Please Help

[PhoLou22]

Hi all, I’m due to get my first pony and have attempted to research feed. All I can say is I now know less than I did before I started. ?
can anyone recommend a feed for a 13hh cob gelding? He won’t be worked much to start with probably ridden once a week initially. During winter, he will be out during the day then brought in at tea time when he will be fed. Come summer he will be out 24/7 I’m looking for a low cal chaff and balancer, I think, ??‍ do I need anything else? I want to do the best I can for him as cheaply as possible. Also how much hay a day and how much feed. Is his hay counted in the daily weight % of food. Thanks very much

 

[TPO]

Ask the seller what he is fed just now and
consider continuing with that initially, possibly at reduced quantities due to lack of work.

 

[PhoLou22]

Ask the seller what he is fed just now and
consider continuing with that initially, possibly at reduced quantities due to lack of work.

Thanks for your reply. I have done that and ordered him a bag of what he’s on he’s on Dengie Alfa A and pony nuts

 

[Birker2020]

Good luck.

 

[Widgeon]

Hay definitely counts - a cob can get amazingly fat in no time eating only hay. For hard feed to carry his balancer it sounds like you're already sorted, but the amount of hay he needs will depend on the amount of work he's in and what grass you have. If you have some grass then I would probably start off by giving him no hay - if the grass isn't enough he may well get tetchy, do a reduced number of poos and possibly even lose weight. Others may disagree with that but whatever you do don't let him GAIN weight - once it's on, it's incredibly difficult to get it off. Only clip if you he's getting sweaty when ridden, and only rug (minimally) if he's clipped.

Finally, you might want to consider riding a bit more than that for the first few months if at all possible - if he's going to throw his weight around in a new home (even the most saintly ponies can try this) he'll probably give up on it much more quickly if he's in regular work. Perhaps even pay someone to hack him a couple of times a week for you?

 

[PhoLou22]

Hay definitely counts - a cob can get amazingly fat in no time eating only hay. For hard feed to carry his balancer it sounds like you're already sorted, but the amount of hay he needs will depend on the amount of work he's in and what grass you have. If you have some grass then I would probably start off by giving him no hay - if the grass isn't enough he may well get tetchy, do a reduced number of poos and possibly even lose weight. Others may disagree with that but whatever you do don't let him GAIN weight - once it's on, it's incredibly difficult to get it off. Only clip if you he's getting sweaty when ridden, and only rug (minimally) if he's clipped.

Finally, you might want to consider riding a bit more than that for the first few months if at all possible - if he's going to throw his weight around in a new home (even the most saintly ponies can try this) he'll probably give up on it much more quickly if he's in regular work. Perhaps even pay someone to hack him a couple of times a week for you?

Thanks so much for this advice!

 

[nagblagger]

And when he arrives we want photos !

 

[TPO]

Thanks for your reply. I have done that and ordered him a bag of what he’s on he’s on Dengie Alfa A and pony nuts

Have a look at something like Progressive Earth Pro Balance for a vit&min supplement/balancer.















I'd imagine that he will only need miniscule amounts of feed due to type and work load. Once the grass is through you might want to look at a pelleted balancer to feed alone. Something like spillers lite & lean or GWF One Cup

Apologies for the formatting. This forum is doing my head in!!

 

[SantaVera]

Lo cal chaff and balancer and nothing else unless horse looses weight due to work load which is extremely unlikely.

 

[PhoLou22]

And when he arrives we want photos !

Will definitely take lots ?

 

[dottylottie]

i’d go for a lo cal balancer, like spillers lite and lean or personally mine is on the baileys lo cal, with a low calorie chaff to add a bit of chew - mollichaff do one i think is called light and healthy which is reasonably priced, but there’s plenty of them available to research! baileys website also have a “feed finder” that you can use, which will give you a good baseline even if you opt for other brands

 

[PhoLou22]

Lo cal chaff and balancer and nothing else unless horse looses weight due to work load which is extremely unlikely.

Thanks that’s what I was thinking. Was going to do 1 Hay net in evening and will soak for 30 mins. Can you recommend a low cal balancer?

 

[PhoLou22]

i’d go for a lo cal balancer, like spillers lite and lean or personally mine is on the baileys lo cal, with a low calorie chaff to add a bit of chew - mollichaff do one i think is called light and healthy which is reasonably priced, but there’s plenty of them available to research! baileys website also have a “feed finder” that you can use, which will give you a good baseline even if you opt for other brands

Thanks very much

 

[PhoLou22]

Have a look at something like Progressive Earth Pro Balance for a vit&min supplement/balancer.















I'd imagine that he will only need miniscule amounts of feed due to type and work load. Once the grass is through you might want to look at a pelleted balancer to feed alone. Something like spillers lite & lean or GWF One Cup

Apologies for the formatting. This forum is doing my head in!!

Thanks ?

 

[dottylottie]

Thanks very much

no problem! i look forward to photos of your new arrival?

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would try and wean him off the alpha A and nuts and try a more low calorie chaff and a balancer like mentioned above, he might not be keen on it to start with but if you gradually add it with what you have until its gone.

It's a bit like having steak and chips everyday then having plate of salad instead, I find the alpha A can be a bit like rocket fuel I know my 2 can't have it they are lethal on it.

 

[PhoLou22]

I would try and wean him off the alpha A and nuts and try a more low calorie chaff and a balancer like mentioned above, he might not be keen on it to start with but if you gradually add it with what you have until its gone.

It's a bit like having steak and chips everyday then having plate of salad instead, I find the alpha A can be a bit like rocket fuel I know my 2 can't have it they are lethal on it.

Yeah that’s why I wanted some advice, I’ve only ordered 1 bag of each so I can wean him of gradually over a few weeks. I’ve been told not to feed him anything in summer is this right?

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Yeah that’s why I wanted some advice, I’ve only ordered 1 bag of each so I can wean him of gradually over a few weeks. I’ve been told not to feed him anything in summer is this right?

He probably won't need any in summer especially if his getting a lot of turnout.

 

[PhoLou22]

He probably won't need any in summer especially if his getting a lot of turnout.

Great thanks he will be out 24/7 so will just feed in winter. Thanks so much

 

[Orangehorse]

I agree with dropping the Alfa A - that is usually fed to horses in hard work.

I feed the Progressive Earth supplements, they are very good, but advise that they should be fed with something like soaked sugar beet, they are not very palatable.

In your case, because you want to keep it simple - I would buy one of the pelletted feeds, like the Spillers Lite and Lean, as above.

The biggest mistake people make is overfeeding a pony that isn't doing much work - they do not need extra feed if there is sufficient grass and hay in the winter and they are looking the right weight.

I have known hunters do 2 full days hunting a week on ad lib hay and a handful of pony nuts.

 

[Widgeon]

Great thanks he will be out 24/7 so will just feed in winter. Thanks so much

To be honest you may not really need to do that either - I find that with the grotty weather and short dark days, my cob is in FAR less work over the winter, so he does fine just on soaked hay and what grass he can pick at. Many cobs and native types will be similarly good doers.

ETA - Most. I mean most cobs and native types!

 

[PhoLou22]

I agree with dropping the Alfa A - that is usually fed to horses in hard work.

I feed the Progressive Earth supplements, they are very good, but advise that they should be fed with something like soaked sugar beet, they are not very palatable.

In your case, because you want to keep it simple - I would buy one of the pelletted feeds, like the Spillers Lite and Lean, as above.

The biggest mistake people make is overfeeding a pony that isn't doing much work - they do not need extra feed if there is sufficient grass and hay in the winter and they are looking the right weight.

I have known hunters do 2 full days hunting a week on ad lib hay and a handful of pony nuts.

Hi thanks for your help. Can I switch the chaff straight away? I’ll wean off the nuts but want to get him on Mollichaff light asap

 

[Orangehorse]

Hi thanks for your help. Can I switch the chaff straight away? I’ll wean off the nuts but want to get him on Mollichaff light asap

If you have got any of the other chaff start by adding a bit of the new, increasing the amounts gradually - like any other change of diet.

 

[magicmoments]

I personally would still feed the balancer summer and winter. Most grazing is not varied enough anyway. If the pony puts on weight it will be what it's eating in the 24hr period, not a small balancer feed that's doing it. This is the advice from a nutritionist I was given.