Fat boys getting fatter ?‍♀️

[poiuytrewq]

I’m at my wits end with this!
retired horse, finished work and literally ballooned. I think he looks worse to me as he’s also got a full on winter coat for the first time ever and has lost top line along his back, only ever so slightly but it gives that “belly” look a bit more.
Id really hoped winter would be my chance to sort him out.
It seems not!
He gets soaked hay over night and they have hay in the field. The field looks bare.
He is stabled overnight and has a scoop of Honey chop lite and healthy and the correct amount for his ideal weight not current of Spillers lean and lite balancer, then added supplements.
He is rugged and fairly well as he’s a real miserable wimp in bad weather, he’s also arthritic so needs to be warm.
Taking him out in hand is possible, but comes with its own issue! He’s pretty severely sweetitchy. We seem not to have midges here but either way I go from home encounter clouds of the horrible things which then drive him insane for a day or so afterwards. I really need to try and keep in top of that this year!
Lunging, I could but not at the moment as we only have fields so the grounds no good and I’m not overly keen on lunging an older arthritic horse.
Part of me thinks I try and stop constantly worrying and just let him be happy and content for as long as possible.
Any suggestions?

 

[be positive]

Giving hay in the field will not help but it is hard to leave them with nothing all day when the weather is foul, I actually find it easier in many ways to get the weight down in summer if you can really let an area be bare and give limited soaked hay, they are less stressed about getting food, they do not need to eat to keep warm and you feel far less guilty leaving them on a bare paddock.

I miss judged my sec a this summer and didn't get her weight down going into winter and over Christmas she had mild laminitis, I am being really strict now but the weight is barely shifting whereas in summer I can get her far slimmer without fearing colic as she moves about more finding bits to nibble on, I know it is not the normal way but it works for mine if I get it right.

 

[Lipglosspukka]

Is the field actually bare though? Unless there is literally nothing for them to eat in there then I wouldn't bother with the hay in the field. Or cut it down so they only get an armful of hay half way through their turnout time.

 

[Polos Mum]

What is the long term plan with him - one last summer than PTS or do you hope to maintain him in retirement for many many years.

If his issues are close to terminal my intervention would be limited - if I thought he had 4-5 years left then I would be cruel to be kind. It's really hard when they can't be worked and TBH an in hand walk r gentle lunge isn't going to burn many calories

For him it will be taking calories out in the least mean way - but letting him get fat will be worse on his joints and more painful in the long run.

 

[scruffyponies]

If they get fat on hay alone, can you get year-old hay or even straw? A belly full of straw will still keep him warm, but he'll struggle to put weight on with it.

 

[irishdraft]

I feel your pain I have exactly the same problem with one of mine . As it's winter I'm not worrying too much although I know he has a stomach like a barrage balloon , come spring I'll restrict him but I do think that a life of just living on a diet is not much fun mentally for an animal programmed to eat.

 

[poiuytrewq]

The field is pretty bare yes. The grass even when long is pretty thin and sparse and they have been on it all winter.
Hes turned out with my other horse who’s a TB and if they don’t have hay that stand scrapping bored and threatening to damage each other. Obv the TB really could do with hay 24/7 aswell.
As for future plans, well this is the little horse I posted about before Christmas when he was having pretty severe soundness issues. Currently he’s great and has been sound and whizzing round the field bucking (on a bute) for about 6 weeks so
I’m cautiously hopeful. I’m not a planned one last summer person, I couldn’t do that. If he needs pts it will be done but I couldn’t advance plan it. I hope to have him years, however if that means him standing hungry looking miserable I’d rather have him a happy few months than a guilty fee more years.
He has a pretty bad dust allergy and straw is definitely cough inducing sadly, that’s a shame as he loves a good munch on someone else’s bed!

 

[Mary3050]

Has he been checked for Cushing or EMS . I have one with EMS and he has allergies he’s developed as he got older . I long rein with poles when he can’t be worked not because he’s burning loads of calories but it keeps them moving good for the arthritis but I think most importantly it keeps them away for the haynet and busy for a bit of time . Also maybe a track system so they have to walk to get water at one end and hay at the other .

 

[poiuytrewq]

Has he been checked for Cushing or EMS . I have one with EMS and he has allergies he’s developed as he got older . I long rein with poles when he can’t be worked not because he’s burning loads of calories but it keeps them moving good for the arthritis but I think most importantly it keeps them away for the haynet and busy for a bit of time . Also maybe a track system so they have to walk to get water at one end and hay at the other .

Thanks! He likes to long rein actually. I’d not thought of that. When the ground was dry we used to go up and down the field tram lines!
Yes he’s been tested a few times.

 

[JJS]

Are you sure he’s as podgy as he looks? I only ask because I’d be having the same panic about Mary if I wasn’t tightening her girth to ride. She always looks like she’s absolutely ballooned by January due to all of the hair, but I know from tacking her up that she’s actually gone up three girth holes since the start of winter (I’ve been very strict with her management)! All of that hair can be really deceptive, especially if you’re used to see him clipped out ??‍

 

[Lurfy]

I weight tape my retired horse so I know when he is dropping and gaining weight. It is easy and allows me to get onto weight gain or loss quickly.

I hand walk and lunge 3 times a week when I visit him. When I say lunge I do it in a 1 acre field on a huge circle and trot him 10 laps each way. It takes very little time and I get a good look at how he is travelling. I don't know if it has any effect on his weight but it helps him stay more comfortable. He has sacroiliac problems so I also step him over poles regularly too.

With the sweetitch would it be possible to hand walk him in a mesh sheet to keep the bugs off him?