SE Wisconsin Minis

By Sandy Navarre

I’m writing this article for the newer owners that may not be familiar with the feeding of miniatures.  Please keep in mind that this is what I have gleaned over just five short years that I’ve been keeping minis.  There are many different opinions on what and how to feed and we’d love to hear from others on what has worked best for them.

The basics

At this time of year nearly all miniatures look more like round fluffy teddy bears than horses.  Of course you want to rub into that hair and feel for his ribs.  If you can’t feel any bone and his back bone is looking more like a ditch down his back, he’s probably overweight.   A healthy normal horse needs between 1½ and 2 percent of his weight in feed to maintain that weight.   This refers to total amount of feed.  Grain should never amount to more than 1¼ pound per 250 pounds of horse.   Total amount of feed should be divided between 2 to 4 meals a day.

Fiber is critical

Horses are foragers, with a digestion that works best with fiber, so at least 50 percent of the total diet should be in fiber.  Fiber can come from various substances and hay comes in many variations.  In my opinion, straight alfalfa contains too much calcium, among other things, for the minis to have a straight diet of it.  Grass hay, provided it’s not extremely stemmy and rough, is good for minis but may contribute to a “hay belly”.  The chopped hay that has a bit of everything will work for some but in others (those not used to the coarse short pieces) may have colic problems.  You can always have your hay tested for nutrition content but remember that from field to field and cutting to cutting this can, and does, vary.  I prefer a mix of 70-80% brome grass (a very hardy broad stemmed soft grass) with alfalfa but this isn’t always available.

Beet pulp

Beet pulp can replace 30 to 40% of the hay but it is difficult to find any that has not had molasses added.  Beet pulp is said to “put weight over the back” which many yearlings need.  If you decide to use beet pulp, it is available in pellets or shredded; both of which I suggest be soaked in water.  I like to use small amounts of the beet pulp no matter what their weight is because soaked it is an easy way to get additional water into their systems.  This is useful in the winter when they don’t like to drink much and when traveling to shows when the water may taste different to them.  It’s also a nice way to get any powdered additives into them like a daily wormer or probiotics or medicine because mixed with the molasses flavored pulp most of them will eat about anything.  If you don’t want the molasses because of an overweight problem, after soaking, you can pour off the water and even rinse the pulp a second time to remove most of the molasses.  This may be more work than you want but it is very difficult to find beet pulp without molasses added.  Even though some of mine don’t need the extra sugar, I still use the molasses flavored stuff.  The shredded can soak up water in 20 minutes or 5-10 minutes when using hot water.  And it takes just under twice the amount of water to amount of pulp.  The pellets, I found, work best if left to soak overnight.

Pasture time

Since I have no indoor arena to use in the winter, I prefer the plain grass in winter.  Since it weighs less than alfalfa, they get more volume and it keeps them busier longer.  Some minis can be on pasture 24/7 but they have to become accustomed to it and to the fact that food is always available; so you need to slowly extend the periods they are out on pasture.  Some will not adapt and will over eat into obesity.

Show season

In show season I like to add more alfalfa to the diet (replacing 30% or more of the grass) since they are getting more exercise and need more energy.  Also it is believed that the additional calcium in alfalfa helps to control the stomach acid thereby helping to avoid ulcers.

Typical feeding schedule

The feeding schedule for one of my horses goes like this: for breakfast, ½ lb. of hay plus ¼ lb (dry weight) soaked beet pulp with ¼ cup vitamin supplement (Purina Nature’s Essentials  Enrich 12); for lunch, ¾ lb. of hay; and for supper, 1 ¾ lb. hay plus ¼ cup vitamin supplement.  The vitamin supplement is about ¼ lb. for the entire day.  This is for a mare that weighs about 225 lb. but cannot stand still even in her stall so she burns more calories.  The only part of my feeding plan that I cannot weigh is the pasture turn-out.  In summer I let the horses out for 30 to 45 minutes (after building up from 15 minutes in spring).  In late fall, when the green is mostly gone from the grass, I will leave them out for an hour or slightly more.  I use the pasture turn-out more for freedom to exercise than anything else; since the rest of the day they are in dry lots and I don’t work them much after show season is over.

Weight tapes are not very accurate for miniatures.  Here is one way to determine the weight of your mini without using a scale.   Measure around your mini at the girth or heart area (refer to picture) and multiply this by 9.36.  Measure him from point of shoulder to point of pelvis (or point of buttock) and multiply this by 5.01.  Add the two numbers together then subtract 348.53.  This answer equals the minis weight.  [This formula was taken from Kentucky Equine Research and is 94% correct when compared to scale weight.]  If you do this over the winter coat please take into consideration that the fluffy hair will add at least an inch or two to your figures.