Natives & Good Doers
Feeding your Native or Good Doer
 Native ponies and horses who have evolved to survive in harsh conditions usually tend to be ‘good doers’. In their natural environment natives would have to make the most of poor quality grazing and would constantly be on the move in search of fresh grazing areas. With native breeds being such a popular choice for all sorts of equestrian pastimes, the majority are no longer kept as nature intended. This change in lifestyle and diet has brought about its own set of problems, namely the challenge of keeping such horses and ponies in slim, healthy condition.
The basis of any horse or pony’s diet should be fibre. In their natural environment horses and ponies will spend up to 18 hours a day grazing and the equine digestive system is well designed for this type of natural lifestyle. The hindgut which makes up approximately 2/3rds of the digestive tract contains a large microbial population which digests fibre to produce energy. This process also generates heat and for most unclipped native types as long as they have access to plenty of fibre sources during the winter months they can cope quite happily without the need for rugs to stay warm.
However, the nutritional quality of fibre can vary enormously, for those watching their weight, late cut hays and haylages tend to be lower in sugar, while oat straw is even lower still and contains fewer calories. Oat straw is useful for mixing with other forages to reduce the overall calorie content, while still providing plenty of bulk. Alternatively soaking hay for several hours helps to leach out any remaining sugars but still provides plenty of fibre for a healthy digestive system. As fibre is so important to the health of the equine digestive system for horses and ponies on a restricted diet the daily forage allowance should be divided into several smaller meals so that the horse or pony does not have to go longer than eight hours without food.
The nutritional quality of grass can also vary enormously, spring grass in particular tends to be high in sugars and for good doers their intakes of grass and waistlines should be closely monitored to prevent them from gaining too much weight. The use of a grazing muzzle can be particularly useful if you find that you need to restrict your horse or pony’s grass intake.
While many good doers can quite happily maintain their weight and have enough energy for work on hay and grass alone, their diets may be lacking in vitamins and minerals. In their natural state horses and ponies will be constantly moving on to fresh grazing and will eat a wide range of grasses and other plants, however, as we tend to keep our horses and ponies on restricted grazing their diet is much less varied. Using a very low calorie, high fibre feed fed at the recommended levels or a broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement mixed with a handful of feed or chaff will ensure that your horse or pony’s vitamin and mineral requirements are met.
Horses and ponies that are working harder may need additional feed to provide extra energy, however, its important to remember that calories and energy are basically the same thing. If you are feeding a high energy feed your horse will be receiving a higher amount of calories and unless these extra calories are being used for work they will be used for weight gain instead. Sticking to a high fibre, low starch, low sugar feed is much kinder on the horse’s digestive system and helps to avoid digestive problems such as colic and laminitis which can be linked to high starch, low fibre diets. Fibre is an excellent source of slow release energy which provides the horse with stamina type energy that is less likely to lead to fizzy or excitable behaviour. For those horses and ponies which are particularly laid back small amounts of a high energy feed may help to provide some instant ‘oomph’ type energy. Although the energy content of the diet should always be increased after the workload has increased. Often horses or ponies that are lacking in energy are overweight and unfit and if this is the case feeding a higher energy feed will only exacerbate the problem. Instead a gradual fitness programme should be implemented combined with a high fibre, low calorie diet which should result in a slimmer, fitter horse who finds work easier.
Regular condition scoring and weigh taping will enable you to spot any changes in your horse’s weight and condition much quicker than by eye alone. As a rule of thumb you should be able to run your hand lightly across his ribcage and be able to feel ribs easily but not see them. Combined with an appropriate diet this should help to keep your good doer in trim, healthy condition. However, if you are unsure about which product to use or have any other feeding queries most feed companies do have feeding helplines which offer practical, easy to understand advice.
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