Please help me! I am confused and my

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capall beag

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OK, I am in need of help!

I have 4 mini's 1 stallion who is 2.

3 young mares all may be in foal for 06.

The mares came to me in horrible condition and very thin.

Now they are looking ridiculously fat, everyone asks when they are due, even the stallion!!!!!

They are wormed regularly and this is what they eat!

am

3 cups contender 12% protein 3.5% fat, 1 cup of beetpulp a handful of alfalfa cubes a small handfull of BOSS and a flake of hay.

They get the same in the pm minus the beetpulp.

My preferance is to give no less hay because I think it entertains them as well as filling their bellies!

Please help they look like roly polys. It is mostly their bellies that are big.

They get to be out on the pasture sometimes but there is nothing much there at the moment.

THANK YOU FOR ANY ADVICE!!!
 
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Being on even scrappy pasture durring the day is good as it encourages movement. ( You can always put out grass hay in your pasture) I dont give my ex-chunky girl any extras, other than hay (Other than vitamins and minerals) as it will only put on the pounds again.. I agree wth you on keeping the hay (hopefully grass hay) in their diet. But when it comes to extra weight I would cut out the boss, and the beet pulp, and any extras, if you want them to lose any weight.
 
This sounds like good advice!!

I never fed extras before
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but I think I felt sorry for the girls and wanted to indulge them a bit but now they look like butterballs
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, they look awfully cute but just very out of shape!
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Thanks for the help!
 
[SIZE=14pt]Fiona I would have to see pictures to tell you if in my opinion they are over weight, just pregnant or what .... if you say they are big in the bellys only even the stallion are they narrow in the chest and butt???? These are the things I would need to see. Without seeing them I would just say cut out the alfalfa cubes and cut back on beet pulp. That is some of your roughage as your hay is. Are you saying a flake of hay per horse or for all 4? A flake twice a day per horse can cause you gut fill and therefore belly roundness. Again, I cant surmise without pictures.[/SIZE]

Lyn
 
I also never feed any of the extras like sweet feed IMO they just don't need it other then a treat or one that is in poor shape or is nursing.. Just a good grade of grass hay fed in a dry lot.
 
My miniature filly and miniature stallion have round bellies. They are wormed regularly. They don't get any grain and only a little bit of hay twice a day. They are outside 24/7 right now. The stallion has a small paddock, no grass and the mini filly shares a one acre pasture with a mini gelding and mini mare. The gelding gets fat over the winter but in the summer he is leased to our local riding school so looses the weight. The mare is a good weight, not to fat, not to thin. So I guess it all depends on the horse. My stallion got a bit of grain during the show season but I took him off it in August.
 
The breeder that I got my boys from came to visit yesterday and as I have thought they have terrible bellies. WEll she watched them and they drink alot of water. Now it has been hot here so I didnt think to much about it but..... they eat the same thing they have been havent changed a thing. She thinks they have water bellies. And told me to take the salt block away from them. And get them the chunky stuff and add it to their food.

Apparently Dar b's mother was the same way. And now that it is cooling off some I wont worry so much about them not getting enough water. Just a tid bit of the info I got yesterday as I am not a vet.
 
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Mine look extremely fat all of them...with winter coming on, that is the way I like it. I don't think they look obese, just winter fat.
 
Ah Fiona. Perhaps cut back abit on the feed to 2 cups twice a day and forget the alfalfa cubes, with that much they should maintain a nice fluffy winter weight. Maine is very BRRRRRRR. You should see mine! Pics!
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Lyn pretty much said what I was going to say, except that if a mini was going to be fat, then this is the time of year I would like to see it. I like a little bit extra on them at the onset of winter. Especially Maine winters.

The wooly bear caterpillar "says" that it isn't going to be as cold this year as it was last year, but still....

Don't forget that with a winter coat they can all look a little chunky...their bellies can look really big!

Ours get 1/2 flake twice a day. They all get a different amount of grain depending on the individual.

Pictures would help.
 
3 cups contender 12% protein 3.5% fat, 1 cup of beetpulp a handful of alfalfa cubes a small handfull of BOSS and a flake of hay.
I have a 31 1/4 inch chubby that gets a heaping cup Complete Advantage in the morning & evening. He gets about 1/2 flake hay per day total divided into morning, noonish & evening feedings. He gets an hour of pasture usually (if not then he gets another feeding of hay)....................... Since we are advised not to give advice here I will say it this way--- if I fed mine what you are giving he would be even bigger. Why the alfalfa cubes if giving hay?
 
I think that this is your whole trouble:

1 cup of beetpulp a handful of alfalfa cubes a small handfull of BOSS Man I would loose that stuff in a minute and keep it simple.

and 6 cups of grain is a lot holy cow.

I'm just wondering if they are under 30". The reason I am wondering that is because the only ones I have obese troubles with are the two that are 29". They are dangerously fat. They have been reduced to a handful of grain twice a day so that they think they are getting something at feed time. I have removed them from grass and just give them hay so I can control that. Within two weeks I have seen a noticable change since they are off pasture and cut back on the grain. I also started to round pen them 15 mintutes a day. They are actually beginning to run and play again so I'm going by what I see.
 
How big are your minis? Appropriate amounts for a 38 inch mini are drastically different than that for a 30 inch mini. (But ask your vet for an official opinion)

I agree with Dimimore...you might cut back on the feed. I personally would choose to keep the beet pulp to keep them satisfied with fewer calories, but I would not advise anyone in that regard, as I am not a vet nor a nutritionist. Be sure to check with your vet regarding any diet change, and they will also advise you to make any changes gradually (as my vet has always advised.

Ask your vet about the alfalfa pellets as well...he or she may very well deem them unnecessary.

Ask your vet when you change their diet if you should supplement vitamins to make up for smaller quantities of feed, thus altering the balance intended by the feed company.

This disclaimer thing is going to get old very quickly.
 
Mine are out on pasture 24/7 and get NO grain at all. They are as fat as butter and I am very pleased to see them that way at this time of year (or any other time for that matter) these are little horses, not greyhounds!! Fiona, stop your fussing, you are making it far harder for yourself than you need to. Rabbit is so fat he looks like a hamster. I did mention this to him yesterday, funnily enough. He answered that if I so much as mentioned the "D" word he would pack his bags and leave!!!
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And important questions is the height of these miniatures -

From what you have described, the amounts of grain, boss, beet pulp, hay assuming under 34 inch miniatures is quite a bit of feed for "most" miniatures.

We have one 31 inch stallion in comparision that receives 1 cup of pelleted 12% grain in the am only - 1/2 flake of grass hay am and pm - a Gro Strong mineral block free access - and is still a bit on the plump side. Now going into winter I don't mind the extra plumpness given our winter conditions here. He will have his grain doubled and fed twice a day during breeding season. If I were to feed him what you are feeding - he would not be able to walk from being so fat.

It is hard to say without seeing them and knowing the body "type" and height, but in general, it sounds like you may want to cut way back on the boss, and grain.
 
Whoa...... guys before passing out advise, you don't even know how tall these guys are! Cut out beet pulp Marty.... I never would........ the more water I can get into my horses the better. Soaked beet pulp is wonderful at putting moisture into the cecum.... (less colics) Also makes them full (like us eating oatmeal) sticks to the ribs.
 
Well I cant help cause I got fat horses just on hay.

They have pasture but its pretty much dirt.

3 horses get 2 flakes a feeding(they are small flakes and not compact.)

THe other 5 get about 4-5 flakes a feeding. ONly because 1 is nurseing a foal, the other is nurseing a foal, who is about to be weaned and eatting on her own, plus has brought mom down more then I like, and the other adult is a yearling.

Ideally I would like the yearling in with the geldings, but the one gelding isnt nice to her and runs her through the fence.
 
Well, our horses are mostly all B's, and bigger (36-37.5") B's at that. As a rule, they each get 1 good flake of grass hay (as in 1 flake off of a 70 lb bale of brome) twice a day. Pregnant/lactating mares get a bit more than that, & part of their ration is alfalfa.

As long as hay is plentiful & good, we figure ours do not need alfalfa cubes, nor beet pulp, nor a huge portion of prepared feed. For the grain portion of their diet ours get plain rolled oats. Amounts vary; pregnant/lactating mares got close to 2 litres of rolled oats per day; young horses (1 & 2 year olds) get 500 ml of oats; stallions (except in breeding season) & geldings get no oats....and of course stallions & geldings that are being driven get a bit of oats, amount depends on their level of work.

And of course ours get free choice mineral/salt blocks, plus some top dressed mineral to balance out the diet.

Our horses stay fat on what they get for feed; if your horses are smaller, I can imagine they will be much fatter on what you are feeding. However, please do realize too that appearances can be deceiving--if your horses now have their winter coats, they may look much fatter than they actually are!
 
Cut out beet pulp Marty.... I never would........ the more water I can get into my horses the better.

I do have to back up and agree with this to a point. I am a fanatic about the beet pulp especially in the dangerous heat and also the cold because I want to be sure they are very well hydrated. I do feed mine slopping soaking wet for that reason. However it also makes them fat, just in my opinion. Maybe I should re-phrase and then say I would cut down on it instead of giving it up.

How tall are these minis anyhow?
 
Just thought I would add something here. I never feed by "flake". Flakes can vary so much in size & weight. Some of my bales will flake off in 1" sections & some will flake off in as much as 3" sections! That can make a drastic difference in the amount you are feeding. I prefer to feed by weight. Of course I don't weigh all my horses food anymore, as I have gotten accustomed to how much a lb of hay feels like. If you aren't sure, get a scale & check for yourself until you are comfortable in judging for yourself the weights you are feeding.

As a "general rule" .....you should feed l lb of hay for every 100 lbs of body weight per day. Then, of course, you adjust this as needed for each horse.
 

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