hoofhearted
18th Nov 2004, 09:38 PM
Has anyone any tips andsuggestions on feeding ponies that are kept together but have quite differing feeding requirements?
We have on pony of 12.2 who is a very good doer, we have recently moved him to a new place with just under an acre, together with the 29 year old pony (14hh) that I have on loan. I know that one acre will not be enough for a years 24 hour turnout and I am searching for additional grazing for part of the year. The field where they are had got very overgrown, they have got it down very well. All the books I have read (as we are new to horse ownership) say that grass now has no nutritional value and that additional forage should be fed, so I have started feeding haylage as the old pony doesn't do too well on hay. Problem is overweight pony thinks all his birthdays have come at once and is hogging the haylage and getting rounder by the day. We have access to a stable and I have tried stabling the old girl for a couple of hours a day, with a net of haylage although I think she would rather be out. Would dividing the field up with one in one part and one in the other be a solution or does that defeat the object of keeping them together? Should I be getting the fatty onto some other form of forage . Anyone any suggestions? By the way they are only hacked out very lightly at weekends at the moment. Thanks!
We have on pony of 12.2 who is a very good doer, we have recently moved him to a new place with just under an acre, together with the 29 year old pony (14hh) that I have on loan. I know that one acre will not be enough for a years 24 hour turnout and I am searching for additional grazing for part of the year. The field where they are had got very overgrown, they have got it down very well. All the books I have read (as we are new to horse ownership) say that grass now has no nutritional value and that additional forage should be fed, so I have started feeding haylage as the old pony doesn't do too well on hay. Problem is overweight pony thinks all his birthdays have come at once and is hogging the haylage and getting rounder by the day. We have access to a stable and I have tried stabling the old girl for a couple of hours a day, with a net of haylage although I think she would rather be out. Would dividing the field up with one in one part and one in the other be a solution or does that defeat the object of keeping them together? Should I be getting the fatty onto some other form of forage . Anyone any suggestions? By the way they are only hacked out very lightly at weekends at the moment. Thanks!