Best way of managing weight over summer

[Sandstone1]

Whats the best weight management routine for summer?
Grazing muzzle? Im not keen on this option. pony quite sensitive but will use if nec. Strip grazing? will pony gorge grass when fence moved. Track systems? I favour this method but depends on yard owners co operation.
Stab!ing in day out at night? Again depends on yard owner but feel this would be best option.
How do you all manage to restrict grazing over summer?

 

[OldieButGoodie]

Whats the best weight management routine for summer?
Grazing muzzle? Im not keen on this option. pony quite sensitive but will use if nec. Strip grazing? will pony gorge grass when fence moved. Track systems? I favour this method but depends on yard owners co operation.
Stab!ing in day out at night? Again depends on yard owner but feel this would be best option.
How do you all manage to restrict grazing over summer?

Last year I managed by strip grazing and keeping horse in during the day - with restricted amount of timothy haylage (lower sugars than ryegrass haylage).
The strip is moved a few feet every few nights so he gets a tiny amount of grass.
Don't like muzzles because they are either too easy to get off or rub the horse raw.
This summer I'll do the same but the haylage will be replaced by oat straw.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I muzzle and also restrict by bringing in or by having a roped off area in the field in which they have hay if needed. One tolerates a muzzle well, the other not so much but I can ride the legs off that one. I dislike strip grazing personally and cannot do it anyway with my summer grazing due to field layout (a river runs through it) or a track system-they do better ime if they have movement combined with a muzzle rather than little movement and a bald paddock.

 

[milliepops]

I have used muzzles with good success and prefer them to strip grazing where possible. If you get the right design and size for your horse then they don't rub esp with use of sheepskin/duct tape if necessary. The horse can then have the normal amount of space to wander about in rather than being sectioned off into a tiny paddock I don't have a suitable set up to be able to do a track system so this is a good alternative.

I keep mine in overnight until the daytime temps are too high or the horseflies start to become a nuisance, and then we swap round. Realistically if they are out overnight then they have more time at grass than stabled

 

[meleeka]

I have a track which is probably 3 metres wide over two acres in a figure 8 with the stables and eating area in the middle and mine live out. They get the same amount of hay as in winter but in smaller holed nets in crates. This is by far the best method I’ve found. It keeps them active but severely limits the grass intake. They get the grass when I strip graze the middle in late Autumn/winter which saves me hay then.

 

[teddypops]

My fat ponies live in a small bare paddock and come in during the day. They have hay but very little grass.

 

[ester]

My preference is a track system but depending on your ground you can still have too much grass. I have done this on livery when he was on his own and at home.

When putting him on a track would have meant him losing his field mate I opted to muzzle so that he could still have lots of horsey contact. - out at night in during the day so plenty of hay going through.

Last year on good grass growing ground out 24/7 - we have two on one acre and strip from about 1/3 acre slowly all summer we ended up muzzling as well as strip grazing.

Exercise is best but we can't do much of that anymore, and stabling brings on stiffness so it's a balancing act really, our stables also get really hot during the day in the summer.

 

[tda]

We're going to try a track system this summer, depends on the weather really.

 

[SpringArising]

Either strip grazing or restricted turnout with plenty of exercise and hay as a substitute is my choice. I think I'll be looking into a GreenGuard muzzle this year but I've heard mixed reviews on them.

 

[ester]

We're going to try a track system this summer, depends on the weather really.

Our track has been set up about 5/6 weeks, ready for spring... they are still grazing the middle as it is so wet!

 

[pippixox]

we put up a track yesterday. tried it at the end of summer last year and worked very well. we did about 600m to do a large rectangle in about an 8 acre field. so now we must have bout 5-6 acres shut off until winter and 2-3 acre track for 2-3 horses to mostly live out on.
I tried strip for spring time last year but personally I found it just meant they gorged on the area I have opened up and barely moved until it ran a bit low. even if its just a small area at a time, it gives them a sugar rush each time you move the fence a little.

track is a bit of effort to put up. but our field is almost a rectangle- so put 4 wooden posts in the corners (we have a post rammer tool) and then plastic posts a a line of tape with battery zap! it really does work, as it keeps them moving as well as reducing the area.

if your field it a bit too narrow, we have also done an L shape in the past. going to do this in our smaller paddocks for my friends ponies.

it is wet- but be aware- the grass has certainly started growing- my friends mare has just got laminitis having been turned out all weekend on the big winter field after a while in.

 

[supsup]

I think there's no one right solution, but you need to pick the best combination of all the available options (stable, restricted grazing, muzzle, increase exercise, track system...) that works for you.
I my case, I've given up on muzzles as my horse started to get wear marks on his teeth. We don't have stabling available, and I'm also not a fan (IMO, horses should be out and in company as much as possible). So he and his (similarly good doer) companion get their grazing restricted quite severely in the spring. We don't strip graze much until mid summer (or even reduce the area) as the grass growing through in even the small area they have is enough to provide their daily intake. I monitor the number of manure piles to make sure they have enough fibre going through their system, and will increase the area a bit if that drops off. I try to balance body condition vs. enough poo throughput.
It is a compromise, as the two then have a pretty small area to live in. It works for us as the field drains well and tolerates the intensive grazing, and the two horses get along well. Unfortunately, a track system is not really an option as we have too many horses with different needs in the same large field (four separate areas), and they all need to access shade/shelter and water, which limits our options for fence building. Works for us though.

 

[ester]

It also depends if you have two with the same needs. That is where I have found muzzling a useful adjunct

 

[Sandstone1]

Thanks for all the replies.
pony had laminits last year and cant risk it again.
Definitely needs grazing restricted this year as not doing it would be cruel and irresponsible so i need to find a workable way of doing it.

Im thinking of a combination of a track and stabling.

 

[Nudibranch]

I have used in the past, and will be using again with the new fatty, a combination of fatty paddock and muzzle. Ideally I would set up a track but the terrain here isn't suitable so I section off an area instead. Then pony can go out on the main field for about 8 hours a day in the muzzle for a change of scene and more exercise. As mentioned earlier if they fit well and aren't on for very long periods they don't usually rub.

 

[wiglet]

I used to be on a DIY yard where everyone turned out 24/7 from April - October. Her weight used to rocket so much I had to buy a longer girth for her!
My mare now comes in at night all year round. I've found this keeps her weight stable.

 

[Sandstone1]

I used to be on a DIY yard where everyone turned out 24/7 from April - October. Her weight used to rocket so much I had to buy a longer girth for her!
My mare now comes in at night all year round. I've found this keeps her weight stable.

Thanks. this is my problem. As i have not got my own land I cant do my own thing so its difficult.

 

[ester]

If you can put out on a track at night and stable during the day I think I'd opt for that, and if you have much grass on the track at the start muzzle.

I managed to convince my fussy YO's to let me put a small track up when they didn't like people strip grazing. You can then strip the track by moving the fencing in and out as required.

 

[Antw23uk]

I have a track which is probably 3 metres wide over two acres in a figure 8 with the stables and eating area in the middle and mine live out. They get the same amount of hay as in winter but in smaller holed nets in crates. This is by far the best method I’ve found. It keeps them active but severely limits the grass intake. They get the grass when I strip graze the middle in late Autumn/winter which saves me hay then.

meleeka do you have any pictures of your track system on 2 acres? I have just shy of three acres split into three paddocks and like the idea of a track but havent seen how it would work on such a small space!

 

[ester]

I think it depends a bit on shape, Our summer paddock is often our acre one, but it's long and narrow and I think it would struggle to be a decent track, our other paddock is 2 acres and very square and when we start off the track we often only use half of it.

This side had been used all winter hence we left it a bit wider to start

The main issue we have ever had with having a track is we usually used the grazed areas for schooling in and you don't get a space big enough. No one schools anymore so it's fine!

On his own at livery the paddock was probably less than half an acre, about a third maybe but it was sufficient to track.

Hope that helps, this year I will try and get a pic from bedroom as that would show the whole track then! This sort of shows you the field but we weren't tracking at this point

 

[Horsekaren]

i really found the greengaurd muzzle to be brilliant. My boy sulked for a morning in the filed, i then went and sat with him pushing grass up with my hand on the floor, he got the hang of it and then didnt look back. He adjusted to it really well, i plan on using it again this summer for the first week of grass every time they change field (they do this every 3 - 4 weeks)

 

[supsup]

I also used a Greenguard muzzle for a while (exactly for the problem described above - him needing more restriction than his field mates). But then I noticed that it really wore grooves into his incisors, despite only ever using it for a pretty short period in spring (6-8 weeks), and part-time (8ish hours a day max). I stopped using it for this reason, and now years later, the wear on the incisors is still visible.

I still rate the muzzle, but I'd recommend that anyone using a muzzle (any type) keep checking for wear on teeth as well as more obvious skin rubs. Mine seems to use his teeth to get at the grass, I'm sure others use their lips more and won't have the same problem. He now goes into ~ 3x stable sized small paddock by himself for part of the day if he needs restricting even further than his field mate.

 

[ceva]

I have two 16.3 horses on 2 acres I split them in 4 sections, then they have a 'bald' section that they go into at night with hay, walk in to a section with some grass to keep them happy during the day, then other 2 sections are resting and alternate them as the grass grows, so all sections get grazed and rested alternately and that works for me and the horses, they don't get silly with lots of fresh grass and keep their weight about right for summer.