fat, filthy horse - grazing advice?

NeverSayNever

NeverSayNever

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hummmm.... ive never had a fatty before:o and i do like my horses 'trim'. ive had charlie for 10 weeks and he came to me, as what i would consider, fat.:p

He has been in my small paddock since, on no feed, no hay and worked 5 days out of 7. Work consists of fast hacks with lots of trotting and some interval training. Hour long flatwork/jumping lessons and the odd 2-3 hour long hack with friends.

the thing is - i actually think he's got fatter!! and as you will see from my pics, he on nothing! he is 15.2hh TB x AngloArab/Highland

this was him when i got him-


and him today - after a day of torrential rain we had a mud bath:rolleyes:
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and all the grazing he is on:eek::o
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my neighbours (non-horsey) think im cruel for starving him! and cant understand why im not putting him in my other field, which is knee deep:rolleyes:
 
brighteyes said:
Hmmm, he certainly isn't any slimmer, is he! Your helpful neighbours aren't supplementing him while you aren't looking, are they? Nice lad though. Blame the Highland in him...
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that is exactly what i was wondering:rolleyes: ive just electrified the whole way round as their garden borders my paddock; ive told them countless times not to feed him, and ive explained why... but you never know. its so depressing!
 
Tee hee- one of those who lives on thin air it would seem.......

bit odd though unless he was worked as hard at his previous place to to of lost anything!
 
Strange he isn't slimmer!

Anyway, he looks luuuurvely! Always had a soft spot for duns :D Really lovely horse - if a weeny bit podgy. Good luck! Have lots of fun trying to keep him clean as well :p xx
 
Don't worry,you're doing all you can....I have a welsh b that is on the same type of grazing as that and is literally a balloon.....ended up shutting her in the beginning of the week with soaked hay only and let her stress out cos she was on her own....cruel to be kind.

Don't worry tho...its only the richness after the rain!!
 
hmm... hes definately rather rotund!
ditto the suggestion about the neighbours poss feeding him. have you used the words that they could be killing him? worked quite well for me as it had the shock tactic.
& to be honest it looks like there is a fair bit of grass in his field. You can barely see the grass in a true fatty paddock. Have you tried a grazing muzzle with him?
one of mine is a bit like this, skinny legs on a cobby body. she is also overweight/dieting at the mo & suffered a bout of lami about 3mths ago. initially she was taken completely off grass & fed soaked hay in the arena, but has since gone back on the grass 24/7, 12 of which she wears a muzzle for. it also helps that shes out with 3yearlings & a playful 13yo so theres a fair bit of self exercise going on!

ps he is a gorgeous boy tho!! give me a dun anyday! wouldnt part with mine for the world!
 
He isnt jumping out for midnight snacks is he? I had an incredibly simmilar looking bay, 1/4 shire, so that build will naturally have a layer of fat (not that much though! lol)
mine was on same grazing ! but was jumping 2 parallel fences at night to get some munch !(i caught him late one night in the field of 2 foot high dairy pasture :O )

what did it for mine was stabled with hay and turn out for limited time daily on the "bald" paddock (same as yours) i think the best exercise is a good hours solid schooling daily, getting him working an outline to use all his muscles and then a couple of hacks a week for variation. And polos after work. No feed, as much as those cute eyes might beg for it !
Be patient though, it think it took mine about 2-3 months to get it right.
And get used to looking at a bigger build horse, sounds daft but mine even at correct weight looked well, chubby, since his breeding and being kept with a TB, ex-racer who is total differnt breed !

heres a photo of my podge --> http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=312014&l=b9da22ee4f&id=1765228640
 
Looks like you've got quite enough grass in your field to maintain his current weight, plus hes probably put on muscle with all the work. Your field looks pretty large too, if its just for one. If he is a piggy its surprising how much one can pack away in 24 hours. Theres probably a huge amount of fresh grass being produced what with the rain and sun on it, and its all going into his tum faster than you can imagine. Plus the Highland genes make him a real good doer!
 
He looks like he has put on a lot of muscle to me, on his bum and back, ok well covered but not fat. I like him. And he is a lovely colour. Just think of all the money you will be saving in the winter :D
 
thanks everyone :0 gads- you'd ever think only being a 1/4 highland would affect a horse so much:rolleyes: he doesnt look much like the athletic future event-hoss and son of Accondy that he is right now, does he?:o:p

i think his previous owners stabled him at night... but i had thought leaving him out in such a bare paddock was better than him being in and on hay? ive been bringing him in for a couple of hours each afternoon when i can, and not giving him anything! he just stands and sleeps....
 
I think I am of the type that likes my horses rounder then. I really like him, His muscle tone over his back and top of his bum and, well really the whole of his bum is amazing. His tum looks toned and fit, not flabby, so he is getting the fast work the muscles here. What if you took a pic after he had been in with nothing to eat. Bet you would see a reduced tum, its probs gas from a new flush of grass :D
 
I struggled with Daisy's weight until I put her on soaked hay and then it dropped off. I got the stage where you could feel her ribs easily, an achievement I was really proud of.

I would make your field smaller and give him 12 hour soaked hay to keep the fibre going through. If they don't have enough fibre going through their bodies then it slows their metabolism down because they think they are being starved.

I would keep him out 24 hours so he's using energy moving around but then given ad lib soaked hay so that he feels full and it keeps him going.
 
bay_beasty said:
I think I am of the type that likes my horses rounder then. I really like him, His muscle tone over his back and top of his bum and, well really the whole of his bum is amazing. His tum looks toned and fit, not flabby, so he is getting the fast work the muscles here. What if you took a pic after he had been in with nothing to eat. Bet you would see a reduced tum, its probs gas from a new flush of grass :D
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aww thank you - i will tell him, he is prob sobbing into his hooves cos i keep calling him chubster:o

Allover said:
He is pregnant; you are gonna make a fortune:d
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lol,wouldnt that be great:D

absolute diva said:
I struggled with Daisy's weight until I put her on soaked hay and then it dropped off. I got the stage where you could feel her ribs easily, an achievement I was really proud of.

I would make your field smaller and give him 12 hour soaked hay to keep the fibre going through. If they don't have enough fibre going through their bodies then it slows their metabolism down because they think they are being starved.

I would keep him out 24 hours so he's using energy moving around but then given ad lib soaked hay so that he feels full and it keeps him going.
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my paddock is teeny really...prob only about the size of a large arena? do you still think i should cut it down? good plan about the hay...how long did you soak it for? thank you :)
 
CBFan said:
The grass, particularly in the first pic actually looks quite lush. and looking at his belly it looks a bit gassy rather than fat.
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yeh it does actually looking at it - and all that poo! he does poo in one place, and i was out poo picking at the time, honest! It literally is just that bit by the edge thats like that..but its obv enough:o think im going to section him off again tomorrow.
 
I think it does take a long long while for weight to shift..or in my experience anyway with a native cob x...I've been fighting the battle of the bulge since last week of April and only now can I feel some ribs.. Agree the Highland genes will be living off the fresh air in your paddock. A friend of mine reckons the more calories I burn off my horse exercise-wise and by restricting his grazing he just adjusts his onboard calorie counter and eats more to make up the initial loss...
 
Def blame the highland part of him my 2 highlands are on less grass than that and one worked every day for good 2 hrs at least other walked in-hand and yet they still havent lost much weight. They do just live on fresh air!
 
ok some more pics from today- after he had been off the grass for a bit ;) and he is soaking, again,lol- as we were just back from a hack and id sponged him down.... im thinking he looks ok in some of these...? i discovered i actually can feel his ribs now as well! but the belly is all under that - grr... im convinced he's a mare! is this the last/hardest part of flab to shift?


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you can still see the gut in this one tho:o


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He doesnt look too bad in todays pics :)
My girls managed to put on over 100kg`s in a month between them, what i done is lots of hill work and kept them in during the day...my cb can live loff fresh air and she`s back down to her normal weight now and thats with 2 weeks off work due to lameness.
he is a very good looking boy :)
 
he doesnt look too bad but I would say on the basis of the first of the orignal pictures that is alot of grass for a highland cross :)

he's obviously doing a fair amout of work but do you lunge at all? work over poles etc will engage his abs and help tone that tummy if thats what you want. I think he's great and a great combination of breeds, you'll not have big winter feed bills ;)
 
rather than making his field smaller, have you considered making a track round the perimeter of his field and grazing him on that? so he HAS to walk round it to graze and get to water etc.

It really does look more like a 'slack' belly thing i.e. muscular rather than he is overweight so some work over trotting poles to help encourage him to work over his back and lift his belly might help.
 
He is not hidiously obese, so please don't beat yourself up too much about it. My two live on air natives are about the same in their weight, which in comparison to last year is good as they have not ballooned with the summer this year. They're currently static weight wise, neither losing or gaining. I unfortunatly livery so don't have the option of splitting up the field, but this is their daily routine:

Stabled during the day - they get a minimal amount of hay during the day. It has been soaked for at least 12 hours to remove all the soluble carbohydrates - you want the water to be good and red. Fed in double netted small holed haynets. It is not enough for them to eat all day. They are left standing without some. I know all the gastric ulcers concern, but imo laminitus is a bigger risk to their health. I've not noticed any detriment to their health or behaviour, and they've been on this minimal amount for months now.

Low-cal balancer with a little low-cal chaff for feeds, purely to give them correct vitamins.

Out at night, with grass masks on.

The fell is currently ridden 6 days a week, a variety of work from about half an hour to a full hour. The connie 4/5 days a week, for about 20 minutes to 45 on occasion.

Live on air ponies are exhausting and much harder than they seem. Do everything you can and try to content yourself with it, as if he's as bad as my two, you will probably need to accept he may always be a little on the rotund side.
 
thanks guys - yeh i few people have suggested the track system, im pondering my options today.... and will be doing some pole work too. lol, i just cant get my head round people calling him a highland cross when its such a small amount - tell you what tho , those fatty genes must be strong!!! For having an even smaller amount of Arab he is pretty Arab-like in a lot of ways im discovering! The least I see in him is the TB, of which he is 5/8th's ,but i think thats where the scope and fab jump must come from ;) !! I am taking him to JX this weekend and then hoping to do some HT's in Autumn, so hopefully the tum will come right with the work and then come spring at least i'l know how careful il need to be with him.
 
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