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Post by poniesnpooches on Jul 19, 2018 12:57:21 GMT
Just a general opinion seeking question really! I have a 4 year old TB mare arriving next weekend who was in training as a 2 and 3 year old but never actually ran due to immaturity. She is 16.3hh now and has grown over a hand in 12months. She is being turned away to grow up so wondering what others would see as a suitable feeding program for her? Thanks
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Post by Philippa on Jul 19, 2018 14:05:05 GMT
Personally if youve got good grass id be throwing her away and seeing how she comes back around September/October time then re evaluate then. As a horse in training she will have had good feed. A quality balancer is a good place to start but maybe give some of the feed companies a call, they all have advice lines and will supply you information. You can make your mind up what to feed then.
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Post by honeypot on Jul 19, 2018 17:51:46 GMT
Horses in training often have a very low forage diet and high in cereals, so can have gastric problems. I would turn it out will a settled pony and allow her to eat her weight in forage. The biggest problem with them is they do everything in a group, so getting them used to not being in a bunch and not getting separation anxiety when they are away from the group is a huge hurdle. For weight gain if it needs it Coolstance is good as its full of oil calories and fibre, without blowing their brains. You will need deep pockets as they are lovely to look at but tend to be expensive to run.
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Post by gillwales on Jul 20, 2018 16:07:55 GMT
I agree with both of the above, however if your grass has been scorched then you might consider a supplement. I would avoid high proteins , however a balancer with some chaff , sugar beet and a bit of barley thrown in should address this. Stop once your grass has recovered. Or put out some hayledge. If you graze with a pony make certain it is only for her
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