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Minis are very easy keepers. I feed mine 1 flake 2x daily and he goes out on grass for a few hours a day and he is fat! I've known minis to get fat on 1/2 flake 2x day. With a good quality Bermuda hay I would start him on 1 flake 2x day and weight tape him after a week to see if he's gained/lost.Other Answers:
- It depends, will he be eating a hard feed also? Will he be rugged during winter or not? Will he be stabled or turned out and how long for. If I had a mini he/she would be out 24/7 and unrugged during winter. I would feed 1-2 flakes a day along with the grass he already eats. I'd make sure he got a tiny hard feed, only for supplements I wouldn't feed any pellets or anything apart from oaten/wheaten chaff along with supplements etc. It can be hard because most minis put on weight really easy and are prone to founder and/or colic most of the time. They certainly can be hard to maintain. Try him on grass only at first and then see how his weight goes, give him maybe half a flake of hay for in his stable. Make sure he is getting NO fat or sugar in his feeds.
- I fed my mini 3 flakes a day 3/4 of a flake breakfast, lunch, and dinner and than a late night snack. And no grain.
- Horses need protein and Bermuda Grass Hay has no protein. Why are you feeding that? It is good to give to him to keep him busy so he doesn't get bored and chew on things he should not be chewing on. Talk to your feed store. I feed alfalfa hay in different forms. For example, the Chaffhaye I feed for breakfast says they should have 2 - 2.5 pounds per hundred weight per day. So if your mini is typical and weighs about 250 - 275 pounds, then three pounds of food for breakfast and again for dinner. This is true whether feeding alfalfa hay, pellets or cubes. There are several companies, such as Purina, that have feed for miniature horses and they will tell you how much to feed. Your Bermuda Hay could then be there to give him roughage or fiber.By the way, other parts of the country have a grass hay that does have nutrition.
- The correct way to feed hay is to feed by weight.If the horse weighs 200# It will require a MINIMUM of 2# a day.Experience has taught me that more hay is better than any grain.I increase hay until I hit the point where some is left at the next feeding.Hay is more than food, it is the very best pacifier you will ever find.If you are feeding coastal you are in my general vicinity.Select the hay with tiny stems and fine leaves.feeding out of a hay bag makes waste. A ground level bunk with a cover to pick the hay out of is best.Barring a parasite infestation your little one will stay fat on just hay and limited pasture.
- If he is on pasture 24/7 I would only give 2 flakes of hay one flake in the morning and one in the evening. Mini's gain weight really fast due to we can't ride them to get the fat off like we can bigger horses. As for grain, you can feed grain but if you do. I you have a flogers can fill it about 1/4 full and then give it to him once a day. Feed him a feed that will actually help him, not one that will get him fat. I wouldn't feed sweet feed at all.
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