I have a 13.3 HH pony that I need to give a supplement too, twice a day, but he doesn’t get any grain. Most grain either makes him too big or too hot, and he’s already enough of a fire breathing dragon. What do you feed your ponies?
Alfalfa or timothy pellets.
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1/4 of a cup of TC Senior
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What is the supplement? Is it something that you can find formulated as a pellet that is more palatable? Even formulated as a pellet, the dose is rarely more than 1/4c for a full sized horse - it would be less for a pony.
You could also do a handful of soaked beet pulp - you can get it without the molasses. Some horses will scarf down plain beet pulp, others not so much, so YMMV if pony is a picky eater.
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My 13 hand pony gets a 1/2 lb Legends Carb care balancer pellet 2X a day with MSM and 1 C. Legends Flax supplement. He looks better with the added fat and it doesn’t make him any extra spicy for my kids. Mine has a tendency to be a hot spooky mess if he has any molasses. He’s already reactive and quick due to his breed.
If he didn’t need the extra bit of calories I would have him on Legends Equimin horse vitamin/minerals with a handful of the Legends Flax supplement. If it is something my pony hates, I mix it with applesauce and a handful of the Flax stuff. He’s picky for a pony but loves the Flax supplement.
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I have seen maybe people use dengie- it is chopped hay with a bit of molasses on it. Or, you could do soaked beet pulp with a bit of cocosoya or something palatable? Or these:
https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Sugar-Pocket-Treats-Container/dp/B019KQF5GI
Handful of shredded beet pulp (or hay pellets) with a slosh of water.
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Speedi-Beet would work well it does not require soaking, just add water and let it set for 5-10 min.
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A cup of grain 2x a day is highly unlikely to make any equine a fire-breathing dragon, no matter what kind it is. Obviously soaked alfalfa pellets or beet pulp would do the trick as well, but i find it hard to believe that a handful of low NSC grain would be detrimental.
Something like TSC senior is what I would choose.
What is the supplement? If it’s a vitamin/mineral mix, it might be easier to switch to a ration balancer which is usually pretty palatable for most horses.
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I use alfalfa pellets for mine that do not need any grain but need something to go with their supplements.
My pony gets 3/4 pound of Purina Enrich (ration balancer) -it is not enough to make anyone hot. Then I add flax seed and MSM into that mix. Agree with the other comments, you can try timothy or alfalfa pellets too.
Agreed. The only way it could is if it’s got enough of (or any of) an ingredient that he’s just incredibly sensitive to.
What is the supplement? If it’s a vitamin/mineral mix, it might be easier to switch to a ration balancer which is usually pretty palatable for most horses.
Yes. A pony that size would need just 1/2-3/4lb of any RB, not the full 1lb. Any regular grain would have to be fed at much higher amounts, which is too many calories for a lot of horses.
He has to get antihistamines, he has allergies. And it’s a powder.
I would go with something wet in that case like a handful of beet pulp or hay pellets with water.
Is it possible to mix the medicine with a little apple sauce (use the organic no sugar, no artificial sweetener, added) and give it orally with a syringe?
Or, you can have it compounded as a paste, then it’s easy to give.
www.wedgewoodpetrx.com This is a very reputable pharmacy and can make your horse’s meds into a paste (similar to a tube of wormer) and you can pick a flavor. Just have your vet send a prescription to them. There are other compounding pharmacies all over the world, your vet may have one to use where you live.
If a paste is not feasible a cup of beet pulp, hay pellets, or hay cubes, soaked should work.
OP, not sure if you have used them and realize… beet pulp, hay pellets, and hay cubes all swell up and double in volume when soaked. Like rice doubles when cooked.
Hay stretcher pellets. Worked great for my laminitic pony who could not have any grain at all.
My fatties get TC Lite, which I love, much better than a rb for an easy keeper. It’s a pellet, and one of the fatties gets thyro-l which is a powder. I add 1/8 cup ground flax and he licks it out of the tub. I’ve actually run out of TC Lite when the store did not have any, and that horse at pelleted MSM with the thyro-l and flax mixed in. It’s a common misconception that horses need a “carrier” to eat their supps. Maybe even a pelleted vit/min supp since your pony is hot.
I’m curious why you say it’s better than a RB for an easy keeper. A 1000lb easy keeper gets 1lb of a RB, at roughly 1300 calories. He would get minimally 2lb of TC Lite, at minimally 2600 calories.
It’s a common misconception that horses need a “carrier” to eat their supps. Maybe even a pelleted vit/min supp since your pony is hot.
But a lot of them do, depending on the supplement. Mine get a few powdered supplements - copper, zinc, vit e - and those don’t taste all that great, and definitely need to be wet down as I certainly don’t want the minerals inhaled (not the E either, but at least it’s not copper going into the lungs lol). The 1 who only gets a a v/m, that is at least pelleted, and could serve as the carrier as it’s a nice sized serving, but many are small servings, or are powdered or a meal form.
There are a lot of supplements that only come in powder form, or are much cheaper to feed in powdered form, that need something to stick to to be eaten.
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I use the applesauce with some alfalfa pellets to serve powdered meds
