Do you think he needs to loose weight

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Lila

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People down the yard keep telling me hes putting to much weight on and he could do with loosing some. What do you all think:confused: i do think hes put alot of weight on but he was quite slim when he came. Heres a few pics from the weekend
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Sorry for the overload havent got many good ones that would give you a better idea
 
I would say yes, ALOT from the first ones. Doesn't look as bad in the last one, but it may just be the angle as it's making his bum and neck look smaller than the photos above it and just with a grass belly look.

But basing on the lunging ones, I would say definately.
 
Yes he needs to loose a huge amount of weight, but this needs managing.
I have inhereted a mare who is in similar condition (she is a welshie who had been turned out on cow pature - how on earth she is not dead from lami I will never know)

She has been on reduced grazing (mud paddock) for 2 weeks now and brought back into work and has lost a lot of weight, it really doesnt take long.

She is on the mud paddock and gets ad lib soaked hay (so she is constantly grazing) - probably the equivalent to a bale a day (we have round bales)
She also gets 1.2 scoop hifi lite and a 1.4 scoop of nuts with garlic twice a day.
She is on about 30 mins work a day.

I think in another 2 weeks she will be fitter and in better condition. It really doesnt take that long!!
 
Ditto above.

My welsh mare came from being an ex-broodie on FORTY acres of lush grazing with a couple of other welsh mares.

She had fat ripples head to tail and amazingly never foundered somehow for which I'm eternally grateful to this day.

I let her have turn out for about 3-4 hours a day in average grazing and then kept stabled with just straw bedding to munch through and one small holed net of soaked hay for the night. FLIPPED when found out people were throwing extra hay/haylage/food into her though during this. Cruel to be kind and all of that sadly. She lost it very quickly though and about 5-6 months later was fully fit and in fab condition.
 
Agree with all the above. I'd want him to lose a LOT of weight. I think people get paranoid if you can even slightly see the ribs. Horses are healthier a bit lean than a bit fat. Remember, if he's overweight you're asking him to carry not just you but also however many kilos in fat!!
 
Thanks guys i thought it too but having my old girl and her never putting weight on i took it as a bonus that hes a good doer (my own fault) hes started getting work everyday and he come in during the day with 1 flake of hay and goes back out at night. I was working crazy shift so i wasnt doing much with him :o so now its back t work and get some weight off. Will keep you upated on out diet :)
 
Hes been living out since middle of may. Iv slacked a bit with the exercise because iv been working silly hours but iv statred riding or lunging everyday to get him back down. Im also starting to bring him in in the morning with just 1 flake of hay an then turn back out at night
 
Lila I would really reccomend, if you can, ad lib soaked hay and no grass - that way they keep everything in order and working and are always full.

Can he go in a mud paddock 24/7 with soaked hay?
 
Is there any way you can lunge as well as ride each day? I know how hard it is keeping the weight off a fatty.
 
We dont have anywhere with no grass are field are so good even the shetlands paddock is good. i cant really leave him in at night as he would be on his own and would stress :( Hes on no hard feed. Hes only just started to work properly again so il see how he goes coming in during the day and being worked more.
Im also going to buy a grzing muzzle for when hes out during the night
 
Think muzzle is a good idea. Dont leave him in as he wont burn as many calories and being out tends to keep them a bit fitter as they naturally walk around etc (even if you dont think they do)
Cant he be out 24/7 with muzzle and come in for some hifi/vits when you ride?
 
Puppy said:
Is there any way you can lunge as well as ride each day? I know how hard it is keeping the weight off a fatty.
Click to expand...

Yes im going to try do this as a fella down the farm suggested it. with my shifts at the moment its hard but i have a good friend on the yard who will do it for me before he goes back out.

Im so used to my mare who lost weight at the drop of a hat she used to struggle with her weight so its strange having something who could live on fresh air
 
He is fat but if he's been on good spring grass for months, and 'only' that fat, he isn't a ridiculously good doer, so a change in management should get the weight off him.

Bringing him in over the day is best is he's to be stabled, as the grass is richer during sunlight hours. A muzzle on 24/7 would be better for his joints and movement (and socialising) but they can rub, and some horses can't get enought grass to sustain them (restriction's fine, starving them isn't!). I would try muzzle at night (if there's not restricted grazing) and stabling during the day, with soaked hay ( so he can fill up on fibre without the calories, and feel 'full') until he's got the hang of the muzzle.
 
Thanks will soak his daytime hay. No dobut he will lose his muzzle everynight and ill spend alf an hour looking for it like i do with his fly mask and head collars (he gets everything off lol) but if he keeps it on atleast half the night its better than nothing. Off i go now to give robinsons more money
 
Yep, loosing the muzzle is the other reason 24/7 muzzling doesn't always work ;) If you get a Shires type (webbing bucket muzzle) then adding a face strap (runs from the noseband, up the face between the eyes and onto the headpeice between the ears), and plaiting it into his mane at the top, really helps - stopped naughty shetland pony from loosing his every 10mins.
 
Get yourself a weigh tape too as that way you can monitor progress on a weekly basis and adjust your horses diet up or down accordingly.
My lad lost loads of weight when on box rest for laminitis...great that he lost the weight but not good at all that he had laminitis and I would not wish that on any horse at all.
Now that he is a better weight I manage to keep it stable by turning out on a bare nibble paddock during the day and in at night on weighed hay so he has enough to keep him busy but not enough to gain weight. I am back riding him too and that helps...we do hill work hacks 6 days a week at a good walking pace...no trotting yet but making progress.
He came back into work after laminitis suprisingly fit given he was off work for 8 months in total and I put that down to his weight loss benefitting him.
 
I sympathise, I have a total good do-er and struggle every summer with getting his weight down once him and the summer grazing have been re-acquainted! And while some horses pause and don't graze all the time mine never lifts his nose from the grass. Due to work hours, I'm having to keep mine in at night and out during the day as that means I can keep him off the grass for longer as we have no restricted grazing/mud paddock either. But I do worry if keeping him in means he doesn't burn off so much by mooching round the field if he was out 24/7 but the it's the quantity of grass he's on that I want to keep him away from. He gets a small flap of soaked hay overnight. This year seems worse than last year for the grass doing well as by this time last year I was being able to leave him out 24/7 for the odd day or two. Exercise is the key even if you can only manage 30 mins a day. I'm hoping this hot weather will burn off the grass a bit but then you can bet your bottom dollar it will rain and kick it back into life again!
 
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