What should I feed my 13.2 6 year old gelding?!?

[shubs]

My 6 year old gelding is currently out in the field all day but the grass is really poor now unfortunately! He gets a section of hay in the evening but I don't feel this is enough.
I ride him almost everyday for 30 minutes to an hour doing either flat work or jumping. If I don't ride him I will lunge him or do ground work.
He is very lazy and sluggish recently and want something to give him a boost!
He's my first horse so I don't know where to start with what to feed him!

Thank you!!!

 

[madlady]

Is he stabled at night?

Mine, in winter, get ad lib hay/haylege as I'd rather them leave some than go hungry. I do try to get decent hay for mine though as they come in from summer fat enough! If your pony isn't overweight though then ad lib hay shouldn't be a problem. In your situation I'd probably up his hay to 3 slices to start off and see if he eats it all.

For feed it could be a good idea to phone one of the feed companies - Dodson & Horrell or Spillers as they have specialised people who can recommend a hard feed regime for him.

He could be sluggish for lots of reasons and just chucking feed into him might not be the right thing to do. To give you an idea though mine get a mix of balancer, unmolassed chop, oats and chopped carrots. They get 1 feed per day and I'd say they are in light work - 1 hour per day during the week and 2-3 hours per day at weekend.

It's hard to give you worthwhile advice though without knowing a little more about your pony and possibly seeing pictures which is why I suggest you contact one of the feed companies.

Is he up to date on his worming?

 

[shubs]

Not at the moment as he's quite content outside but when the nights get cooler he will be.

He is up to date with everyone, he's been checked by vet etc. He's just a typically lazy pony.

Thank you

 

[Tnavas]

You could try adding some oats to his diet - feed whole with some chaff. Fitness plays a big part in the energy levels of a pony. How fit would you say he is? Does he sweat up a lot when you work him,is the sweat thick and creamy like. If so he could be fitter.