Worried...have I done the right thing?

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bex1984

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Am in a bit of a tizz:

Pony has been in the piggy paddock for 7 days. It's very small and we've had no rain in that time, so the grass is pretty much gone. There's still some bits but I'm guessing they're the manky wee wee patches he won't eat.

So, today he was REALLY hungry and has only had 3 poos in 24 hours. So I gave in, soaked a slice of hay for an hour and gave it to him in the field and gave him a handful of happy hoof as his tea.

Am i being weak? he really does need to lose weight but surely eating nothing is bad for him and 3 poos is not many?

Should I give him another slice in the morning? I ahve put one into soak so it will have been soaked for 12 hours...or will he be alright without it. Going to move the fence posts about to give him a bit more grass tomorrow night.

Argghhhhh....I'm really worried!!
 
well...personally i would have been the same because I think of them as humans e.g. imagine you had a fat child (not being rude here) but you would still feed it, so personally I would and when you soak it it still fills them up but there is not so much goodness. If you are not feeding him you may wank to look at a mineral lick as he wont be getting any minerals.

hope this helps

xx
 
They still need something for their little guts to churn around, otherwise they will get ulcers.... soaked hay is ideal.... dont feel guilty, I am sure he will be fine.
 
When the Black Baggage was in the starvation paddock, she was getting a slice of hay in the morning & a 2-3 slices at night, depending on how hard she'd been worked!
She also had a handful of Happy Hoof & a handful of mix in a bucket after being ridden.

She is a laminitic & cannot cope with nice fresh green grass but was not overweight as such, just a little out of condition when MD started riding her!
She is now out in the field but is exercised quite hard (1-2 hours a night, inc. jumping) 5-6 nights a week.

Horses are designed to eat pretty much constantly & their digestions cannot cope with virtually no food at all for long periods & they cannot be expected to work on nothing either, bearing in mind controlled exercise is one of the best ways to steady weight loss!

How much exercise does your lad get? Obviously, he won't be up to galloping & jumping yet if he's kinda porky but steady work, inc. lots of ttrotting etc. will work wonders for his waistline! lol
 
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I ride him 4-6 times a week, for about an hour each time. We do the occasional little cross pole and lots of walk trot and canter in the school. went out galloping across the fields for the first time at the weekend.
This is the piggy paddock: http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t318/bexboo1984/13062007271.jpg
Am glad that I didn't do the wrong thing by giving him a bit of hay!
 
Horses are trickle feeders and need to eat pretty much all the time - little and often. If you starve them, you will end up with a pony with severe digestive problems - probably colic. Feed a low feed value hay - old hay which is soaked is ideal - together with something like high fibre cubes. Even a laminitic pony needs proper levels of vitamins and minerals. I have a pony with Cushings and therefore he is prone to lamintiis - he has access to low feed value forage ad lib, and has not had a recurrence of lamintis in two years on this regime.
 
Ditto everything Meltdown says. You actually need to feed ad lib soaked hay to keep his hindguts moving. Ensure that the hay is soaked for a minimum of 12 hours, and then rinse it off well with a hose. And feed a good balancer to ensure that they are getting their vits and mins. Top Spec Anti Lam is good, as is Bailey's Lo Cal.
 
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