What should I feed my Good Doer horse?
There are so many different foods on the market that it can be quite overwhelming when trying to decide answer the question what should I feed my horse? Even when you’ve chosen your main feed you may want to add supplements or change the amount that your pony receives during summer or winter, or with a change in exercise. Sometimes it’s better not to give your pony hard feed at all.
If your pony is a native or a good doer in light work, and is neither very young, nor very old, the likelihood is that it will not need any hard feed. The energy from quality pasture grazing and ad lib hay should provide all the energy that your pony needs. You may choose to add supplements depending upon the type of grazing available.
Owning a mare with Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) and a good-doer gelding means that I’ve look pretty hard into what’s available and what is best for my ponies.
What is a ‘good doer’?
A Good Doer, or an Easy Keeper, are horses and ponies which seem to live on fresh air, maintaining weight on minimal grazing. They are prone to becoming overweight and need careful management to avoid medical problems such as laminitis. Whilst laminitis is not caused solely by being overweight, being overweight is generally considered to be an important factor in the development of the disease.
How to feed a Good Doer horse in summer
During summer it is unlikely that a horse at pasture will need any supplementary feeding unless it is in very hard work. Depending upon the quality and availability of grass, a wide spectrum vitamin and mineral lick can be used. Salt licks are often put out so that the salt lost through sweating can be recouped. This is also useful as it encourages the horse to drink water to stay hydrated.
There are several companies that will test your soil and hay so that you know what may be lacking in your pony’s diet and can take steps to mitigate this. It may be as simple as fertilising the soil so that the resulting grass contains all the nutrients required.
Good Doers will often need their grazing restricted during spring and summer. Spring growth can often lead to problems if a pony is left to eat all the sugary shoots with no sensible management plan in place.
Strip grazing, muzzles, and periods of stabling are all methods used to keep good doers healthy.
What is strip grazing?
Strip grazing can be very beneficial for your land, as well as for your horse.
It’s easy to set up, and is a flexible system:
1/. Make sure you have a suitable battery, plastic posts, wide tape
2/. Place a line of posts and tape across your field to a size suitable for your horse
3/. Depending upon your pony and the recent grass growth, you should move the posts across the field by approximately 1m each day to allow the pony to access the fresh grass
4/. As the first fence line is moved forward, bring another fence up to remove a similar area of grazing from the rear of the field
5/. Continue until you reach the end of the field and reverse the process or start to strip graze an adjacent field section depending upon how much land you have available.
Using this system you will always have one section of field being rested, one section being grazed, and one section recovering.
Strip grazing can be very time consuming but can work wonders for the slightly overweight horse, or one that is prone to putting on weight too quickly.
It is important to keep on top of the poo picking to make sure that the worm burden on the land is kept to a minimum. It’s also important to ensure that there are not too many horses/ponies on the land, as bullying may occur when you move the fence to provide the new grass.
As you are controlling your pony’s diet you may find that you need two strips of electrified tape to dissuade your pony from breaking out of the grazed area to the delicious green grass on the other side!
What should I feed a pony in winter?
What to feed you pony is dependent upon the following:
- current weight/condition/age
- workload
- out 24/7 or stabled
- clipped
- rugged
Before you decide upon a diet for your pony over winter it is important to look at the above and alter the diet accordingly.
Condition score and weigh your pony and decide whether they need to lose, gain, or maintain their weight.
A horse in light work will need far less hard feed (if any) than one that is out galloping and doing strenuous exercise most days.
For example I’ll take SFB a gypsy cob:
- good current weight, good and healthy condition, prime of life (12yo)
- Very light work – hacked twice per week, schooled once, lunged once – all weather dependent
- Out 24/7 with shelter
- Bib clip to aid cooling after exercise
- Un-rugged
SFB grows a very thick winter coat so has a bib clip so that he dries quickly after exercise. He only needs to maintain his weight and is quite sensible about eating. He likes his food, but doesn’t gorge like Fatty. Therefore, he has the grass in his field and ad lib hay. He gets a small breakfast of a handful of grasstastic and a cupful of Pegasus coarse mix to which I add a wide spectrum supplement (One Cup) to make sure he’s receiving everything he needs. He also has a lick a few times a week as a treat, but it also contains nutrients.
Fatty is a different kettle of fish! Her management is covered in the Looking after a pony with EMS article.
If he were in poor condition or his exercise was to increase I’d look at increasing the amount of the same feed (supplement levels to remain the same). It’s always a good idea to read the manufacturers advice on the feed bag and tweak as necessary for your horse. Remember that if you don’t feed the recommended amount your pony will be missing out on important vitamins and minerals and these will need replacing.
If I suddenly upped his exercise, or his grazing quality was reduced I’d start looking at mixes or nuts that contained higher levels of slow release energy. Conversely, if he were to be turned away with no exercise for the foreseeable future he’d be moved on to a food such as Alan & Page L mix which has the lowest sugar content I’ve found.
What horse feed is best?
Each horse and pony have their own likes and dislikes, and there are foods that will send some horses loopy whilst having no effect on others. For example Alfalfa is often cited as being a food that can make some horses fizzy and unpredictable. Biotin is regularly avoided by owners whose ponies have mallanders or sallanders as it is said to increase the skin problems for these ponies. There is no scientific evidence for this, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to support the premise.
Are carrots good for horses?
Carrots can be beneficial to horses, but as with anything else they should be fed in moderation as they contain a high sugar content. Carrots should be cut into strips rather than rounds as this will lessen the chance of your pony choking.
Carrots are often used to encourage horses to stretch which can give physical benefits as it can keep horses supple and stretch muscles.
Are carrots bad for horses?
If you have a horse with a weight problem, including EMS, or other insulin related medical issue, then carrots should be avoided. This is because of their high sugar content.
Like any other treat, they should be given sparingly to your horse.
How much hay should I feed my pony?
Many horses can and should be fed ad lib (as much as they want) good quality hay. Most will choose available grass over hay, so they will self-regulate their intake.
However, if you are trying to help your pony maintain or loose weight, you may want to feed your pony a specific amount. For maintenance purposes, 3% in hay of your pony’s bodyweight should be fed to maintain weight. This can be reduced depending upon the quality and quantity of your grazing.
For weight loss, and assuming limited or no pasture, 2% of bodyweight should be given. This is another reason that it is important to know the start weight of your horse.
Should I soak my hay?
Soaking hay has many benefits, especially for the overweight pony. If you weigh your dry hay, and soak overnight you will significantly reduce the sugars whilst still maintaining the correct amount of fibre in your horses diet.
Remember though that in addition to the sugars you will remove many other nutrients, so, especially if not feeding hard feed, a supplement should be given.
Soaking hay can also be beneficial for those ponies with respiratory problems which are exacerbated by dust content. Hay for these conditions only needs soaking or steaming for a short time.
When soaking hay in summer make sure you feed it immediately so that mould and spores do not have time to accumulate in the warm weather.
Conclusion
What you chose to feed your horse will depend on your individual circumstances and the type and condition of your pony. If in doubt, you should contact a recognised feed supplier who often give out free advice, or discuss your feeding regime with your vet.
