Do Miniature Ponies need a special diet

Miniature ponies have been known to be especially prone to laminitis and Insulin resistance.

It was with this in mind that Stamina Plus decided to study miniature ponies feed requirements and develop a practical feeding program for them.

This study was carried out in the fall of 2011. The results showed that as with standard size horses hay and grain can be feed to these ponies at about 1.5% of their body weight. In previous studies with standard horses Stamina Plus found along with its Equine Supplement the standard hay intake is about 1.5% of the body weight as long as the Equine Supplement is fed with the oats.

The miniature ponies were fed 4 lbs of grass hay daily along with ½ ounce of Stamina Plus Equine Supplement and 4 ounces of oats per day. No ponies developed laminitis nor any signs of Insulin Resistance.

The take home message from this study is that by being careful on the amount of hay and grain the miniature ponies can lead a normal life with no fear of developing metabolic problems.