Tips and advice.
We have loaded some tips and advice on here from our experiance...
Sorry this is a long one, but filled with good information.
Everybody thinks a fat pony looks cute!!! but inside there is an slim chap waiting to come out.
Over the years, we have domesticated the pony to live in unnatural surroundings that does not suit there figures, causing them to be rather rotund!!!!
In there natural state, a pony in the wild, will graze on a variety of grasses, herbs and baron land, to maintain body perfection and he will walk or trot on average a round trip of 23 miles per day within a herd, grazing as they go, on the move.
We have domesticated these ponies and expect them to live in small lush pastures, and not get fat !!!!, so if you have a rotund little chap, the simple advice we can give is to mimic there natural state of how there ancestors lived.
We would advise you to first buy a muzzle there are several types on the market, which restrict grazing, this does not stop them, but slows them down a lot, we have found that its best to remove the muzzle in late evenings and replace, early morning, time consuming, yes but your chap will become much improved in no time at all.
Ideally turn your pony out, with muzzle in a large paddock, if possible on a bank, with the water at the top, or a large paddock with not too much grass in it, small paddocks limit movement for your pony, which is not what you are trying to do.
One golden rule is, NEVER NEVER starve your pony to lose weight as you will cause big problems, ponies are grazing animals, so need a constant supply, but in moderation.
We feed our ponies that are muzzled, Dengi Hi Fi light with Naff pink powders, twice a day, before the muzzle is put on and when taking it off in the evening, not only does this encourage the pony to be caught, but stops the pony guzzling when the muzzle is removed, we find its best to stable in the night, or put the pony in a small paddock with no grass and give a small section of hay in a small hole hay net, which slows his eating down.
There are plenty of chaffs designed for the good doer on the market, it is personal preference as to which you choose for your pony.
It is a proven fact that over weight and laminitic ponies have a tendency to be anemic and lacking in essential vitamins and minerals.
we strongly recommend that you feed a supplement to your pony to ensure he is getting all he needs, if not your pony will become, grumpy, lazy, lethargic, dull in his coat and not the little angel he should be, this problem is often found in ponies that come to us for rehabilitation, when all they needed was corrective feeding, a salt lick is also a must.
You will find that as your pony becomes more towards his ideal weight that he will become a different pony, more alert, obliging, athletic and be a more willing ride, hopefully like ours that we have helped, go on to win many prizes in all aspects of ridden work, plus being a delight to own.
If at any time should you think or suspect your pony may have laminitis, you MUST contact your VET for immediate help, as if he has, time is MOST important to your pony.
- WHATS THE BEST SUPPLEMENTS FOR MY PONY, AND DO THEY NEED THEM?
All living creatures including us need our vitamins and minerals to be fit and health, your feed supplier or local tack shop is the best person to ask for help, a general feed supplement added to your ponies feed will improve his coat and wellbeing.
- HOW DO I TELL IF MY PONIES TEETH NEED ATTENTION-
The best way to check your ponies teeth is to ask your vet, but if you think he maybe having problems eating, dropping food for example, or he is pulling, putting his head up, or feeling uncomfortable when being ridden then he will need attention, most ponies need there teeth checked yearly, or some times more often if young or very old, your vet can help with this or a horse dentist in your local area.
Good way to remember is when you have your dentists check up every year, get your pony done too .......
- HOW DO I TELL IF MY SADDLE FITS-
The best way is to get some talc, baby powder is very good, smells good too!!! sprinkle on your ponies back where the saddle goes, place the saddle with only the girth on it, carefully not to rub it around, on your pony, do the girth up and get someone to give you a leg up onto your pony, stand up and sit down a few times in the saddle, dismount, then carefully undo the girth and lift your saddle off your pony, take a look at the underneath to see how much is covered in talc, if there are patches with no talc, then your saddle is not fitting properly, there should be even distribution of talc across the parts that are on your ponies back, any heaver points means it could be hurting him and time to get your saddle fitter in, but make sure they are master saddler, as this is one important part of equipment that should fit your little chap, to ensure he is nice and comfy or he maybe become bucking bronco.....
- WHY DOES MY PONIES FEET SMELL ?
If your finding your ponies feet a little bit wiffy, it could be due to him having thrush in his feet, which is a smelly black substance found in the frog, usually in the deep groves, your farrier should alert you if this problem is present, but a simple solution is to mix in a spray bottle, eucalyptus oil and tea tree oil, together with a little water and spray in your ponies feet every day, this will not only cure mild thrush, but will also help to keep his feet in good condition, harden them and give a lovely aroma to his wiffy feet, very good for ponies that have had laminitis, as it helps to keep the soles of the feet in healthy order.
- WHY DOES MY PONY EAT THE TREES OR TREE BARK ?
Ponies will in there natural state forage for all there essential trace elements and minerals, because they cant, they forage for it where they can, tree or tree bark eating and mud eating is a good indication that your pony is lacking in trace elements, to ease this problem a good all round supplement added to his daily feed will help, take not that it will not cure it straight away, but he will gradually stop if the supplements are given.
lethargic or anemic ponies.....
this question always pops up, how do i tell if my pony is anemic or why is he lethargic, open your ponies mouth and see if his gums are pale, if so a good indication he is lacking in something and or anemic which causes lethargy, we all need the correct vitamins and minerals in our diet and as mentioned above, ponies have be commercialised to suit us not them, so it is VITALLY important that they are all given a broad supplement and a salt lick to maintain correct physical wellbeing.
This is a very large area to answer so, if you think your pony is lacking in something, email his problem and we will email all the help we can give.
