Pony questions.?

Question

Hello! Ok so I just bought a new pony. She is a 6 year old 10h pinto mare. Very sociable, very well mannered, very fat! I bought her for my nephews to learn about horses around. We are also planning to drive her. I have had horses for years but I have NO experience owning a pony.

I have a couple of questions and I am sorry if I sound like an idiot but I really want to do right by her. First of all...I know they are prone to obesity and founder issues. With my full sized horses I pretty much just feet good quality first cutting grass hay. I plan on starting her with a flake am and pm and see how that goes (oh we have like no grass in the pasture I put her in. Where she came from there wasn't much.) Does that sound good? Obviously I will monitor her weight and adjust if needed.

I don't plan on any grain in her diet. Is that standard with a pony?

So I guess the basic question is what are the main differences (if any) between feeding/working ponies and full sized horses?

Thanks!

Answer 1

you sound like your heading in the right direction. Execpt I would feed her a handful of grain so she doesnt get upset when you give your horse grain (if you do).

Answer 2

Your plan sounds good to me.   As a general rule you feed a pony less per pound of body weight than you do a horse.  If, say, you fed a 1000 pound horse 20 pounds of hay a day you'd not feed a 500 pound pony 10 pounds. (These numbers are totally made up)  It would be closer to 7 pounds.

At 40 inches your pony should probably weigh about 400 pounds and not need much hay for calories but might need more to keep from getting bored, to keep her gut working properly and to keep her from chewing on fencing or getting other bad habits.  I often feed some straw or some good dry hay that got rained on or even corn stalks so that my ponies have something in their guts.

And, as always, "the eye of the master fattens his beasts", so if she starts looking too thin or starts to loose weight too quickly add a bit more hay.

Answer 3

you need some grass in the field but not to much just enough for a snake  and you should deffinitly use grain in her diet and the mian thing is with a full size horse they are less tempered and eat about 1/2 more than a pony so u probibly give it just 1/2 of a normal horses diet. if you have any more questions about horses just email me and dont worry i have been raising all kinds of horses with my family since i was 7. good luck with your new pony!

Answer 4

Feed them less than horses and be sure to exercise them just as much.

Answer 5

http://www.gomestic.com/Pets/Unusual-Pet...

NO grain.. ponies are prone to Founder.. even rich grass should be avoided... you know that.. but yes monitor and adjust..

they are also s****... prone to be hard to catch or pushy...