can i have some advice please re getting pony to loose weight?

jackessex

jackessex

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hi all i have a pony that really needs to loose weight,i have recently put her and the other horse on a track system round the outside of their field,i needed them to move as much as possible as they are barefoot and they had thrush prob when they were coming in at night.The grazing they are on now is a mix of old long grass and short areas full of clover,i have noticed the last wk or so they have been gorging on the clover which i think is the main culprit for the weight gain.I have been leading pony from other horse to give her some excercise but i need to do more to shift weight,the other prob i have is i cant soak hay as we dont have mains water and the hay that i have i think is high in sugar as when i was feeding it they had large glands and filled legs(when in)i could go back to a smaller area for them to graze but the fields are so wet they will just end up standing in mud.i dont know what to do for the best,any ideas would be great as im pulling my hair out with this prob :(
 
I worked my boy quite hard for him this summer in order for him to loose weight. He had come out of the winter looking well, we had haylege out in the field, and i wasn't able to limit his grass as he is out with 2 others.
We did at least 10 minutes on the lunge every day. Even if it was just in walk when the field was pretty wet. Some days we he worked twice a day, as well as lunging we longreined, hacked and schooled.
I found by far the best way to get the weight off was to keep him moving with the extra work.
 
gillianfleming said:
I worked my boy quite hard for him this summer in order for him to loose weight. He had come out of the winter looking well, we had haylege out in the field, and i wasn't able to limit his grass as he is out with 2 others.
We did at least 10 minutes on the lunge every day. Even if it was just in walk when the field was pretty wet. Some days we he worked twice a day, as well as lunging we longreined, hacked and schooled.
I found by far the best way to get the weight off was to keep him moving with the extra work.
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i would love to be able to ride her to shift the weight but shes a 13hh lead rein pony and im 5ft 6 and 9 stone,although ive been tempted to get on shes a fiesty thing i dont think i would be on for long :)
also i work full time and have two children and the other horse is in full work so im a bit stuck for time :(
 
Difficult problem which could obviously lead to lots of health probs which is a big worry. You say the pony is a lead rein pony...does this mean a child could not ride without being on the lead? Just wondering if you could find a competent kid to ride her which would free up your time abit...Im not a big fan of this but under rugging would help burn extra calories. As for the hay, could you not get a different supplier, sounds like the rich hay is probably the root cause of the extra weight. We scatter our hay all around the field in very small piles (probably 5 mins of munching time at each pile) and this helps keep them moving. We have big builders tonne sand bags full of hay that we drag along with someone scattering the hay as we go...
 
jackessex said:
i would love to be able to ride her to shift the weight but shes a 13hh lead rein pony and im 5ft 6 and 9 stone,although ive been tempted to get on shes a fiesty thing i dont think i would be on for long :)
also i work full time and have two children and the other horse is in full work so im a bit stuck for time :(
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How about finding a sharer for her? Probably easier said than done at this time of year, but if you know any pony-mad kids with an accommadating parent who might take pony out for a bit of exercise that would surely help.
I feel your pain about this, I have a fatty too, now much slimmer thankfully, but it has been, and still is, very hard work.
 
im now wondering if i should bring them in anyway over night so i can get on top of it all,unfortunatly getting someone to ride her is out of question as she is only a lead rein pony and cant be trusted off lead rein,i cant lunge as all our field are like bogs.i am also concerned as she is now abscessing from her heals,so there is clearly something going on with this pony :(
 
CobsGalore said:
:confused::confused:
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Ditto, am I being really thick...hay is surely better for a overweight pony! This is gonna sound abit harsh but I really think this pony needs a different routine...or a new home where she can get more work and attention...if you havent even got a spare 10 mins to lunge I dont see the pony is getting what she needs. Difficult situation that could get alot worse
 
redriverrock said:
Ditto, am I being really thick...hay is surely better for a overweight pony! This is gonna sound abit harsh but I really think this pony needs a different routine...or a new home where she can get more work and attention...if you havent even got a spare 10 mins to lunge I dont see the pony is getting what she needs. Difficult situation that could get alot worse
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excuse me i didnt say i didnt have time to lunge her i said i havent got anywere to lunge as everywhere is wet and muddy so its not safe!!
 
I would seriously consider muzzling. In order to help the muzzle stay on you can plait the mane / forelock over the headpiece ;)

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind so Muzzling your other horse may be necessary.

Either that or section the pony off during the day? Even if she is stood in mud with a bit of hay to nibble / hedges to browse ?

Maybe a bib and belly clip on the pony would be a good idea... no need to rug but will make her system work a bit harder to keep her warm...

That and trying to lunge / walk out in hand / ride and lead as much as possible.

A sharer might be a good idea. even someone who may not want to ride but wants to be around horses could take her for walks in hand etc?
 
I take it you are riding the other one. If so then I would be leading her out from him and make her work.

To lose weight she needds less food - more work. She must have enough trickle food thoug to keep her guts healthy.

Try to get some late cut hay - cut after the optimum time when the seed heads have dried off. Or if you can source it hay that has come from the seed production - all the seeds have been removes leaving just the stalks which are low in food value and tough and full of fibre.
 
If she were mine I really would give her a full clip and put a rain sheet on. I have done this on a couple of occasions when needing to get weight off a horse. x
 
Assuming the pony lives out it will naturally lose weight over the winter so you may find you don't need to make too much of an effort to slim her down.
 
jackessex said:
i would love to be able to ride her to shift the weight but shes a 13hh lead rein pony and im 5ft 6 and 9 stone,although ive been tempted to get on shes a fiesty thing i dont think i would be on for long :)
also i work full time and have two children and the other horse is in full work so im a bit stuck for time :(
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Sorry if you have taken offence about the lungeing...understand it is hard when fields etc are muddy but you do state you are stuck for time...hence the suggestion made by several others that you could get a sharer to do the work you dont have time for.
 
The clover wll soon die off now that the weather has turned colder, so that won't be adding to the problem. If the felds are so boggy and her heels are sore would bring her in a night anyway. My dieter has a little haylage (cos that's all we can get) and lots of oat straw chaff and is losing weight nicely, approx 1cm per week.
 
You could contact your local pony club, you never know there might be someone looking for a lead rein pony to do little shows who would exercise the pony a bit more?

Maybe you could put down some woodchip or hardcore or whatever you can get to make a small lungeing area, depends what you are free to do on the land you have.

I'm sure she will lose weight over the winter, but it sounds like the hay is too rich, could you sell it to someone and get some less nutritious? Also the first obvious thing to do would be to fence her off in a separate bit or muzzle her :-)
 
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