Clipping hardy fat cobs and native breeds in summertime, for weight loss

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Oisintirnanog

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So I’m just looking for thoughts on clipping a Cob or other hardy native types in summer. For weight loss.

I have a great big puddin of an Irish cob gelding. 8 years old. 15h. Just has to look at food and he’ll gain 10kg.
I ride him hard, 5 -6 days a week. Hacking and arena. he has a good few acres of 24/7 turnout 9 months of the year. With two mares. Plus haylage 2x daily. A bit of chaff to mix his supplements into.

I’ve tried everything to get weight down. reducing and soaking haylage. double netting. putting his food at opposite ends of field to everyone else. Muzzle. Asking everyone not to give him treats. The works.
But he’s not stupid, he knows he’s on a diet. He just eats his food and then shares his mares food too.
If he can’t get theirs, he jumps the fence and eats the bales in the barn. Plastic wrap and all.

I clipped him today August 2024. Thinking this might get some weight off him. It’s 20 degrees and sunny. He’s currently running around naked in his field. Have I just committed animal cruelty? I’m worried he’ll get EMS or Laminitis if he stays this fat.

Tried it cos he’s been sweating like a sinner in church after just 15mins trotting in the arena. (Still make him keep going tho, cos I’m an evil owner)

Feel like if I clip now, late summer I’ll get ahead of him for winter.
In winter he REALLY piles on the pounds, cos he’s stuck indoors.
He absolutely hates being in his (big and comfy) stable in the evening in winter. From about 4:30pm to 6am. Even though he’s in there with his friends visible. Idunno, he’s like a scarecrow he just wants to be out standing in his field? 😅
.
He gets very fat in winter, and I spend next 9 months trying to slim him down again.
Yard owner suggested and I agree with her. To give 24/7 turn out a go this winter. With full clip and see how he gets on. She said not to clip in summer, or I’d ruin his coat. But did it anyway cos surely comfort comes before coat right?

Have every type of rug weight. He has bigger wardrobe than I do. So gonna start with 50g turnout, in October November, then build up to a full 400g Rambo, only if he needs it.
 
Firstly, no clipping now is not going to have any noticeable impact on weight. However if he has a thickish summer coat and is a hot sweaty type then you might make him more comfortable for increased exercise. Just take care for potential sunburn.

What will make the difference is significant calorie reduction and increased exercise. You say he is on good acreage and haylage twice a day - absolutely not needed!!! Stop the haylage and you need to find a way to limit the grass intake. Track systems work really well to keep them moving and eating less.

In the winter keeping him clipped and rugging on the lighter side may well help. But you still need to keep the calories down so use straw/well soaked hay for fibre only when the grass has really gone. And I can’t for the life of me think why 400g of rug would ever be needed for a fat cob you are trying to diet. Keep a blanket clip over his back and really stick to the 50g as much as possible
 
Really work + muzzle when at grass + soaked hay when stabled should work.

When you muzzle was it all the time he was at grass? Mine sleeps during the day when she has hay so she can eat all night, it doesn't change her intake at all but does reduce the sugars.

If it was an option I'd try a turnout pen or other grassless area with soaked hay 24/7, but wouldn't like it as a long term option.

Anyway, clipping. It does work a little but won't combat overeating. My biggest horse gets a low trace and goes out in all weathers for 14 hours in winter. No signs of discomfort. If you have sufficient shelter I wouldn't worry about 24/7 out.
 
I feel your pain some are just big aren’t they. What worked for me and a friend was feeding oat or barley straw instead of hay when not on grass. Muzzled if out on grass. Some phytolean or graze ezy supplement and keep working him. Cantering was the only thing that really ever gave my highland a waistline!
 
I manage my cobs weight by drastically reducing grass and hay intake and feeding straw half hay half straw and a bit of grass. Straw is either long in a net or top chop zero in a tub.
 
If you can, make a track system for the summer. If anyone can share it with you (any other fatties?) that will make him move more. 5ft posts if he's a jumper. No haylage until the track is bare and then soak it. You can clip him any time of year - I often clipped cobs over the summer - but in winter I would either do a low trace/chaser and no rug or if you need him clean clip him right out and put a rainsheet or a 50g on to keep him dry. A fat horse is already wearing a 400g rug, he should never need something of this weight. My Newfie goes through the winter rugless and clipped every year.
 
I'm baffled why you are feeding haylage to this horse 😲😲😲

Trotting him around the arena for 15 minutes won't do much. He needs to be hacking. Ideally a few hours everyday.
 
pistolpete said:
Track systems work if there’s movement caused by them otherwise they just ‘camp’ at the hay station. Wouldn’t feed haylage personally.
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They don't camp on grass tracks. When ours are very short of grass we sprinkle hay around the track so they keep moving. Haylage (depending on the grass it was made from) does have less sugar on average than hay (it's used up in the fermentation process).
 
Firstly clipping now won’t matter at all re winter coat, if horse is more comfortable do it. It sounds like he needs more exercise and he’ll be easier to deal with clipped. Do you have a knowledgeable instructor who could help you with a fitness plan?

Secondly, stop the haylage!! He shouldn’t need anything if he’s out 24/7, but when in overnight get him onto soaked hay, or mix with straw. Do you weigh his forage? Get yourself a gauge and calculate what he needs. If he’s a gobbler, if YO is on site can hay be put in early and then later evening for him?

Are you worried he’s out in 20 degrees naked because of him being warm enough? Or out because of eating too much? If it’s the first, he’ll be absolutely fine clipped and naked until it gets considerably colder!

He’ll need some kind of sheet on him over winter if he’s out and clipped, but I would be very surprised if it’s more than a 50/100g even at the height of winter. I can’t imagine a situation where a good doer cob would ever need a 400g! I have natives who admittedly aren’t clipped but they were naked, out 24/7 all winter apart from the two days it snowed when they had no fill sheets on. The caveat here is I have mature trees and hedges on 3 out of 4 sides of all fields, and a field shelter in some.

It’s tough, I sometimes look at my two in the middle of winter and worry if I’m being harsh or mean. But invariably they’re happily grazing, never stood waiting to come in and are in a better place coming out of winter going into spring grass.

Does yard have a walker? I’m not a massive fan but if you have access get him on it, all movement is good movement.

You’re right to be concerned about EMS and lami risk and well done for wanting to address it. Keep upping the exercise, limit the grass, stop the haylage. You’ll get there.
 
I've tried everything over the years, tracks, soaked hay, in in the day and out at night, changing some hay rations to straw strip, grazing, low sugar hayledge etc (for horses that are unrideable) and the one thing that's worked and got 80+kgs off over the last year or two is out 24/7 in winter, no rugs. Ridden horse was clipped and lightly rugged out 24/7 then when I couldn't ride (leg op) and clip had grown out a bit, she was out naked.

If possible that's what I'd do every time 😁
 
Can you not bring him in when others feed so he can’t top up ? And why the haylage? Also not sure haylsge should be soaked.

The only thing that makes my Irish cob not morbidly obese is

1) track around field or strip grazing
2) comes in during day on hay soaked for 8 hours
3) lots of hill hacks
4) I spoke to trinity consultant and gave L94 supplement 1 bottle and now feed rexflo from them.
5) I clip all year , use 50gram or 100 gram if it’s cold , but I use the blades that leave some hair or he’d burn (they are called covercote). You shouldn’t need 400 unless you’re living somewhere with constant minus 10 conditions for a cob.

The thing is you kind of need him in a field with other fatties as if he’s out with the ones who need extra hell just get bigger and bigger , are there any others you can pair up with ?

People say cobs are easy , but it’s all lies. I’m on a good Facebook group called fat horse fit , worth a look.

Can you muzzle him? Mines asthmatic so I couldn’t but might be a good soloution
 
Clipping all year round is fine.

Are you sure he needs to work up to 400gms t/o's? Mine was full clipped last year and was mainly in a 100gm, sometimes with a 50gm liner added. A friend cob who lives out was in roughy the same.

You want him luke warm, not toasty, that will make him use his own fat to keep warm.
 
I clip my cob every 2 weeks. She is on a bare paddock ,strip grazed as and on limited steamed hay in small holes next and has lost weight weekly....
Cobs literally live off fresh air and I doubt she will need more than a lightweight turnout even in winter.
 
I presume the reason for haylege twice a day is that there is not enough grass in the field and his field mates need the haylege so haylege is being put out for all three horses every day. If he is a quick eater and dominant he could be eating the haylege meant for the two mares and more than his fair share. It is very difficult when you have horses with different nutritional needs sharing a field and haylege is being put out for the poor doers but you have no way of stopping him eating more than he needs.

New Forests are my preferred breed and management of weight is tricky if you don't have control of your field due to being on livery. Mine only needed a 400g when he had a full clip and the temperatures were below -10c and lots of snow.

My unclipped new forest last year had a rainsheet on to keep him clean and then a 100g for a few days when temperatures got well below 0. I do like a rainsheet on to prevent rainscald if a wet winter.

I am on livery and share a field with 5 sports horse types all over 16h and my 13.2 new forest wears his muzzle when out during the day in at night all year round on soaked hay and if looking hungry also has top chop zero straw chaff because the amount of grass the other horses need is too much for him. If was unmuzzled and eating haylege twice a day he would be huge it is bad enough as it is.

Living out in the winter should help if not overrugged and depends on how much grass there is and how much haylege they are putting out.

Has your cob been tested for EMS as if he is in heavy work plus you have tried muzzle etc and he is still not loosing weight it could be he has EMS. Friends horse had EMS and went on medication metaformine I think as well as muzzled and did lose weight and reversed the EMS. There are also other medicines around I think now to help with EMS.

Good luck it is incredibly hard if not sharing a field with other good doers.
 
pistolpete said:
My two camped at the hay on a grass track. Some are just born lazy. Or resourceful!
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I don't have hay stations, I take it round in a barrow and drop a handful every 15 steps or so, usually in a zig-zag pattern. They don't tend to quite finish a handful before the next looks tempting so it can keep them on the move for a while.
 
My cob is clipped year round, blanket clip in summer, hunter clip in winter. Lives out year round.
The heaviest rug I own is 200g, autumn & spring weather is a 50g, 100g for the depths of winter. The 200g last came out for beast from the east 🤪 only gets used with sub zero temperatures.
His weight is spot on (complimented by the vet at last jabs)
 
Stop feeding the haylage soaked hay would be better if not alot of grass.

I very much doubt you will need a 400g rug even fully clipped in winter my Arab's don't need such a thick rug they have 300g but I hardly use them it never gets cold enough.
 
Clipping neer made an ounce of difference to any of mine. Work did. but proper hard work including lots and lots of cantering. Walking does nothing. They need to be puffing and sweating for a reasonable amount of time every day. Work him twice if needed. 20mins cantering on the lunge then a couple of hours work on an evening. As well as poor or restricted grazing.
 
"sweating like a sinner in church" ....... ohh just lovvit.

But, but, OP, sorry to chide you, but I am going to.

WHY are you feeding this horse? He doesn't need anything! What he does need is for you to harden your heart and use a grazing muzzle on him, and/or to be fed soaked hay, in limited portions. And WHY are you rugging him? He doesn't need either, frankly. And "15 mins in the arena" isn't going to do anything to get the weight off him. I'm needing to do steady exercise of at least one hour (walk trot & canter if we can) every single day. She has asthma and I cannot afford for her to get obese.

I would strongly advise that you get the vet out to look at your horse. It may be there are issues causing this obesity, and it may be that your vet needs to take some bloods. You need to do this to eliminate any metabolic issues. Ask your vet to give you a target for your horse's ideal weight. You may have to commence a radical diet: with my mare I had to institute a 1% of bodyweight diet for her, because the vet was concerned that she was borderline laminitic. (Just to say that with a 1% diet ONLY a vet should be recommended this and provide the necessary supervision throughout it). She had to be kept off grass completely for a period, and her soaked hay had to be divided up into little "hay-balls" which were fed to her throughout the day. It was hard, very hard, but we got there.

Yes by all means clip; and do not rug throughout the winter. Not at all.

A Track system if you can put one in is a good solution: in fact our then-vet recommended it as Strip wasn't sufficient to maintain weight-management for my mare. We are on very rich ex-bovine Devon pasture here.

Sorry to be stern with you, but believe me the very last thing you want to happen on this planet is to have to deal with a laminitic.
 
Burnttoast said:
I don't have hay stations, I take it round in a barrow and drop a handful every 15 steps or so, usually in a zig-zag pattern. They don't tend to quite finish a handful before the next looks tempting so it can keep them on the move for a while.
Click to expand...
My highland would wee in it if it was in short supply and on the ground!
 
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