunately all I could get) so he can't have loads.

I'm going to start putting a couple of kgs in the field for him first thing when he goes out but that wont last more than about 10 minutes!

I think the answer is more exercise then I can feed him more, I've been a bit useless lately as it's cold and dark after work and with him being a baby schooling is slow and slightly frustrating at times - maybe not the best for fitness when we spend most of the session in walk!

The other solution may be to soak the hay - who is soaking hay over winter, can you manage it fine with everything freezing over etc.

Any ideas are greatfully received as to how you manage your fattys who are on more restricted turnout over winter!

Cheers

Apologies for the long post - it's 5 in the morning and I'm awake thinking about hay strategy - how sad!!!!!
 
I'm a great believer in exercise rather than limited fibre, so thats your answer :D

I presume he's not clipped or rugged?

I wouldn't bother putting hay out in the field tbh, if he were out for longer than 7/8 hours then maybe, but to me going out in the field is not just grazing time but chilling out and running about time! socialising with other horses etc; It wont hurt him as he is getting plenty of hay when he comes in.


He's about the same weight as my nf ( he's 13hh) and although slightly chubby he lives out 24/7 on good grazing but is not rugged and by April as with every year he has lost the extra weight.
 
I'd soak his hay so you know he is getting plenty of fibre as there isn't anything in his field. The key is making sure you put the soaking hay somewhere where it won't freeze, so inside a barn or something if you can. Make sure you rinse it well before feeding.

With you mentioning you are on sandy soil I'd be the opposite to AngieandBen and would want some hay in the field. Purely to avoid any chance of sand colic if he's scratting around for small tips of grass in the soil.
 
Im with ISHmad on this,soak it if needed but if theres nothing literally in the field then hay is important. Also if theres snow, as I know from experience that horses can get colic from eating too much snow as they search fruitlessly for grass.
 
Agree with all soaked hay in the field ... Or maybe hay mixed with straw or a large bucket of HiFi Lite/HiFi Molasses Free instead of hay.

Have also had good success with feeding for weightloss. Apple Cider Vinegar, Cinammon, Naf Slimline, a high quality balancer (TopSpec AntiLam, Baileys LoCal, etc) ...
 
Do you have a fence you can tie a small holed haynet onto? Double layer a couple of haynets if poss, will keep him going a bit longer!
 
Try getting some oat straw for him to eat. brilliant fibre but no real value to it.

If feeding hay in the field dot it around so he has to move around for it. little exercise. Make him work for his food in the stable too. Small hole nets etc....
 
Thanks guys, I think I was having a moment when I couldn't sleep this morning!

I'm going to distribute his hay more evenly throughout the day I think and up his workload, he was doing quite a bit until the clocks changed! My instructor is going to give me a lesson on how to use my side reins effectively and I'm going to start lunging twice a week and working more on his trot in the school. He does have a no-fill rug on as he has a tiny neck-belly clip (he was getting far too sweaty when we were doing more work). I dotted a couple of kgs of hay round his field this morning so he has to mooch between the piles. I think I'm just paranoid - I can feel his ribs (bit not see them), he has no gutter on his back or anything (slightly the opposite) and not really any massive fat pads (he has a big tummy but I don't mind that it's just fibre) and he looks well enough, shiney coat etc. I have definitely developed porky pony paranoia since I bought him!!!
 
I have a 13.2 good doer new forest.

He is out from 8-3ish, gets ridden at least 4 times a week, 8lbs of soaked hay at night and in his feed he has a handful of good doer, equivite, magnitude and veg.

He is fully clipped so he is rugged well.

He has a slight belly (thats mainly from the grass) but i am pleased with his weight, though i wouldn't want him to be any bigger so i am keeping an eye on him.

If i was you i would defo try to up his work load a bit so you don't have to cut down on hay. And try to soak it for 12 hours to get rid of the goodness, as this will also help to keep the weight down.

I know what you mean about worrying about their weight, im a nightmare.

xxxx
 
Sammii819 said:
Try getting some oat straw for him to eat. brilliant fibre but no real value to it.
Click to expand...

This is what we do.
We have to balance feeding 4 all with different needs ours are out 12 hours per day picking at whatever is available but if we do need to put forage out later in the year it will be straw. We are currently mixing haylage with straw. I have soaked hay in winter in previous years but it is horrendous as it freezes, sometimes as you are soaking it. I like horses to have ad-lib forage but I certainly don't want them fat so straw is the solution IMO. We do get compliments on their condition.
 
unrugged and out 24/7 with hay and more than you would feed in the summer because a lot of energy will be used keeping warm, if unclipped of course. I think a horse should eat between 2 and 2 1/2 per cent its body weight so 8 kilos should be fine to maintain an equilbrium give or take for exercise and low temperatures. Good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top