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Feeding Natives & Hardy Type Horses - Top Tips
- Ensure your native has access to suitable low calorie forage and fresh water at all times.
- Soak or steam hay to reduce calorie and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content. Forage can be soaked anywhere from an hour to overnight, but remember to rinse before feeding. Steaming is the ideal way of reducing calorie content and improving the hygienic quality of the hay.
- Feed only 1.5-2% of forage relative to your native's total bodyweight. A 500kg horse would be fed 7.5-10kg of total forage per day. Never feed less than 1.5% forage unless under veterinary supervision.
- Feeding forage alone does not provide a balanced diet, so consider a suitable feed balancer to ensure their nutrient, vitamin and mineral requirements are met.
- For overweight horses, consider restricting grass intake and increasing exercise. Make sure to continue feeding a balancer to support overall long-term daily health.
- The winter months are your friend, so let the cold weather kick start your natives internal hind gut radiator.
- Provide access to ad-lib low calorie forage (grass, even when poorer quality or less abundant will likely suffice) and your pony will keep warm, and burn calories in the process.
- Your native pony is absolutely fine (if unclipped) to be turned out without a rug, especially if they are carrying excess weight.
- When stabled feed from the floor where possible to maintain dental health.
- Double netting of haynets or providing multiple haynets may be necessary to extend eating time, this can be done where feeding from the floor is not possible.
- If/when stabled, make sure the bedding can’t be eaten
This Blog was brought to you in partnership with Blue Chip Feed Ltd. See all their products available from Chestnut Mill Using this link Blue Chip Feed
