What do you feed you natives?

Ginger Bear

Ginger Bear

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 November 2010
Messages
1,319
Location
Essex
Visit site
I've always had tb's and have just taken on a 13'3 new forest x welsh from our local sanctuary, picked her up yesterday. she was majorly fat & had a crested neck when I first started riding her at the sanctuary 6 weeks ago.. She was living out at the time but since I decided to take her on she was kept in during the day with a small haylage net & out at night in a field with very little grazing & looks much better weight wise already.. She's now back at mine and I'm very unused to feeding hardy types. One lady on our yard with a 12h new forest feeds 3/4 section of hay at night and in morning & pony is out to graze all day.. Has never had laminitis.another lady on ur yard has two 14h highlands, she feeds a section of hay at night & a handful of happy hoof & a scoop of garlic for dinner & breakfast, both are grazing all day but one that is fat wears a muzzle. Both ladies say that these ponies are not made to eat a lot, they survive on fresh air & eat tiny amounts often... But each of these ponies have straw beds when they are in at night, so have something to munch on, mine however is on chips as she has had a dust allergy in the past. So I'm feeling concerned that once she finishes her double netted hay net that she then is starving for the rest of the night.. I feel guilty when my two tb's have massive nets. Help & advise much appreciated, thank u x
 
Most of my ponies are out 24/7 on limited grass and nothing else, supplemented in the winter as required with haylage.
I have one in at night due to him being at risk of laminitis and a real escape artist, he gets about 7- 8 lbs dry weight of 16 hour soaked hay divided into two nets, one at 5ish when he comes in and one later, I live on site so it is easy to do, I know he eats very quickly and this way he has it into the night.
Hard feed is very small amount of Fast Fibre just to get his supplements in him, he is nice and slim now and maintaining a good weight.
 
I've had natives all my life and their weight is always a juggling act. At this time of year especially. My 2 sec A's are on restricted grazing and I fear the Sec D will be soon !
All come in at night and just have a token amount of shortfeed (non heating & no mollasses) just so I can mix in some vits and oil and a very small amount of hay.
 
Mine live out mostly, just in at night dec-march. Grazing isn't at all rich but enough of it that's their main diet. At night in winter 14.2 connie x tb has 1/3 small bale & a pick at her straw bed. 11.1 has a small bale of hay split between 7 days, only eats about 2/3 though as not a greedy type. Offer the same amount in field at night in nov & April depending on grass. Hard feed not any really. Big one has half a stubbs scoop of hifi lite because she expects a bucket 2x a day from when she was in hard work. Little one has a tblespoon of the same so she isn't left out at feed time. Both good doers ridden 5/6 per week. Like them to be on the lean side by the time grass comes through, about a 2.5 condition wise, start winter on the plump side at 3.5 & lose it slowly over winter. Obviously rich grass can always be a risk, but in terms of weight this works best for me & them as they don't end up on diets etc in summer.
With yours I would probably leave out 24/7 in a muzzle & keep riding, then when the excess has come off review the best routine to maintain it.
 
Grass.. And hay/haylage if in or winter..

If hard feed is needed to carry supplements or anything its a handful of just chop with a mug of soaked fast fibre or Speedibeet..
 
Nothing! He'll get hay, good doer chaff, pony nuts and speedibeet in the winter if in work but otherwise just hay.
 
If you are worried it wont have enough hay to last over night mix it with straw!
I have two that are in and on a diet at the moment , they have one section of hay mixed with straw twice a day, and pickings of grass!
Once i have their weight down a bit they will be in with a hay/straw mix during the day, and out at night on restrictive grazing!
 
i have a dartmoor X. its so easy for them to get laminitis.
best thing: if shes overweight
keep in during the day with a section of soaked hay
turn out at night in a limited field with limited grass, (enough to pick at) as the sun brings something out in the grass that makes the grass more sugary therefore more fattening.
this is more than enough for my pony

in winter:
doesmt matter when turned out as the grass is alot less lush so is a lot less likely to cause a fat pony, however still keep on a limited amount of grass a day,
if bringing into the stable, a full haynet is fine (need more in winter) soak if preffered.

if you want to give some sort of supplement or feed:
half a scoop of chaff, with some pony nuts, a nice couple of carrotts and for a little extra, 2 teaspoons of oil.

never had any problems with my pony, apart from once when she escaped onto knee high grass!!! she looked green in the face she was that fat and full


hope this helps :)
 
I am surprised that no-one has mentioned a track system. Over here in New Zealand, and I am sure many other countries as well, this system has proved itself time and time again. It is excellent for fatties as they get the movement they need with restricted grass intake. And it seems to suit those thinnies that need extra feeding as well. I know on my 10 acre block it is the best thing we have done. Our ponies live as a herd and our acreage is now laid out like a figure 8 with an extra loop at the top. There are a couple of extra areas that can be opened up or closed off as required.....the main problem with fatties in the past when restricting their grazing has been that they don't get sufficient exercise....this problem seems to be overcome with this system. Well worth trying imo!!
 
Thanks everyone, we have 24 hr turnout, although having thought about it I could probably ask to turn out & night & in during the day wouldn't be a problem. So far I've been giving her a sec & a half of hay, roughly 6-7 lb, a handful of chaff, handful of pony nuts, garlic & her supplements. Double netting hay has worked so far.. I'll feel much happier today once I know she has been out on grass for a bit, picked her up thurs & wormed her so was in for 24 hours.. Gave her a small double netted hay net every 4 hours. X
 
Was ment to say we don't have 24 hr turnout. I would say her weight was about a 4 at the mo, her crested neck has dropped of a lot but still some to go.
 
mine are out all the time but are carefully strip grazed. i limit their hay in the winter so they come into spring quite lean. they have gradually lost weight over a few years doing this and no lami probs. also give them baileys low cal and chaff and supplements daily. if on restricted grazing you need to make sure they are getting enough nutrients.
 
I feed Fast Fibre as a short feed and Equimins Laminator if on grass, if weight is still an issue, it is best to have them indoors during the day, or maybe consider an outdoor pen where they can see things happening, and have a few tiny nets so they have to move around, with no grass, just conformable surfaces, pea gravel [Rockley Farm]
I agree with trying the track system, also known as Paddock Paradise
 
My half native is living out atm, muzzled for most of the time, just take it off for a few hours during the day. When she has hay I soak it for 12 hrs and then rinse, she is fed top spec lite balancer and a handful of hi-fi lite for her joint supplement to go in.
 
My section D is out 24/7 for most of the year. In winter he gets one feed of hi fi lite and baileys lo cal balancer, with a bit of speedibeet when it gets really cold - YO puts hay in the field for them all to share, if he is in at night I would give him 2 or 3 sections of hay. In the past I have given him 2 feeds a day in winter but he does just fine on the one. For the rest of the year it's just grass - if grazing is very poor then would supplement with hay.
 
Bare field with vit/min lick, supplemented with hay in winter. In at night, with 1 kilo hifilite with magnesium and vit/min supp in it, a handful of hay and 2 slices of oat straw. Thats it.

Field isnt a track because as with many greedy lami prone ponies, mine has been through more electric fences incl mains ones than Ive had hot dinners, so has to have permanent horsemesh 4 foot high to contain her. however I poo pick every day, and the geese and sheep are released into her field every evening and night to eat every bit of new grass. That way she can have a big enough field to be able to get proper exercise.
 
littlelegs said:
Mine live out mostly, just in at night dec-march. Grazing isn't at all rich but enough of it that's their main diet. At night in winter 14.2 connie x tb has 1/3 small bale & a pick at her straw bed. 11.1 has a small bale of hay split between 7 days, only eats about 2/3 though as not a greedy type. Offer the same amount in field at night in nov & April depending on grass. Hard feed not any really. Big one has half a stubbs scoop of hifi lite because she expects a bucket 2x a day from when she was in hard work. Little one has a tblespoon of the same so she isn't left out at feed time. Both good doers ridden 5/6 per week. Like them to be on the lean side by the time grass comes through, about a 2.5 condition wise, start winter on the plump side at 3.5 & lose it slowly over winter. Obviously rich grass can always be a risk, but in terms of weight this works best for me & them as they don't end up on diets etc in summer.
With yours I would probably leave out 24/7 in a muzzle & keep riding, then when the excess has come off review the best routine to maintain it.
Click to expand...

Agree with this..there are too many supplements out there for these little native types they really dont need them. I visited a rescue centre when looking for a pony and unfortunately a cake had been made specially for one of the ponies birthday(yes seriously true) I couldnt believe it and a load of squealing children about to take it round to feed to the well fed fatties(ponies not children although could be both)! Good luck.
 
I have a New forest of a similar size and it is a constant battle trying to prevent him from becoming obese even in the winter.

He lives out 24/7 on reasonable grazing in the summer, (it would take at least an hour to fill a carrier bag with grass if you cut it using sissors) and on good grazing in the winter. He only has hay in the field in the winter if it snows. If he has hay as he is waiting in for something or travelling then I soak it.

He has COPD and is not keen on stabling so living out is the best option for him. I give him a breathing supplement and lamiguard hoof supplement and magnesium. I have him on the lowest DE feed I could find which was L-Mix with a DE of 7 and Dengie Good Doer with DE of 7. So he has a handful of each to mix his supplements in, his feed is mostly supplements so I have to add some mint otherwise he will turn his nose up and refuse to eat his tea.

This year has been particulary bad as it has not been very hot yet, when it is hot he restricts his own grazing as he stands in the shade with the other ponies during the heat of the day as they don't like the flies bothering them.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top