To keep tiny fat pony away from hard keeper large mare’s hay I’m thinking of building a tall wooden bin that the pony can’t reach into. Has anyone tried this?
I’ve not done this, but if your pony can jump I’d try to find another answer :lol:
Can you make a corner into a feeding station for Mr. Fat Pony?
Horses need to be fed in a separate space. If you don’t have a barn, build feeding stalls. I don’t know how you can be sure they are getting the right amounts otherwise.
IMHO, anything tall enough the mini can’t jump into, is too tall for the horse.
You can use a muzzle with hay, even if you just cut the hole a little larger.
If that doesn’t work, then yes, they need to be separated for the majority of their hay time.
Having done this - ponies are very, very creative critters.
I dont’ keep our pony separated all year around. But there are stints of time, mainly a couple of months during the winter, when she absolutely just must be separated.
I soooo feel your pain. I do have a barn, one I thought I wouldn’t use too much. Unfortunately, my best action is to use it so the TB eats looooootttttts of hay and the Pone not so much. This is just the Winter strategy, summer is a different basket of fish, lol.
Pone comes in for a handful of concentrate/vits, goes out thru secured open stall door to 1/2 flake of grass hay. Meanwhile, OTTB stays in at dinner time, as long as it takes. After he finishes his concentrates, alfalfa pellets, alfalfa hay AND grass hay,(then drinks 1.5 full buckets of fresh water, no more, no less), he goes back out too.
I just didn’t feed the mini - just a teeny handful of grain so he didn’t feel left out - he then had to live on leftovers from the big horse when she let him.
Unscientific, but it worked as they both kept the right weight. In summer, the mini was allowed on my side lawn, mare goes in field.
The mini has to have hay, which is what the OP is talking about 
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Put a muzzle on the little one. They can easily get enough hay and the effort will keep them busy.
My set up is similar except the mini has to stay in until the ottb finishes, otherwise ottb will realize he’s alone and completely stop eating and turn into a maniac until he is let out or mini comes back. Mini gets a handful of grain just to keep him busy while ottb eats.
I am struggling with this now too. I have found using a nibble net for the horses is working best. I keep hay available at all times, so this works best for everyone. My mini climbed right into the hay box I spent all weekend making, so it is now in my barn as a blanket box…haha!
My mini doesn’t just sit and eat all day like some will. She wanders around a lot and grazes on the nibble net or winter grass (dead and limited) on and off all day. So far, it has not been an issue…but I keep a very close watch on it and stay in touch with my vet if I have any concerns. She eats a small amount of ration balancer in the morning.
I feed my TB and large pony their grain in stalls, or they will happily share with their pushy little sister
If anyone has a grand idea for keeping hay away from her, I would try it, but separating seems to be the best option if they eat too much
