How much do you feed your mini?

[Sansena]

I’m floored to see the differences in how folks maintain minis… One client has a very type-y mini, very conformationally correct. It lives on about 1/3 cup of TC complete 2x a day with about 4 hours grazing on poor to fair quality grass daily. He gets the equivalent of 1/2 to 3/4 flake of hay a day. Supplements too. He’s a 3 to 4 on the Heineken scale. He is about 9? hh? His wither comes up to my hip and I’m 5’3"

Another gives 2 handfuls of timothy pellets daily, 2 flakes of hay daily, excellent quality supplements and access to pasture of fair to medium quality for 5 - 7 hours a day. Needless to say he’s built like a Thelwell and is a 7 to 8 on the Heineke scale. He’s the same height as the other, but very thick build; a tad jug headed, very wide deep chest, thick legs and short coupled.

Please share your mini info. Really curious because I haven’t dealt with many for a longer period of time. Thanks.

[Kolsch]

My mini is 28yo, 30" tall and is missing some molars. We’ve had him for 12 years. He is the Thelwell type, very strong when driven.

Typically he gets .25# of TC 30%, is turned out 24/7 and eats an undetermined amount of hay daily. His job in life is to be a companion horse. He’s a 7 or 8 on the Henneke scale in the summer, and drops to about a 5-6 after our long winters. I do not blanket him.

For 12 years this has worked just fine. Our pasture isn’t lush and grazing season is short. I do feel that he’s prone to hay belly, and so feed finer hay than someone else might. It usually tests around 10%NSC. I drive him occasionally, but not enough to be considered a work program. I figure a 28yo can do what he wants in life. He did start to show blood values of being Cushings last year- during the seasonal rise he was 135, and so is now on pergolide. He’s been the most rugged horse I’ve ever owned. Sometimes I think if all of mine were set free on the plains he’d be the only one that would survive without humans. He has GREAT feet.

If he were a performance mini, I would maintain him differently- dry lot, etc., to keep the weight down.

[Libby2563]

Mine is a mini-donkey so I’m not sure if that’s what you’re looking for, but he gets:

No grain
1 scoop vit/min supplement
Summer: 1 flake of grass hay + 14-17 hrs turnout on grass with Greenguard grazing muzzle
Winter: 2 small flakes grass hay while stalled + free access to hay in slow feeder during 8 hrs turnout

He is in quite good weight for a mini-donkey, and my vet, farrier, etc are always impressed by the lack of excess fat.

[Desert_Topaz]

Free choice low WSC hay in a small hole net
multi-vitamin portioned for his size

He’s like a 7 on the Henneke scale. He needs more exercise but my energy levels aren’t enough most days for it to happen.

[maunder]

I have one easy keeper mini and two hard keepers.

I grain 2 x a day.

My biggest, Nozzy, at 36" is my air fern. He’s been tested for metabolic issues and nothing so far. He gets U-Thyroid supplement, magnesium supplement, one supplement scoop of grain just to mix with his vitamins (Micro-Phase). Nozz is 6.

Second mini is my Sweet Sarah Plain and Small. She’s about 32" with a sow mouth. She needs moistened grain and she’s somewhat of a hard keeper so I give her one cup soaked beet pulp mash, one cup of Nutrena Safe Choice Senior, Cool Calories, Smart Digest (or she weather colics) and Micro-Phase. Sarah is 10.

Third mini is my special Mokey. He has neurological problems that affect his tongue and ability to process food. He quids a lot, which twice yearly dental helps a wee bit, but I still have to scoop the stuck hay out of his cheeks every day. He gets three cups of Nutrena Safe Choice Senior, 1/2 cup Empower Boost, 1+ cups beet pulp mash, Cool Calories, Smart Digest and Micro-Phase. I will probably add a third grain/beet pulp feeding in the winter. Moke is 15. Mokey gets about 2 cups of water added to his grain mixture or he’s unable to eat it well.

Mokey and Sarah need hay available all the time. Nozz doesn’t, so I hang two Nibble Nets and then scatter some hay for Sarah, who doesn’t do well with a net due to her deformed mouth.

I feed a good quality first cutting. My gang will not eat a poor quality hay. I have a paddock and a little pasture, about 2 acres total. There is only nibble grass out there and weeds. No real grass. Great for the fat boy…not so good for the other two.

[Field_of_Dreams_Mini]

We breed and show Minis here, and different feeding programs for the different horses.

Showhorses get a mixture of Omolene 200, oats and hay stretcher pellets, approx 3 cups 2x a day. 1/4 flake coastal hay AM, a little more PM. Occasional wet beet pulp snacks at shows to keep them hydrated. The pony-breds get more grain, they seem to have a higher metabolism than the Mini guys. Grass paddock.

Our open mares run a five acre pasture with a roundbale on it. No grain. The pasture is poor, they have to hunt for grass.

Late term broodies and mares with foals get 2-3 cups of the feed mixture 2x a hay, round bale in their smaller field and flake of hay in a stall at night. Poor grass.

Youngstock run a nice field, and they get 3 cups mixture 2x a day.

My two sometimes-show, sometimes-pet geldings get one cup sweet feed 2x a day and a full slow-feed haynet 24/7. On a drylot.

My foundered mare gets a LSLC feed and hay 2x a day. Drylot.

Weanlings get free choice feed and hay. High protein for these guys. In our experience, most people don’t feed their babies enough and that’s why they get the poor haircoat and potty bellies. Took us YEARS to figure that one out.

[StormyDay]

[QUOTE=Sansena;8843548]
It lives on about 1/3 cup of TC complete 2x a day with about 4 hours grazing on poor to fairHe’s a 3 to 4 on the Heineken scale.[/QUOTE]

Can you convert that to Budweiser scale? I like that beer more :lol:

[Showbizz]

Slightly more than 1/2 flake orchard grass/alfalfa hay twice daily. About a 7 on the BCS scale.

[2miniB]

During warm weather, they get 2-2.5% of body weight in low NSC hay in slow feeders. During the winter, they get unlimited hay in slow feeders. When its extremely cold, their hay intake can more than double. They’re all on dry lot.

My easy keeper (34", bcs 6-7) gets the same thing year round. 50g timothy cubes, flax, chia, Platinum Metabolic Support and a vitamin/mineral supplement. Her harder keeping sister (32", bcs 4.5-5) gets the same thing during warm weather, but I add 100g chopped hay when its cold. When its below 20, she gets blanketed. Upping feed and blanketing is the only way to keep weight on her. As it is, its a challenge to get her to a 5 bcs. Her default seems to be 4.5.

Mine are both full sisters (7 and 6 years old), and its interesting how different they are. Mine don’t do well getting any grain, though my 32" mini is the most sensitive. Can’t keep any weight on her and she gets gas colic when she was on anything with grain. The only way to get weight on her was to cut out all grains.

[cayuse]

About 4.5-5 pounds of hay a day and 1/3 cup timothy pellets with their supplements. More hay in the winter and a little grass in the summer. They are in light work and about a 6 on the scale’
I weigh the hay occasionally to keep myself from overfeeding. It’s surprising how the portions can creep up. They are 32 and 34 inches. I had them on a ration balancer for awhile but they did not do well on it. One got loose manure and the other was too hot.

[goeslikestink]

mines a proper native shetland. is out 8hrs a day in at night with a haynet out on just turnout area with 2 at 13,2h and one at 14,2hh of which two are native and one is standard bred… all live out in same turn out during the day and have a round 6ft hay bale to ab lib of… they are not fed feedstuffs until winter actually sets in and all are fat and up to weight jackson only gets a handful of mix which is allen and page ride and relax and one scoop of chaf fed once at night during the winter months

[LLee]

Gosh, I have 4 mini’s: 2 donkeys and 2 horses. All of them get grass 24/7 on a mixed pasture. It’s up one hill and down another to get to food and water, so they get lots of daily exercise. No grain until winter, then only a handful per day and free choice mixed hay out on the pasture. Seldom feed them in the barn unless I’m giving meds or farrier/vet visit and want them to stay put…or the weather is really awful and they need shelter. They haven’t had any health problems and aren’t overweight except for one mini who is always a bit big around the middle and that mini has the smoothest, shiniest coat of anyone in the herd. Mine just don’t seem to need special diets.

[Sansena]

[QUOTE=StormyDay;8843923]
Can you convert that to Budweiser scale? I like that beer more :lol:[/QUOTE]

Smart ass.
YOU try typing in Heinecke once without spell check turning it into something more common.
Cumin.
ComeON!

.
.
.
.
.
…beans.

[reignthealarm]

Going to revive this…

My mini is an extremely easy keeper and has (mildly) foundered in the past. I didn’t used to feed him anything other than hay and he wears a grazing muzzle any time hes out in the “good” field in winter. Recently I’ve been giving him a handful of TC Senior just so he’ll leave my TB alone while he eats. He also gets Metformin in the summer and has the muzzle on 24/7. He’s at least a solid 7 on the scale if not borderline 8. If I had a dry lot I’d keep him in there 24/7 with hay.

[luvmyhackney]

@reignthealarm

Going to revive this…

My mini is an extremely easy keeper and has (mildly) foundered in the past. I didn’t used to feed him anything other than hay and he wears a grazing muzzle any time hes out in the “good” field in winter. Recently I’ve been giving him a handful of TC Senior just so he’ll leave my TB alone while he eats. He also gets Metformin in the summer and has the muzzle on 24/7. He’s at least a solid 7 on the scale if not borderline 8. If I had a dry lot I’d keep him in there 24/7 with hay.

No grain for fatties, just a vitamin mineral supplement if that. Have you though about putting pony on Thyrol just to get the weight off and reduce chances of foundering again. Pony do any work? If sound, might want to look into driving to get the weight off.

[reignthealarm]

@luvmyhackney

No grain for fatties, just a vitamin mineral supplement if that. Have you though about putting pony on Thyrol just to get the weight off and reduce chances of foundering again. Pony do any work? If sound, might want to look into driving to get the weight off.

He is sound and gets ridden occasionally but not often enough or hard enough to make a difference. Now that everything is thawing out there is more time for fatty to get some exercise. My vet seems ok with him being turned out with a muzzle and has not recommended any meds/supplements other than the metformin. I can ask her thoughts on the thyrol and if she think it will help him.

The reason for the handful of TC now is because my TB does not defend his food and would let fatty eat all 3 pounds of his grain. I give it as a distraction so he’ll leave the tb alone. Yes they will soon be able to be separated at feeding time (stalls attached to their field) so grain will be cut off again.