We will assume that the miniatures you are feeding are all two years of age or older. We would recommend an orchardgrass hay that contains 10% crude protein or more for the forage. Since it sounds as if you are wanting to put a little weight on these horses, I would recommend a commercial textured feed (not pelleted) that contains 12% crude protein and 8% crude fiber or less. I would feed the hay at a rate of 1.25 to 1.5% of the horse's body weight and the commercial feed at a rate of 0.5 to 0.75% of the horse's body weight. You may need to adjust these levels up or down after about a three- to four-week period depending on what the horses' condition looks like. You can work through the Body Condition Scoring Module to learn how to evaluate your horse's condition. It will take at least two weeks before you may start seeing any changes or being able to measure any weight gains either by weighing or a weight tape.

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