any advice...weight issue

classic_astra

classic_astra

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my filly is welsh cob x warmblood, and is 2 and a half years old.

her mum has always been an extremely good doer, and she is taking after her but a little bit more!

she puts on weight sooooo easily, she looks in foal at the moment shes so fat :(

this is partly due to her electric fence hopping with her 4 month old brother but now ive replaced all wire and bought a new unit, she is finally staying put. all three are in a small paddock joining on to another small paddock. first paddock is pretty much bare, second one has some grass but not alot at all. mare and foal look fine, mare is always a liitle chubby but i do my best by her but my filly :O shes just huge.

shes been wormed, the one that does everything, and recently been done for tape worm. all vaccs are up to date, and she gets exercise in the form of hooning about with said brother!

im reluctant to lunge her as i dont have a sandschool, so would be in field on hard ground and at her age dont want to risk it. she already has a small splint from when bro was born and her having races up and down the field with him.

i dont want to seperate them as she will just start going through the electric again to get to him (seperation issues!) and i have no stables, so cant stable her at all.

any ideas?? shes too fat for a 2.5 yr old and i want to get her to slim down a bit as even through the winter she holds her weight very well!
 
oh and some pics


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I'm sorry I've nothing constructive to add, but I can't believe shes nearly 3 already!!! Hope you can find a solution to the chubby problem :/ very difficult when you can't really work them die to age. Can you take her for walks in hand perhaps?
 
i would be walking in hand

but if the pics are recent and show how much grass she has available then it looks to be loads

a 2yr olds dietry needs are very different to a mare with a foal and foot and the foal itself

is there nothing else you can put her out with on more restricted grazing?
 
the top pic that paddock is in half now and the bottom one was her first day on it after the other had grazed it down a bit.

id love to walk her in hand but outside the gate the only way to go is up a 60mph road and trust me when i say they do 60 mph
 
well it sounds like where you are you cant do much to get the weight off, i would move to somewhere you can take them out of field for a walk ,separate them and put her in a stable for part of the day.
i would not muzzle anything out with a baby as its too much of an invite to play with and i would worry about them getting caught up together, if she was older and not with a foal i would only suggest a muzzle if she is overlooked all the time it is on.
 
thanks, movings not an option, not for the near future anyway.

maybe i could put her in another field in the day when im there either thats bare, one with no grass, or muzzle her in the day when im there?
 
might be an option but i would not put a muzzle on whilst she is with the foal in case they get caught up.

years ago i was looking after some horses and i arrived to find a dead mare who had got a hind leg caught up in a headcollar she was wearing, she had ruptured her lungs in her struggle to get free, she had a 10 day old colt at foot that i then had to deal with
 
blimey. i never would even leave a headcollar on my 2 mares while hes in there with them as hes a rat bag for having things in his mouth!

might be worth doing if shes on her own though do you think? just during the day where i can keep an eye. im just worried being the size she is for her age. when i start working her wont be so much of an issue
 
You will struggle with your set up at the moment my only advice would be very strict this winter if she where mine I would feed no hay and would give oat straw in the form of straw if you can get it or the honeychop plain chopped straw if not when she needs bulk I would give a basic mineral supp every day as well and a rock salt lick.I would not rug whatever the weather.
What are your plans for getting her backed ?
If she where mine I would do it early in the spring before she gains wieght after the winter then you can keep her ticking over and that should help.
Good Doers are hard to manage mine is a constant job but using straw has helped mine a lot an idea I picked up on HHO had not thought if it for years but it's something we did with my Shetland .
Winter is the time you can do the most in the kindest way for the horse.
 
Goldenstar said:
You will struggle with your set up at the moment my only advice would be very strict this winter if she where mine I would feed no hay and would give oat straw in the form of straw if you can get it or the honeychop plain chopped straw if not when she needs bulk I would give a basic mineral supp every day as well and a rock salt lick.I would not rug whatever the weather.
What are your plans for getting her backed ?
If she where mine I would do it early in the spring before she gains wieght after the winter then you can keep her ticking over and that should help.
Good Doers are hard to manage mine is a constant job but using straw has helped mine a lot an idea I picked up on HHO had not thought if it for years but it's something we did with my Shetland .
Winter is the time you can do the most in the kindest way for the horse.
Click to expand...

my set up has never been great but ideal for resting grass through summer for them to eat through winter and dont have to buy so much hay, they live on practically bog all. i only rug when its extremely cold, and they only wear a sheet anyway so stop them getting wet to get cold.

i plan to back her end of march, and have her in light work till winter when she will have it off, then bring her back in the spring after. thanks for the straw idea, someone else told me that too, just wondering if it would harm the foal to have as well once he comes back from weaning in december?

to be fair her weight in winter is fine, vet saw her last year said she was perfect for time of year and age. just summer thats a major issue!
 
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