Feeding Mini Horse and Donkeys

[GoldBarRanch]

Is it ok to give both my mini donkey and mini horse oat/barley grain as a small treat 1/2 cup ?I buy this by the barrel and give to my goats as a supplement . Right now they all get Bermuta grass hay only

 

[goodhors]

Guess it will depend on how often you think they would need a "treat". Daily, is
probably too much and too often. So I would say no to that quantity.

Mini horses and donkeys, can subsist very well on almost nothing. A half cup of grain
is usually unneeded extra food for them. You want your equines to be "trim" looking,
only allowed grazing for limited amounts of time. Often an hour a day is MORE grazing than
they need!! Hay quantities should also be very limited.

My mini friends buy poorer quality hay, so their animals can have more quantity, to
keep occupied over the time between feedings. No rich or even 2nd cutting hays at all!


Do these minis have jobs? Can they be driven for exercise, staying fit using up their calories?

I cannot emphasize how EASY it is to get them overweight, foundered, in a very short time.
And once foundered/laminitic, they will do it again and a again if the least bit overfed or on grass.

I guess a few, and this means about 10 GRAINS for each mini as a treat is enough reward. Sorry,
you have to be REALLY HARD HEARTED with minis for their own best health. That means few or
no treats, hay by the literal "handful", grazing timed in minutes, so they stay trim and fit. Fat puts
a real load on those tiny hooves, upsets the balance of the body injesting too much food. Give them
as much exercise as possible, don't count on them to self-exercise. Driving is a very popular way
of using them, adding fitness and fun to the owning them.