The Minions have started a new régime. Having talked to someone who has thoroughly researched this science, we decided the ponies need extra vitamins and minerals in their diet. Rough grass plus a Himalayan salt lick, is not enough.
As the majority (well, I can’t find one) of mineral/vitamin licks are molasses based which turns them into sugar-junkies, I am feeding the Minions a daily small bucket of chaff/fibrebeet with half a cup of the required amount of pony minerals and vitamins.
This should help their feet, especially the laminitic ones.
So yesterday my friend kindly helped me lug six rubber feed skips, as well as Vitamin and Fivla’s buckets of fattening food plus the large bucket of food with minerals/vitamins to be divided roughly between the rest.
We put the rubber feed skips in a row by the fence with a nice but essential gap between each.
Then I went down the line on the safe side of the fence dishing out feed, like a school dinner lady!
Of course Storm had to share with Tiddles, who got more and more annoyed, so I gave him the bucket to finish instead.
Meanwhile, Vitamin and Fivla ate their own weight-maintaining version.
It was all going fairly smoothly…..
…. until Albie was bullied off his bucket.
So, he came and talked to me instead.
And I commiserated with him about the others. He is always the one.
Once finished, and there was really very little arguing, I put the now-empty and very, very clean feed skips back over the fence ready for tomorrow.
So that’s what I am now doing in my canteen and restaurant. More ruddy buckets!
Fascinating to read, but what a lot of extra work for you. Mind you, it’s so important to realise (and so few owners do) that having enough food to survive on is not necessarily the same as having enough of everything to thrive. I am so happy that these ponies are so cared for, and I love your tales of them.
Thank you.
That seems a good plan! Poor old Albie. You’ll find a way of getting his share to him, no doubt.
Sweet Albie, always on the bottom rung but know Muzzah loves him dearly. While the buckets at your canteen is more work, the end result of health;y and happy Minions is worth the work.
They are very lucky ponies!
I put out a salt product called Red Cal. It’s free choice and is a salt/vitamin / mineral mix. My horses and mini donkey, goats and kune kune pig all do very well on it.
Do you have a link so I can try and find it in uk. Do you mean Red Cell?
https://www.thenaturalvet.net/red_cal_22.5lb
Here you are.
Extra work but it looks like they liked it at least.