Bloated horse - ideas on diet?

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rachk89

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My horse is looking bloated again on all of the grass he is gorging. When he was at the vets recently, they must have kept him in for a day or two as he came back looking slim and lovely.

However few weeks on he is now back to looking huge, but I rarely see him not eating and he's always wanting more food.

Been wormed so it's not that. He still gets a feed every day as he needs to take rigcalm. I out mint in that to mask the taste. Been using apple juice recently to hide the taste of the pain killers but stopping that soon as he no longer needs the painkillers.

I am going to bring him in overnight for the next few weekends. During the week is more difficult, the yard would have to put him out for me but he gets a bit too much for them as he gets excited to go out. I don't mind dealing with it, but it's not fair on them. Can't stay in during the day either as he'll probably just escape from his stable eventually.

Smaller paddock isn't possible, he'll either go mad and/or escape.

Any suggestions? Anything diet wise I can try to help with the bloating? He isn't ridden much yet due to the kissing spine but he'll be put slowly back into work from next week.

Thanks :)
 
Surely staff offering services on a yard would be experienced enough to turn out an excitable horse.. perhaps you could invest in a dually/ be nice to leave with him in case they need it.
 
I think if he was mine I'd be worried about laminitis (never mind the saddle no longer fitting!). My IDx horse is huge at the moment and that's on overnight turnout in a narrow strip (eaten down to the ground!) and kept in during the day with two very small nets of timothy haylage one in AM other in PM (he has haylage because of COPD). He also has to have two small feeds a day for ventipulmin - so he gets a small handful of chaff and quarter scoop speedibeet twice a day. The interesting thing to note is when I had the exact same routine BUT used a muzzle on him he managed to stay 'slim'. However the muzzles would rub him raw (despite using padding and vaseline) plus he sometimes got the muzzle off and I couldn't risk him getting it off and gorging! Hence the strip. However he is managing to get enough nutrition out of that strip to put on more weight than I'm happy with so it looks like muzzling will have to recommence. Anyway I would recommend a muzzle if your horse will tolerate it although they're not really meant for 24/7 use. Good luck!
 
I think you will have to go with just day turnout if his that bad to take to the field stick a bridle on him, I know it's hard when they can't work I have one off at the moment and I have just restricted grass all summer and fed hay and thankfully he is looking okay, you just have to do whatever is best for them in the long run you don't want him getting laminitis, personally I am not a fan of muzzles and 24 hour turnout with them left on the entire time I would rather the horse come in for a period everyday off the grass.
 
I turn out at night on restricted grazing. If you don't want yard staff doing the turnout you could do it yourself in the evening and ask the yard staff to get in in the morning. It keeps mine out of the heat and flies, I give hay during the day but that is restricted to some extent and tbh I find mine tends to doze for quite a lot of the day. I even find him flat out asleep. I know you will be bringing your horse back into work, i find my horse is a lot less fizzy on this regimen than when he's kept in at night.
 
Is he actually fat or is it a bit of a grass belly? My share horse has a huge belly when he's been in the field but once he's off the grass for an hour or two and the gas has escaped he looks half the size. Either way bringing him in for part of the time should help. Maybe if they brought him in in the morning, you could put him out at night so you have the excitable horse and they have the full bellied, lethargic one?
 
They can't leave him in the stable so them bringing him in in the morning won't work. He'll just go loopy by himself.

He is excitable in the morning so it would be the stable taking him out then and he can be a problem. Dually doesn't work on him, bridle does but I dunno if they would use it or not.

It's definitely not fat, it's bloating/grass belly. I am gonna try bringing him in this weekend at night and see if that helps it.

He doesn't seem prone to laminitis, he's on rich grass but he's just scoffing it all and still running around like an idiot, he's such a helpful horse with his back injury. Keeping an eye on him obviously but we've got no signs of laminitis yet. He really is just looking large.
 
I don't get what your asking really? If he's bloated on grass and has a belly then he needs to be either restricted or taken off the grass.
 
Is it possible to set up a track with electric fencing? Restricts grass intake and encourages movement if you have feed/water/and hay dotted around it.
 
rachk89 said:
They can't leave him in the stable so them bringing him in in the morning won't work. He'll just go loopy by himself.

He is excitable in the morning so it would be the stable taking him out then and he can be a problem. Dually doesn't work on him, bridle does but I dunno if they would use it or not.

It's definitely not fat, it's bloating/grass belly. I am gonna try bringing him in this weekend at night and see if that helps it.

He doesn't seem prone to laminitis, he's on rich grass but he's just scoffing it all and still running around like an idiot, he's such a helpful horse with his back injury. Keeping an eye on him obviously but we've got no signs of laminitis yet. He really is just looking large.
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Trouble with laminitis is you won't know if he's prone or not until he gets it. I'm also not sure what you are saying, if he is overweight then you need to help him to lose weight by reducing the grass he's consuming, if he's bloated with gas from eating too much grass, you still need to reduce the amount of grass he's eating. I can only think of three ways to do this, use a muzzle, strip or track graze or keep him off the grass for part of the time. I am surprised the yard staff can't turn him out perhaps he needs to learn some manners. I'm sorry if this sounds a bit blunt but it is basic education for a horse to be able to be led to and from a field, what would happen if you were taken ill or got injured?
 
I have just moved yards due to handling problems with my horse amongst other issues. She knows how to behave, but if you are at all nervous around her she takes the 'p' and it can escalate pretty quickly. With someone who knows what they are doing and gives off that aura, she will plod in like a donkey. Anyone at all nervous will get ears back, threatening to kick, yanking down at the grass, threatening to kick when told not to do it etc etc etc. She's a brat. You have my sympathy - its a pain when you've got one that is tricky.

Anyway, before the yard move I bought about 50 electric fence posts and a lot of tape and fenced off the middle section of my paddock, so my 2 fatties could only graze around the edge. Whenever other liveries would moan the grass wasn't growing I would look at my fenced off section and think that it was growing pretty fast when it wasn't being scoffed by greedy horses.
 
rach which processes were touching I can't remember?

If he is otherwise fine I would be reluctant to have him in if he doesn't need to be at the moment, I should think he is better walking round, head down than being in the stable right now. and much as a I use a muzzle myself I would worry he might have a BIG strop about it that you don't want him to do at the moment either (and you don't want it on 24/7 really so he will just stuff when it is off).
 
Sorry ester processes?

I can't strip graze or track, he is in a field with 8 other horses. Can't take him out because he doesn't like being alone and no other field to put him in anyway. The only thing I can try is the muzzle.

He refused to leave the stables tonight after I rode him for 15 mins so he is actually in tonight. There is going to be a storm tonight so whether he is aware of that or not, may be why he doesn't want to leave.

I know he has bad manners which I am working on but I have also been told here it's not fair to let the yard staff deal with that so I'm not until he learns some respect. Getting there slowly but he is a slow learner. He remembers things too well and undoing that is the problem. But I can't do that overnight. This is one of my few options. Once he is back in work if he is still being rude he is going to get put somewhere for retraining I think, but dread to think how much that's gonna cost when he takes so long to listen and learn. He does not care, he knows he is doing wrong, but he doesn't care.

I was hoping for feed/supplement suggestions too but guess there is nothing for this. It will just be keep off the grass which I can't do, not fully.
 
bits of spine identified as issue, only because in part I am thinking the higher up the more Id just want him head down grazing normally. - I say this because if you have ever watched anything use a muzzle they do tend to push it down on the ground then work their head back and forwards. Greenguards less so (and let them have more grass) so for him although they arent my favourite it might be the best option.
I suspect there might be supplements you could try but not anything I know about.
 
Mine gets a big gas belly. My vet suggested a pro biotic but I'm not sure it helped. A friend feeds hers with 'Deflatine ' but I haven't tried that.

I find the best thing is to give mine a good lunge which in turn gets everything moving and leads to a good fart!!!

I'm lucky that my YO is very sympathetic to my horse's needs. I have individual turnout and she allows me to section it off so I restrict her grazing and move the fence around to let her only have a little fresh grass. The only real solution might be to move yards.
 
JulesRules said:
Mine gets a big gas belly. My vet suggested a pro biotic but I'm not sure it helped. A friend feeds hers with 'Deflatine ' but I haven't tried that.

I find the best thing is to give mine a good lunge which in turn gets everything moving and leads to a good fart!!!

I'm lucky that my YO is very sympathetic to my horse's needs. I have individual turnout and she allows me to section it off so I restrict her grazing and move the fence around to let her only have a little fresh grass. The only real solution might be to move yards.
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I could get a separate field eventually if I asked but we know what he is like. He can't be out by himself, he doesn't like it and he won't put up with it, he just runs round in circles because he can see his friends and there is nowhere in the fields to put him where he can't. I'm not going to isolate him and drive him crazy. Not moving him either as the only places around here with isolation fields have the flimsy electric fencing that he just dismantles as he moves to another field to be with another horse.

He is too sociable to be alone. Some horses are fine by themselves, but he is not one of them and I can't afford another horse. Even if the fencing is good fencing he will escape if by himself. He has been seen crawling through the wire to get out.

Wish he was an easy horse I really do but he isn't. He makes nothing easy.
 
Hi sorry I was a bit sharp in a previous post, just felt a bit crabby! is there anyone else on the yard with a horse that needs to be on a bit less grass? Perhaps you could pair up with them? It is so difficult to keep them on the correct amount of grazing, I have too much grazing here and my horse has a sect A as a companion, they both have different needs grazing wise so I spend my life moving the electic fencing (which is on the mains). I am just about managing to keep little pony the right side of fat without big horse starving, in fact he looks really good ATM, fit and muscled and not fat al all. Regarding handling, have you seen the free videos that seem to be doing the rounds by Radek Libal? the first one looks at very basic control on the ground and it "chimed" with my hugely experienced trainer's advice which is basically every time you handle a horse you are training it, make sure it is learning what you want it to learn. You might find it helpful.
 
Totally sympathise on the need for company - mine is very quirky and needs company in the morning or he jumps out. Afternoons are apparently fine (?!) He would also eat for England if allowed to. Luckily his field companion is also a good do-er so we strip graze them both from March to September/October and he comes in overnight all year round with a net of soaked hay. Is there any chance of strip grazing within the herd with another horse i.e. not moving him from his field but restricting him with another for company? Or maybe persevere with the stabling overnight with lots of soaked hay to keep him occupied?
 
I'll have a look at those videos cheers oldie. I am at a loss with him because he doesn't learn. His latest thing the dropping his head, turning quickly and pulling I catch everytime now he does it and tell him off for it, but he still hasn't learned. He did it again this morning when I put him out so from now on again the bridle is going on.

No fields to share unfortunately. The thing is his field has been made smaller and the grass is not long, but he is a hoover of food. The rest of them aren't that big, yet he has managed to grow a massive belly in 2 weeks?
 
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