Can I cut out any more calories? Horse not me!!

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Twinkley Lights

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Hi all If anyone saw the film Apollo 13 this question is a bit like when they were trying to work out how to save the amps to power the journey home...

I have a native rescue mare 14 hh in her heels and a very good doer this girl puts on weight looking at the colour green.:o

She is starvation grazed from spring onwards in the same paddock and has only a soaked haynet and a handful of happy hoof to come into at night. I sometimes give an extra slice on very cold nights.

Her work load is minimal as she has been a rescue project horse and now she is really coming on in trust and confidence I hope to get her going again this year but at most it will be happy hacking, desssage and local club stuff.

I'm really interested to see if folks feel that happy hoof is the best bet or if there is an alternate feed etc that can cut out a few more calories whilst still satisfying her with fibre. The hay is soaked for an hour would longer be helpful too?

I have tried every grazing muzzel on the market but she is an expert at destruction within 20mins any brand all comers.

Any advice appreciated as she was grossly obese when she arrived the other year and I have shifted her bum fat pads and greatly softened the crest but she is still a work in progress.
 
I'd just skip the happy hoof & give a bit more hay. If you can, try & source some late cut hay or some from 2012, it won't have as much goodness as this summers hay. If she gets all her hay ration in one go, I'd split it up so she isn't going long without. And maybe bulk out with straw. I think though I'd put the emphasis on calories out though. Even if not ready to be broke, you can lead in hand on hacks, or lead from another horse. And once longlining take her hacking in those.
 
Fast fibre is excellent stuff. Low calorie, very low sugar and my pony loves it. He gets a scoop with his vits and minerals in and you can make it as wet as you like (it soaks in seconds) Its also very cost effective if just feeding a scoop. x
 
I'd soak the hay for a minimum of 12 hours and also try introducing straw to bulk it out. It's very difficult with a good doer, I feel your pain!
 
Hi yes you can!

Happy Hoof has 9% sugars and there are better chaffs with less. As you are restricting and soaking you do need to feed a vit min supp. but I would look for something else to mix it in.

Fast Fibre is good or there are unmollased plain chaffs. Halleys horse feeds do a plain chopped Oat straw with no additives if she is gutsy enough to eat something so plain. Read the ingredients carefully on the bags :)

You can soak the hay for longer and then rinse it as well. Remember horses are designed to graze so need forage going through their system but agree you could try bulk out the ration with oat straw as it will lead to more problems if she doesnt get enough.

Good luck, it is hard, I know I own a horse that is an extreme good doer.

ETA exercise even 1/2 an hours walk a day can make all the difference.
 
Another vote for oat straw chaff, either from Halley's or Honeychop, which will give her something to nibble when the soaked hay has run out. I put a tiny amount of bran into a handful of chaff for supplements and also give a trug of chaff as a hay replacer.
 
I dont even feed hay to my fatties. They get barley straw ad lib. After the initial sulk from a few they all eat it up. I also give a vit and mineral pellet as the only bucket feed.
 
Can you set up a Paddock Paradise type track system around his field - an inner stretch of electric fencing to create a track of around 6 to 10 ft wide around the perimeter (depending on how big the field is and how poached the edges). That will make him work for whatever few blades of grass or browse he can find. Scatter a small amount of hay all round so that he has to seek it out. Extra exercise and calorie loss with all that movement and concentrating on finding food, without (hopefully) and empty stomach for long periods. He has to know and respect electric fencing though - not something some natives do!
 
Thanks so much all great options I just feel that she gains by thinking of her dinner some days! I will get some oat straw chaff. Any views on a good supplement I was just going to try Bailey's lo cal balancer or any others?.

Will also check out Magnesium.

Thanks again I'm prepared to give most things a go as it will be so beneficial to her long term health to reduce the weight.:)
 
Slowly replace some of her hay ration with oat straw, they often sulk initially but once they get over that if they are hungry they eat it. I'd loose the bucket feed personally, if shes not in work just provide a rock salt lick in the stable. If you want to give her a bucket feed just go for a pelleted balancer.
 
Excellent advise here. I've also used cinnamon to aid weight loss with my mare. Sounds bizarre but I've never seen her looking so slim and shiny as when she's having cinnamon. And if you want to get cinnamon, don't buy from supermarkets or feedmark - go on amazon, you can get a kilo for a fiver on there (it's good quality cinnamon too!) :)
 
Abbeygale said:
Excellent advise here. I've also used cinnamon to aid weight loss with my mare. Sounds bizarre but I've never seen her looking so slim and shiny as when she's having cinnamon. And if you want to get cinnamon, don't buy from supermarkets or feedmark - go on amazon, you can get a kilo for a fiver on there (it's good quality cinnamon too!) :)
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Wow thanks folks... super thread really very helpful, any advice on how I would feed cinnamon and magnesium as the lady in the country store looked at me very stangely when I asked if magic powder was a magnesium supplement for weight loss. I think she thought I hadn't realised it was usually a calmer and quite rightly advised me not to buy something until I was 100% on what it would achieve:)
 
I feed my girl a teaspoon of cinnamon once or twice a day. I think if you're going down the magnesium route you can buy magnesium oxide on its own from feedmark. (Or other places may be cheaper ;) )
 
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