Am I wasting my time?

[tonitot]

The pony I loan was very fat and couldnt do 5 minutes on the lunge without sweating and puffing. He has gotten fitter and has slimmed down quite a bit. The only thing thats annoying me is his owner is feeding him a huge handful of alfa a chaff and two overflowing scoops (the small rectangle ones) of Recoup (which is full of energy and therefore fat) even on days when he does nothing .. He's only worked every other day for about an hour just in the school, jumping or hacking, is in the field during the day if weather permits (owner seems to think they'll melt if theyre out in the rain even in rugs) and stabled at night with an armful of hay. He's a small native "live off air" type pony so in my opinion he doesnt need that much feed at all. He only has it once a day.
So ... am I wasting my time trying to get him lean and fit? .. If so what should I do? I dont want to give him up but Im getting annoyed that it seems all my work is going to waste ...

 

[AmyMay]

Why is she feeding him if you have him on loan??


.

 

[bushbaby28]

Have you spoken to the owner and mentioned you are worried about his weight? Could do it subtly by saying how great he's looking now he's lost a bit of weight, lets hope he keeps it off?

Hard one and don't really know. Think you just have to be honest but if owner can't realise damage she's doing to her horse then theres nothing you can do.

Good luck!!

 

[Laurenm01]

Have you tried talking to the owner about it in a constructive way? Otherwise it will just all build up and both you and the pony wont be better off!

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

Is he currently overweight? If so, how much?

 

[lilym]

Can you not offer to take him on full loan including feeding?? That way you could just give him something like happy hoof!!

 

[Echo Bravo]

As above?????

 

[tonitot]

SS - owner feeds him as the loan agreement is I pay £50 a month for him + farrier + bedding + half any vet fees. She still pays for feed although I'm thinking of saying that I'll pay for his feed and put him on something different.

DB - I have mentioned it to her, and she knows hes fat as her nickname for him is "Fatty". When I made his feed for him she asked why it was small and I said because he doesnt need that much and her reply was "but hes going to be starving" and filled his bucket up :/ I dont think theres much hope there.

Lauren - Its quite difficult with her as she doesnt really seem to get what I mean when I drop hints .. so do you think I should say it out right?

tasteofchaos - He's not obesly overweight, just a bit fatter than he should be, although he seems to have put on more weight since shes upped his feed.

 

[tonitot]

[ QUOTE ]
Can you not offer to take him on full loan including feeding?? That way you could just give him something like happy hoof!!

[/ QUOTE ]

This is what I'd like to do and I'm planning to take on feeding aswell soon .. I was thinking about Healthy Hooves but I still want him to have some energy there .. what could I feed him then?

 

[LindyLulu]

my pet hate is owners feeding way too much to a pony that doesn't need it just because "he'll be hungry"

I think you should just tell her out right that she's the reason he's fat. not nice to say it, but it's for his health.
you wouldn't feed a fat kid cakes and burgers every day so why feed a pony crap it doesn't need?
Hope you get it sorted, cos you sound like you're doing a fab job with getting him fit x

 

[tonitot]

[ QUOTE ]
my pet hate is owners feeding way too much to a pony that doesn't need it just because "he'll be hungry"

I think you should just tell her out right that she's the reason he's fat. not nice to say it, but it's for his health.
you wouldn't feed a fat kid cakes and burgers every day so why feed a pony crap it doesn't need?
Hope you get it sorted, cos you sound like you're doing a fab job with getting him fit x

[/ QUOTE ]

Okay thank you

.. might try and word it a bit nicer than that as dont want to fall out with her (work with her and she tells me what days I can have off!) We have a same problem with rugs too .. gonna post about that later though .. trying not to sound like Im being too ranty tonight!

 

[LindyLulu]

lol yeah better put it in a nicer way than i said it!!!!

Hope you get it sorted x

 

[tonitot]

[ QUOTE ]
lol yeah better put it in a nicer way than i said it!!!!

Hope you get it sorted x

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks

I'll be sure to post an update once ive had a word

 

[KingCharles]

I would have a word with her and see if you can take over the full care of him and then you can manage his diet better.
No owner lieks ot be told there in the wrong and you dont want to fall out with her as at the end of the day she holds the strings.

It could just be down to ignorance that she is feeding him so much, although one big feed a day is a wasteful way of feeding a pony any way.

Maybe if she feels she still wants to have control over his feeding you could convice her to contact a feed specilist to advise her on what woudl be best to feed and the amount. Then she still feels she has some control over hsi diet if that is what she wants. however she woudl then be better informed and this may just do the trick. If she was to replace the recoup with a low energy fibre nut and the chaff with a low cal one then the damage woudl be minamised. Is there any way you coulld increase his work load so that he is using the extra calories?

The thign to bare in mind is that if you take control over his diet, she may still end up feeding him extra anyway becasue she still feels you are starving him.

It could be he is starting to bulk out with muscle rather than actually getting fatter as a reasult of the extra feed.

it sounds like although she calls him fatty and obviously knows he is looking well, she still is in denial.

A small feed for work done is not a problem and some low cal chaff on the days off is fine.

If she is overrugging him maybe suggest a lighter weight rug if he is getting too hot in the rug, or maybe a small clip. That way she still feels happy that he is not out naked, but the pony is not suffering.

The problem with a loan is that you never own the horse, and if the owner still has a lot of control then sometimes you just become a bystander, and you conflict with each other.

Your obviously trying to do right by the pony and you dont want to give him up. However if you dont come to an agreement with the owner then this situation will never go away, and eventually you may end up with a pony with lami, that you will end up having to shell out in vet bills for and try and manage becasue fo the owners stupidity.

good luck