Fat Horse Slim - Lena's progress

[fattylumpkin]

I wanted to make a thread sharing Lena's weightloss progress and introduce ourselves a bit she's a north swedish horse, she used to harness race in days gone by, but as happens way too often these days was left to rot in a field after her short racing career was over.

I took her on a year ago after answering a call for help on Facebook from her rescue center. Originally I was just supposed to be fostering her, but she's blossomed into this lovely, if slightly tunky girl, and I think now she has a home with me for good if ever the rescue center decide to put her up for sale.

Her diet and keep:

She's on 24/7 turnout, with a gravel shelter and an open stable in her field with shavings that she can enter and leave at will. She's been barefoot as long as I've had her, so about a year now, especially after the disaster with the rogue farrier I posted about earlier. She lives on grass, though she does get a good few kilos of hay every night to keep her belly full and keep her entertained. She gets no feed or supplements beyond the occasional carrot, which is something I might change come winter.

Her weight:

When Lena first arrived at the yard she was so, so, so fat. I'd never seen a horse with cankles before, but Lena had cankles on her cankles. She had a massive thick, spongy crest of fat on her neck, and a hollow in her back just behind her withers that could collect rainwater! I think she definitely definitely rated a high category 5 on the condition chart. This was Lena in January:

She's still got a ways to go. Her neck is still somewhat cresty and she still has a hollow just above her tailbone, but the gutter along her back has vanished and her back isn't ferfectly flat any more


This is Lena as of September:

She's standing uphill (and I'm giving her a bath so you have to imagine her slightly fluffier) but there's a huge difference! Don't mind the crazy eyes look, bathing her is an egregious offense and she was letting me know how she felt about it.

I'll post more updates on her progress soon since the changes in her are coming so fast now!

 

[Calcyle]

Fantastic, well done! Still plenty left to go, but she's looking miles better.

Nice to see mention of a nordsvensk on here. Are you in Sweden, then?
My old loan was stabled with one, and she was definitely a hot-blooded coldblood. Fine to handle, but very difficult to ride.

 

[fattylumpkin]

Thankyou very much! Yup, we're in Sweden

And I know exactly what you mean about being a hot-blooded coldblood! Definitely had her own ideas about what we could/couldn't do, as does the other nordsvensk on the yard. The first rider who tried had to give in because when ridden she'd just launch into a bucking fit, except it was less like bucking and more like trying to kick the sh** out of some invisible man standing directly behind her, lol. I'm happy she's never tried that with me. She's a darling now and there's nothing I can't do with her (weight allowing) but there were times in the first few weeks where every ride was all out war. I'm not even exactly sure what changed her mind and made her suddenly willing to hack out without the drama, she just seemed to decide it for herself one day! Now she just goes as if on autopilot.

 

[Calcyle]

Obese animals are a major pet hate of mine, so I'm always very happy to see when someones making such an effort to slim them down
Plus it's nice to hear about the breed again, they always seemed a bit much for me, but I was always very fond of Gotlands Russ, even though they're a bit on the small side.

Whereabouts are you? (Swede too, but live in the UK now)

What are your plans for her?

 

[fattylumpkin]

We switched places I'm in Gävleborg, moved here from the UK a few years ago now.

Plans for her right now are mainly aimed at unspectacular stuff. I'd like for her to reach her optimal weight and pass a 40km distance test in good time. At the moment we do 10km in just under 2 hours so we have a long way to go before we reach that stage But that's the goal I have in mind, even if it may be years off yet.