Fat horse, how to stop her getting fatter!

[catherine22]

My mare is a very good doer and, due to the non winter we've been having down here, is getting fatter. She is out 24/7, unrugged, fed a tiny handful of hifi and tiny handful of soaked alfa pellets (otherwise she won't eat her vits and min supplement and cavalesse) - if she wasn't having the supplements she'd be on no hard feed
She is also having an armful of hay (last years) a day. The next bale is this years hay, which I will start soaking.
Is there anything else I can do to get her to lose weight,as at the moment she is still putting it on :-(
Options are
stop feeding hay, but this could be difficult as her field mate will still want to be fed hay,and mine will be really grumpy because she's hungry,
muzzle her this early,
fence their field and restrict their grazing

She can't be exercised as she has arthritis, otherwise that would solve all her problems

 

[forestfantasy]

I'd get rid of the feed and have a mineral lick in the field (rockies one NOT molassed ones!)

Soak all the hay - feed from a small holed haynet.

Restrict the grazing asap - grass is growing now with this mild weather so lami risk too.

Does the vet say you can't ride her? Usually arthritis improves with exercise.

 

[AmyMay]

Some gentle exercise might help the arthritis. What does your vet say about it.

I would stop feeding her hay and hard feed as well I'm afraid.

And I agree about the Rockies as well.

 

[LiveryList]

I would stop feeding her as she seems to be getting enough with the hay and grass. Is it possible to feed the hay from a haynet as suggested above as i understand removing it is not an option due to the other horse. A lady at our yard feeds her fatty hay but in a haynet also filled with starw so althoguh it keeps her occupied she is having to fidn the hay and therefore not consuming as much. Only thing with feeding a haynet is she will be in a fixed position (unless you dot a couple around the field) and with it being cold i am sure this would not be good for her arthritis as she would be better getting some movement save her ceasing up! If that were the case i would consider giving a smaller grazing area but if she isn't actually grazing at all this wont make much of a difference.

 

[BentleyBelly]

Can the arthritis be treated so that she can manage some gentle exercise? My pony is the same but with only half a danilon a day he can enjoy gentle hacking and appears to be improving slightly. If that is a definate no can you give her a small clip to help her use her energy to keep warm.

 

[Megalini_22]

If her arthritis is that bad - her gaining weight is only going to make it worse - viscous circle and I've been there with mine so feel your pain... based on my experience...

Can you treat her with daily bute for comfort/anti inflammatory response - not so much that she feels too good, but enough so you can walk her in hand and improve metabolic rate through exercise as well as burning calories.

Cut out hard feed - alfa pellets!!!!!! - not good - at least switch to a high fibre cube instead but cut out completely if you can. Feedmark do a pellet called slim aid which might entice her to eat her supplements and gives fatties everything they need in a low cal pellet - you wouldnt even need the hi fi.

Definitely cut out the hay - an armful obviously means she still has forage available in the field surely or you would be feeding more hay.... so I would try cutting that. If your other beast needs the additional forage, then strip graze your fattie so that she cant access the hay.

And finally - you'd be suprised how many people still feed treats, carrots and apples to their fat ponies - lots of fructose in these, thus why their so tasty....

Good luck! Where there is a will there is a way....

 

[PonyIAmNotFood]

Exercise helps arthritis doesn't it? I can't see an hours brisk walk a day being anything but good for her?

 

[catherine22]

Thanks for all your replies, she does have a mineral lick so I guess I could stop the supplement however as she needs the cavalesse and won't eat it on sugar/ bread/ weetabix she is having to have it in a feed but i will have a look at the very low calorie ones including the slim aid one
She has had a clip, gullet and belly back in october which you can still see but i may re do it to see if that helps
The problem with her is that although her arthritis isn't too bad, she is an all or nothing horse, she won't cope - or rather i wouldn't survive riding her just walking for an hour or so, and walking in hand is even worse, when her workload is at where it 'should' be and when shes happy then her arthritis cannot withstand it. Vet agrees she is better retired as the rearing, spinning and jogging that would happen if I took her out would be worse on her legs
She has no treats at all, not even carrots/ apples
Separating them would be an issue due to where the water trough is, but if i muzzled her would she be able to eat any hay? as that may be a solution and will reduce the amount of field they have as it is looking far too green

 

[be positive]

Instead of making the field smaller, thus restricting the movement even more could you fence it either so that the middle is in a square that they do not get on to, they have to walk further to graze or as I have done make it an L shape again increasing movement, mine frequently run the length of the L which gives far more exercise than mooching in a small square.
Paddock paradise is worth searching it gives plenty of ideas.