getting a 20yr old pony on saturday.. what's the best feed?

horseygirl123

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Feb 10, 2007
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essex/suffolk border
I'm getting my daughter her first pony on saturday
He's a welsh sec C 13.3hh and is 20yrs old but fit and sound (has hunted this season)

He's currently being fed ..
HI-fi senior
Pony nuts
Basic pasture mix (oats)
garlic
Naf Pink powder
sugarbeet
carrots

To me that sounds like a lot :rolleyes:
He's prone to laminitus too

Anyway i feed my mare
Dengies Hi-fi good doer
baileys lo-cal
garlic
carrots/apples

The problem i am going to have is storage, as we only have a very small feed room so was wondering if there is anyway i could buy a feed that would do the 2 of them?
Or at least part of the feed?
Can i feed baileys lo-cal to a veteran if i use a senior chaff and the pink powder?

He will be in light work, ridden 2-3 times in the school and hacked out on weekends all only in walk and trot as she is a novice
any advice much appreciated :D
 
Do you have him on loan or have you bought him, if on loan I really would stick with what he's getting, it's harder to keep weight on a boy of that age and you will probably find that is why he gets a fair bit.

To give you an idea Bramble (fit 6yr old NF also Lami prone)

Redigrass
Sugarbeet
Country Cubes
Build Up Mix
Total Eclipse Supplement
Oil

You will poss find that he needs what they have him on, this may be a case where it is better to stick with it until spring/summer when the grass comes through and then see, at least then if he drops a little condition it will be less of a struggle regaining it.

BTW good luck with the new pony :)
 
I'd say add in more fibre!

My mares on minimal feed, she gets 1/3 a scoop of Mitavite Gumnuts (Aussie brand, good for old ponies), some sugarbeet and 1/2 a scoop of chaff and she looks fab. She's in her late 20's, early 30's and has no front teeth. Lots of fibre is fantastic for older horses providing they have the teeth to chew it.

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I've found sugarbeet is FANTASTIC for keeping weight on Sparks, who is quite a stressy beast (she has a permanently startled expression like she just stuck a fork into a wall socket) but it's easy for her to eat, she loves it. She has mollassed but you can get unmollassed, eg Speedibeet.
 
im not a lami pro but i dont think oats are advisable??

i would just stick with the chaff and supplements (if needed) and switch to a senior mix like 16+ or spilers senior
 
i have a 20 year old pony in light work and out 24/7. she has nothing extra. and is fat with a shiny bright coat and is the picture of health, she is also barefoot and her feet are strong wit hout any cracks etc.

i may not be very popular for saying this but if your just doing gentle hacking, maybe a showjumping round now and again. i wouldnt worry about feeding anything extra apart from maybe a balancer if your really worried about the amount of qualilty forage he can get.

these sec c ponies are some of the toughest ponies you can get. you could just be wasting money feeding him.

obviously though if his condition drops at all then a good senior mix or balancer would be needed.
 
I would have thought the lo cal would be fine, you're giving him the bulk feed for filling him up in the beet so anything as a broad spectrum vitamin balancer shoulkd be fine, if you find he drops weight up the beet and pop in some pony nuts. I know your dilemma :) I have recently had to work mine out a bit
 
i would say what you already feed your own horse would be fine, maybe just add some speedibeet or a conditioning cube if you need to keep weight on. If you really want a specific veteran feed i think you would be better off changing to a veteran specific balancer rather than the hifi senior. My highland pony is 19 and gets nothing other than haylage and blue chip original.
 
thanks for your replies
so, keep the senior chaff, some speedibeet, pink powder but what balancer?
can i use baileys lo-cal or should i use something else?


I use pink powder as a balancer. The doseage amounts are given on the tub for using PP in this way.

I would emulate what he is getting and see how he goes and gradually introduce changes gradually if you feel you need to :)
 
my two aren't really old, but the dentist thinks J is pushing 20. I feed them both the same - lo cal plus fibrebeet if they are dropping weight. I stopped feeding them happy hoof when i realised they don't really *need* a chaff, i just wet their feed if they're not getting fibrebeet to mop up any supplements. fibrebeet really is good stuff and they only need a big wooden spoonful to keep their weight on.

They are getting through a tub of pink powder between them since they moved, just to help with the stress of the move - you could get him some for the move then see how he is without it. That's what i'm planning to do as it's not cheap to keep 2 on it :rolleyes:

I am keeping their sugar intake down to an absolute minimum for their feet so I can't see a problem with feeding this to a lami-prone - good hoofy stuff, low sugar.

Good luck!
 
I feed both my veterans, hi fi, sugar beet and Veteran mix, plus soya oil and carrots, I would be tempted to put your older pony on a vet mix and use the chop you normally use to bulk it out a bit, then you dont need lots of other "bins" for storage!!!! That way you know hes getting everything he needs now hes a bit older!!!!
 
Hi,
when he first comes I would feed him the same as he's used too(exept perhaps the oats!), and make any changes slowly(saves him getting colic). I use baileys low-cal after seeing my friends pony do so well on it. My pony lives out, has ad-lib hay, hi-fi light and low-cal. The beauty with low-cal is no other suppliments required, it's easy.
 
i think that alot of people think "my pony is old he needs extra feed and all the supplements in the world" but it definatly depends on the individual. ive got a 39 year old who is fantastically good doer so the only extra he gets is corteflex! if you want to change feed then like others have said make gradual changes, you cant go wrong with a mainly fibre diet( thats what their designed for). i think chaff and lo cal sounds a good option. and you cant beat good quality hay, if worried about lami then soak it, as the horse should be getting basic nutrients they need from feed balancer!:)
 
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