Feeding a pony is where new owners most often go wrong — and, happily, where good information makes the biggest difference. The instinct is to feed a scoop of something from a bag twice a day because that feels like caring for them. But most British native ponies in light or moderate work need nothing more than good forage and a balancer, and overfeeding causes far more harm than underfeeding ever does. This guide explains how a pony's digestive system actually works, what to feed, what to skip, and how to feed for your pony's real workload rather than your good intentions.
Forage first: how a pony is built to eat
A pony is a trickle feeder. In the wild it grazes for 16–18 hours a day, taking in small amounts of fibrous, low-energy forage almost constantly. Its digestive system is designed around that: a small stomach that is never meant to be empty, and a large hind gut full of microbes that ferment fibre into energy. Feed a pony the way nature intended — plenty of forage, little and often — and most feeding problems simply never arise.
This is why forage is always the foundation of the diet: grass in summer, and hay or haylage when grass is short. For the great majority of leisure ponies, forage plus a vitamin and mineral balancer is the entire diet. Everything else — mixes, cubes, conditioning feeds, treats — is an optional extra that a minority of ponies genuinely need. Feed the pony in front of you, not the picture on the feed bag.
Does my pony actually need hard feed?
Hard feed means the bagged concentrates — coarse mixes, cubes, conditioning feeds and cereals. It is easy to assume every pony needs some, but most UK native ponies in light work do not need any at all. They hold weight beautifully on forage alone, and adding cereals to an already good-doer is a fast route to fizzy behaviour, weight gain and, worst of all, laminitis.
Hard feed genuinely earns its place in a few situations:
- Ponies in moderate to hard work — regular schooling, competing, long hacking — who are burning more calories than forage provides.
- Poor doers — some finer types and Thoroughbred-crosses struggle to hold condition and need extra calories.
- Elderly ponies with worn teeth who can no longer chew forage efficiently and need soaked, easy-to-eat feeds.
- Ponies recovering from illness or building condition after weight loss, under veterinary guidance.
If your pony is a typical native in light family work and holding weight, the honest answer is usually: no, it does not need hard feed. A balancer covers the nutritional gaps without the calories.
The one supplement most ponies need: a balancer
A vitamin and mineral balancer is a concentrated, low-calorie pellet fed in a small daily amount (typically 100–500g depending on the pony's size). It provides the vitamins, minerals and quality protein that UK forage often lacks — particularly copper, zinc, selenium and vitamin E — without adding meaningful calories or sugar.
For most ponies it is the single most useful thing you can feed. It means your good-doer can live on restricted grass or soaked hay and still get complete nutrition. If you feed only a token handful of a compound mix "for the vitamins", you are almost certainly feeding far below the rate needed to actually deliver those vitamins — a balancer does the job properly, in a small scoop, without the sugar.
Feeding by workload, not by habit
The right amount of feed depends on what the pony is actually doing, not on what time of day it is or how much your pony asks. A useful way to picture workload:
- Maintenance / light work: the field companion, lead-rein pony, or one hacked a few times a week. Forage plus a balancer. No hard feed needed.
- Moderate work: regular schooling, Pony Club, active hacking. Forage plus a balancer, and a low-energy conditioning feed only if the pony is losing weight.
- Hard work: frequent competition or long, fast work. Forage plus feed matched to the extra energy demand — ideally fibre and oil based rather than cereal based for a calmer, safer energy source.
Most family ponies sit firmly in the first two categories. If in doubt, feed less and add forage — a fibre-based diet is calmer, safer and far kinder to the gut than a bucket of cereals.
How much forage?
As a rough guide, a pony needs 1.5–2.5% of its bodyweight in dry matter from forage every day. For a typical 300kg pony that is roughly 4.5–7.5kg of hay per day. Good doers should sit at the lower end, with intake slowed using small-holed haynets so they are not standing with an empty stomach for long periods. Poor doers and hard workers sit at the top end, sometimes fed ad-lib.
Weigh your hay rather than guessing — a "section" of a bale varies enormously. A cheap luggage scale and a haynet will tell you far more than your eye. Our hay vs haylage guide covers how to choose and store forage, and how to soak it to reduce sugar for a laminitis-prone pony.
Feeding to prevent laminitis and obesity
Obesity is the most common welfare problem in UK ponies, and it is almost always a feeding problem. A fat pony is not a healthy or well-loved pony — it is a laminitis case waiting for spring grass. If you own a native, weight management is not seasonal; it is year-round.
The golden rules for a good-doer: keep weight controlled with a monthly weigh-tape, restrict rich grass in spring and autumn, feed low-sugar forage (soak hay for 30–60 minutes if needed), avoid molasses-based and cereal-based feeds entirely, and use a balancer for nutrition rather than a compound mix. Read our good-doer and grazing guide and laminitis guide together — they are the two most important things you can read as a native pony owner.
The golden rules of safe feeding
However you feed, a handful of principles protect the pony's gut and prevent the two emergencies owners dread most — laminitis and colic:
- Make all changes gradually — the gut microbes need 7–14 days to adapt to any new feed or forage. Sudden changes cause colic.
- Feed little and often — several small meals beat one large one; never let the stomach stand empty for long.
- Always provide clean, fresh water — a pony drinks 20–45 litres a day, more in hot weather or on dry forage.
- Feed by weight, not by scoop — different feeds weigh very different amounts for the same volume.
- Do not work hard straight after a large feed — leave an hour for the stomach to settle.
- Keep feeding consistent — ponies thrive on routine, and a sudden change of forage when you move yards is a common colic trigger.
Treats, and the things never to feed
The occasional carrot, apple or handful of a low-sugar treat is fine for most ponies — but keep laminitis-prone ponies to a strict, measured amount, and never hand-feed constantly, which teaches nipping. Some foods are genuinely dangerous and must never be fed: grass cuttings (they ferment and cause deadly colic and laminitis), anything mouldy or dusty, large quantities of fruit, and human snacks. When in doubt, leave it out.
The bottom line
Good pony feeding is refreshingly simple: forage first, a balancer for complete nutrition, and hard feed only if the pony's workload or condition genuinely calls for it. Weigh what you feed, make changes slowly, keep water available, and watch the pony's weight like a hawk — because with native ponies, the danger is nearly always too much, not too little. If you are budgeting for a new pony, our cost of keeping a pony guide breaks down forage, feed and bedding, and the seasonal care calendar shows how feeding changes through the year.