what to feed

Question
Hello, we recently purchased a silver dapple mare pony for our daughter. She is approximately 4 years old, and around 12hh, she is currently running freely on ten acres of pasture. We have been fedding her a sweet feed mixture that we purchased from our local feed store, and she gets mroe grass and hay than she can handle. We bought her for my daughter who is 7 to ride on the property. She is a small pony, but I believe that the people she was purchased from did not feed her adequately because she seems so thin. I would like to get some more weight on her but am unsure what would be good for that, considering she is our first pony. Also are there certain exercises that are better for strengthening muscles? Thanks so much for your help.

Answer
Hi April,

Thanks for your question.

You have to be careful with ponies that they don't get too overweight as it's a lot harder to take off then put on.  What is the analysis of the sweet feed (energy, protein etc) and how much are you feeding?

What is your pasture like?

I would suggest feeding her with a good quality alfalfa/clover and grass mix hay (2 or 3 biscuits a day depending on how much and the quality of your pasture) and a chaff and sweet feed mix - the amount would depend on the type of sweet feed.

If you can give me the details I can give you a more specific answer.

Good luck with your first pony!