what to feed my new pony?!

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moodymare123

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Got my new pony the other day!
13.2 skewbald x connemara jumping pony!
Really pleased with him and he is such a sweetheart! But we think he has been abused in the passed, as he is terrified of whips, after I found out yesterday in a lunging session, so had to leave out the whip bless him..
Anyway getting on to the actual subject.. I have found that he has lost his weight quite quickly, so I wanted to feed him throughout the winter, but I needed a feed that won't make him anymore hyper and forward going as he is! But still keep up his performance throughout the winter, and keep him at a nice weight as he will be clipped.
Any ideas?, and also is there any supplements out there to stop him from his joints coming stiff?
Thanks x
 
Did the previous owners not tell you what he was being fed? He's lost weight in a few days? Have you not been giving him feed since having him? Has he been wormed? I'd ring the previous owners and ask them what feed they gave him.

Joint supplements if he hasn't got anything specifically wrong, then Rosehips is a very good all round and cheap nature supplement that helps keep joints healthy. If he's already stiff I'd go for something that includes Glucosamine and MSM, more expensive but worth it because it can work very effectively.
 
Previous owners just fed him chaff and mix, but only because grass was rubbish,and he was only being ridden once every 1-2 weeks due to girl who had him got a new horse, so didn't have much time for him. And no not in the past few days, in the past 2 weeks, only because he is back in full work. And he was rather plump when I first got him and he seemed to loose it quickly, and don't want him to be like that in winter, hope that helps(:
 
I would start out with grass in the day with adlib good quality hay at night while you slowly and gently bring him back into a higher level of work. Maybe try moving onto haylege if that isn't enough. Though it can be a bit rich for natives (although my girl is only 1/2 conie she just doesn't get on with it as it's too rich for her, alot of people use it no probs though).

If you want him to get some more nutrition without fizz then I would highly recommend fast fibre by allen and page. Don't need to add a chaff, and it is v economical as you only feed a small amount but it really puffs up with the water you add to it to feed. Brilliant stuff, our girls love it and it adds the nutrients you want without getting the sillies! It is a low cal/starch food, and is fibre based so I prefer it. If after he has settled on this you think he needs more still then I would add microionized linseed to his feed. A feed based on fibre with added oil should give much less problems than one which has cereal added to it to up the cals.

Since he is new to you I would worm as you don't know his worming history, and get a good dentist to check his teeth. You might find just those two things fix his loosing weight to be honest!
 
What The Pony said re food! Lol!! Although I found Fast Fibre my lad wouldn't eat it so I give my chunk Frickers Lo-Cal Balancer with veteran Chaff (he's not veteran but it's low molassas), it costs me less than £20 a month to feed him and it keeps him a perfect weight.
 
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