Questions about feeding my minis...

[gibsongrrl]

I'm sure this topic has been discussed over and over on this forum, but I'm curious as to what you guys feed your minis. My mini donkey and mini horse have been away from me for about a year. I got them back this past weekend and they are FAT. I want them to lose weight, but I don't want to starve them. Right now I'm only giving them grass hay and Free Balance minerals. They are not cleaning up the hay like I thought they would. It's good grass hay, but there is some grass in the field they are in so I guess they are scavenging all that up first. But I feel like I should be giving them more. I feed my big horses (Fjord and Peruvian) Triple Crown Lite. They are very easy keepers and only get about 2 cups a day. Would this be a good feed for the minis? The bag says it's ideal for ponies. I would only give them a little.

Would the Lite or Low Starch formula be more ideal? I had been thinking of switching my big horses to the low starch as I really have to watch the weight on my Fjord. But after reading about both feeds, I think I'd be better off to stick with the Lite.

When I had the minis before I fed them 1/2 cup daily of Purina's Born to Win ration balancer and hay. They looked great! But I don't know if it would be good for ponies that need to lose weight.

So let me know what you guys feed your minis. I'm very curious!

Thanks!

-Kristie Strange

 

[ChrystalPaths]

I'm a Triple Crown Low Starch user now but I did love Purina Strategy til the plant closed.

 

[Miniv]

If it were me, I'd feed the grass hay with no grain, only a vitamin and mineral supplement, such as Horse Guard. (They will think it's a treat!) And feed 1/4 the amount of the supplement recommended for a full sized horse.

MA

 

[gibsongrrl]

If it were me, I'd feed the grass hay with no grain, only a vitamin and mineral supplement, such as Horse Guard. (They will think it's a treat!) And feed 1/4 the amount of the supplement recommended for a full sized horse.

MA

That's what I thought would be best, but my goodness, they act like they are STARVING! Would it be OK to give them just a handful of the TC Lite? Just so they think they get something?

I've never heard of Horse Guard. Right now I'm using the Free Balance by Purinia. Are they similar? Who makes Horse Guard?

Thanks for the input!

-Kristie Strange

 

[chandab]

If it were me, I'd feed the grass hay with no grain, only a vitamin and mineral supplement, such as Horse Guard. (They will think it's a treat!) And feed 1/4 the amount of the supplement recommended for a full sized horse.

MA

That's what I thought would be best, but my goodness, they act like they are STARVING! Would it be OK to give them just a handful of the TC Lite? Just so they think they get something?

I've never heard of Horse Guard. Right now I'm using the Free Balance by Purinia. Are they similar? Who makes Horse Guard?

Thanks for the input!

-Kristie Strange

Can you get grass hay pellets where you are? I know Standlee Hay company makes both timothy and orchardgrass pellets, Mountain Sunrise makes a grass hay pellet. You could get something like this and give them a handful, they think they are getting a treat, but its not grain nor alfalfa. Just a thought.

 

[FairytailGlennMinis]

Hey Kristie--I would be interested to know if Leggetts carries the hay pellets! If so I will come on up and grab some too!! We could really use that around here these days!

-Amy

 

[Indian*R*A*I*N*Dance]

We feed hay all the time and since rains a colt he gets 4 cups of equine jr. for grain.

 

[ponyarab]

Since we are on this topic I would be interested to find out on an average how much grain do most people feed to thier mini's? I've seen some miniatures get a 3lb coffee can full of grain and in my opinion that is way to much grain.

 

[chandab]

Since we are on this topic I would be interested to find out on an average how much grain do most people feed to thier mini's? I've seen some miniatures get a 3lb coffee can full of grain and in my opinion that is way to much grain.

I'm feeding primarily a ration balancer to my minis and they get 1/2# to 3/4# each depending on age and size; it comes out to about 1-1/3 cups to 1-2/3 cups each per day. I recently changed a couple to an extruded product and they get about 1/2# of that and its about 1.5 cups per day. Keep in mind that mine are not being shown, but 3 are still growing and two are pregnant, so that affects how much to feed. They all get nearly free choice grass hay in winter, and limited hay/pasture in summer (limited to about 2% of their bodyweight so they don't blow up).

 

[gibsongrrl]

Hey Kristie--I would be interested to know if Leggetts carries the hay pellets! If so I will come on up and grab some too!! We could really use that around here these days!

-Amy

No, we just have alfalfa pellets. But that's definitely something to look into!!!

-KRistie

 

[Miniv]

My response above was for an overweight ADULT mini. I suggested the supplement "Horse Guard" because it's usually available nation-wide at most feed stores. But there are many other brands available that are manufactured specifically for your own region, that may be better. The feed store may be a good source to ask about that.

For a mini that's a weanling or yearling, I would recommend feeding them the grass hay plus a complete feed, twice a day at least. The amount of the complete feed would depend on the mini's need.........but we personally feed between 2 to 4 cups per feeding, twice a day. I don't believe in "dieting" a growing foal.

Another aspect in all of this is.......Winter is setting in for much of the country. So if you are planning on dieting your ADULT mini, do it slowly and cautiously. Often Mother Nature will do it for you, if you don't increase their hay intake during the extreme cold winter months........

MA