Last fall I had my little ponies out on grass 24/7! They were getting soooooo fat, OMG!! I don’t like fat ponies, I like my ponies slim and trim. So I decided they all must go on a diet. I knew with winter coming they say you shouldn’t put a horse on a diet, but I did anyways. And oh man do they look sooooooo good!! Here is exactly what I did:
1. I started measuring their feed and hay. They get 1.5% of their body weight in hay per day. For example, Shadow weighs 250 pounds, so he gets 3.75 pounds of hay per day.
2. I started using the slow feeder hay nets. Once I figured out how much hay they should be getting daily, I no longer needed to measure. The hay nets really slow them down, now they are able to eat and nibble all day long. I use 1 inch hay nets or smaller. If I can’t find those, then I will double bag the hay nets.
3. They no longer get grain. They get a weighed portion of ration balancer, I use Purina Enrich Plus. I have gotten amazing results with this ration balancer. Their hooves grow like crazy, the fur coat is shiny, soft and looks amazing. They are fed depending on their weight: they get .2 pounds of Enrich Plus per 100 pounds of body weight per day.
4. They are enjoying life in a dry lot! They play all day, chasing each other and running around. I have realized that grass makes them FAT! So they are no longer on grass.
5. Of course they get unlimited water and access to a mineral salt lick.
Easy peasy!! Most ponies get way too fat on 24/7 access to grass, the smaller the paddock the better. Some people don’t like having their horses in a dry lot, but I love it. I know exactly how much food they are getting, they no longer have any weight issues, I don’t really have to worry about founder or laminitis, I have healthy slim ponies and their poop is easy to clean up.