Vet visit - good news and puzzling info

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once again, thank you all, for the encouragement and wisdom,

I exchanged the unopened Legends Growth - Textured feed we had for Triple Crown Lite.
I think there is 1 1/2 bags, left of the Legends Growth, plenty for the gradual transition.

had a nice talk with the Vet, and she suggested the Triple Crown Lite, and if after a couple of months,
if there's little change, the option of metabolic tests for Katz. Just about everyone I've spoken to
mentions the concept of killing them with kindness, in overfeeding, and that it's very common with beginners.
still in all, its the beginning of the hottest part of the year, and she's huge, we do have nice shade areas though.

I'm guilty of overfeeding them carrots and apples, for snacks.
I know now, more like 6 inches of carrot, and one or two slices out of 8 sections of apple is plenty.

There is an apple tree in front that we'll need to make a wider radius of fence around, to keep them from getting into them, next fall.
the apples aren't sweet or pretty either, but they just completely go bonkers over them. I think its the type they made hard cider out of years ago.

In back, there are large oak trees that will have to be put off limits too.

I have to figure out how much space between posts for fencing off the paradise track that I'd like to put up.
I like the idea of ripping 2x6's 10 ft long, into 6, 5ft long posts 2x2. I have to find someone with a nice table saw.

http://www.all-natural-horse-care.com/paddock-paradise.htmlhttp://www.all-natural-horse-care.com/paddock-paradise.html

I reached out to the local Agway, and they have a customer that drives minis, and I'd like to get that ball rolling.

I am grateful for all the help and feedback.
 
You mentioned doing some liberty work with them. I do that with my minis sometimes and they have gotten so they seem to enjoy it. I start with just a couple of minutes at a time. Exercise has helped my portly gelding alot.

This has probably been mentioned so fogive me if I repeat, but is your mare maybe pushing the other mini off of his feed and gobbling up his, too? That is a sure way to wreck a diet! This comes from a woman who thinks the calories tasted from her husbands meal "don't count." :) I enjoyed seeing the video of your girl.
 
In the very beginning it was true! last summer, She would gobble up hers and then his feed,

We did figure it out eventually, and found an easy way to separate them,
but they were close enough to not to get anxious.
I'm going to work with them some more on the Liberty, I do think they enjoy it too!
thanks for the feedback on our video of Katz, Cayuse
 
Also, on fencing, unless you have a hot fence, that they know is hot and always stays hot - a 2x2" post isn't geneally large/strong enough to hold minis - especially the weight/size of your mare. She can "bull" right thru it and snap the posts off all along a whole fence line - totally ruining your fence!

Steel fence posts driven into the ground (heavy t-posts from Ag/Farm store not the light garden t-posts from the hardware store) work well. So do wooden round posts - the smallest ones meant for livestock fencing are 4" and seem small compared to the 8" round ones I use for corners and bracing.

You also have to think about the finished height and how much post you need to sink into the ground. Even w/ some of our posts going 3' into the ground - it's so sandy here on this new property that the fence posts get loose quick (both the cemented in ones and the ones that are driven in w/ a post driver). Since I also have larger ponies and horses, I want a fence that is 5' tall - that needs the post deeper into the ground - especially at corners. On my taller "tie up" posts that we are going to be putting up here, we will have to have help getting holes deeper than 3'.

Earlier this year, I had a 497 # shetland pony mare that is 43" at the withers - snap a brand new, pressure treated 4x4 at the ground when she sat back on the lead rope she was tied with. It was 8' long, cemented into the ground 3' and she was tied about 4' above the ground (tie was above her withers - where it should be). 4x4's today ARE NOT THE SAME as they were when I was in my teens! Had full size horses go "crazy" while tied and not break 4x4's in Colorado when I was a teen.
 

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