How To Feed A Thin Pony Through Winter Without Going Bankrupt

Come winter cut down on the pony riding and equestrian sports and focus on your horse’s feed—or how much she needs. Because when such seasons are near, you know your hard keepers are going to be harder to feed than they already are.

All horses are affected by a variety of emotional and physical factors—thin horses more so than others. Some of the more major contributing factors are teeth, calorie requirements parasites, and stress.

Recall if your pony has had a dental float during the course of her equestrian training during the last year. If not, then it is high time to go to the vet or equine dentist for a full check up and a float. Your horse’s teeth and whether or not they’re in good shape contributes considerably to how much good stuff she gets out of her feed.

And then there’s her basic calorie requirements. Dependent on the equestrian sport or activity you’re training her for, she’ll need basic calorie levels and you want to ensure she is getting it. Even basic horse riding has minimum calorie level. Of course, the horse’s condition in the difficult winter season also influences how many calories she needs—a horse who stays in a stall covered in a blanket all winter will need less quantities of calories in her diet than one living in a pasture or run. And colder weather conditions means more calories eaten up,

Run faecal analyses to check parasite levels. They obviously affect how much feed your horses can take in and really benefit from. Remember, some stomach bugs like tapeworms will not register on a fecal analysis, so take the initiative to consider upping the dose on particular dewormers that take care of these stomach bugs.

Just like humans, stress can actually shred a pony. And again, just like humans, horses can get stressed through diverse means. The mere physical stress through an injury, a complicated coaching procedure, or the harsh cold that winters can bring can be cruel. And then there’s emotional stress from incompatibility—the horses character being non-compatible with their environment or her equestrian sport, or being low in the hierarchy inside her herd.

Now if your mare checks out on all the factors mentioned above and you suspect it’s something else, then it may all come down to the particular feed. During the time you have been riding or training her you may have noticed that she’s either low or high in energy.

For thin horses with low energy levels, increasing the calorie count in her feed during cold seasons would help her add weight. Prefer energy giving corn and barley over oats, and use pelleted senior feed. Increase her feed’s grain content by a pound for each 100 pounds of body weight, be more generous if required. Also, if your mare can’t digest well, consider giving her whole food supplements loaded in acidophilus, bifidus, and enzymes that fortify stomach health and the good bacteria that flourish there.

If your thin horse has high energy levels on the other hand, then she is just losing weight through her activities and continuous horsing around—even through just her nerves. So your goal for her during tough cold seasons is to keep her relaxed and calm. Feeds should be rich in alfalfa and grass hay. Increase her calorie count and mix in probiotics into her feed which would help her stay calm. Omega sun enzyme is seen to definitely impact horse brainwaves and nerve systems.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about riding hats