extremely obese horses

[Sparklepony]

I'll post more later but can I have some help?
Have several ponies come that are severely over weight. Like the worst I have ever seen.
They have been rugged and turned out on lush grass for a year plus hard feed....
I'm gradually reducing rugs, but they have no coats, they are being turned out on dirt and have small amounts of 2/3 year old hay. What else can I do before they all have heart attacks???
Can I feed wheat straw to replace hay?
They can't be exercised, one can barely waddle without wheezing!

 

[Goldenstar]

You can feed oat straw .
I would reduce rugging but not to the extent that you make them totally miserable IMO that would be unfair .
If their bare area in small you are going to have to get them moving somehow even if that's leading out in hand or buliding a track system with electric fencing round the field.

 

[dianchi]

Make sure they are at least getting their vits and mins, track system to try and get them moving as much as possible, or at least but hay/straw one end of paddock and water at the other.

 

[Sparklepony]

They are also on a low cal balancer for vits and minerals! Sorry when I said they can't be exercised I meant ridden. They are building up gradually on the horse walker and now on 20 mins twice a day

 

[fattylumpkin]

I did the same thing with my mare - she gets old poor hay and we started by walking her only took a good few months before the gutter along her spine started to vanish.

I followed this guide mostly - http://www.bluecross.org.uk/files/fat-horse-slim.pdf

But I never did find a trick or handy tip to speed up the process It's SLOW, but you'll get there. Good on you for taking action, those ponies will thank you to the end of their days!

 

[touchstone]

There is a useful website here:- http://www.icelandichorses.co.uk/Dieting an obese horse.htm which follows the journey of an obese icelandic horse that has useful tips on feed and exercise for a grossly obese animal.

 

[dafthoss]

Are you soaking the hay? I can see a massive difference in mine when I soak his for 24 hours.

 

[JFTDWS]

I feed wheat straw. Mine won't touch the barley straw I bought them, but happily eat the wheat straw so, hey, who am I to judge?!

 

[FlaxenPony05]

What's a track system?

 

[ameeyal]

What's a track system?

Its where you fence off a track around the field so the horse has to do more walking around the track to get to eat more grass, normaly water is put at one end and hay at the other,

 

[moana]

I have found the track system extremely effective and easy.

 

[holeymoley]

Remember it can take as long to get the weight off as it did to put it on.

 

[rosie-ellie]

Do you have photo's

 

[Magicmillbrook]

Took me a year to get my cob down from 570 to 423. I soak hay and mix it with barley straw. In summer we have our fields divided into small 1/2 acre paddocks, the 2 who are non dieters go out on a new paddock overnight and back with the 2 fatties by day. When the best of the grass has been eaten off they all move over and the non dieters will start on a new field over night again. In winter I only use a light rug or no rug and all have soaked hay in the field. The non dieters have more to compensate overnight.

 

[MiniMilton]

Another thumbs up for a track system. I do a 50:50 mix of oaten straw and hay.