Fat horses, this weather, frazzled grass

[PinkvSantaboots]

This is why he hasn’t lost weight - you are feeding him!!

It absolutely baffles me why people do this. They are fat, therefore they are getting enough. I see so many people going to so much effort and expense to feed FAT horses who are turned out! Sorry but it completely blows my mind.

Horses still need something to eat though if there isn't any grass they need a bit of hay, I agree about hard feed though its unnecessary.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Can’t believe my rotund one hasn’t lost weight with the sparse grass, but he’s stubbornly hanging onto his belly. He gets soaked hay and minimal hard feed (for his supp), so he’s def getting plenty! And it’s so tricky to up the exercise with the hard ground.

I hack then do 10 or 15 minutes in the school to canter and trot it makes difference.

 

[Patterdale]

Horses still need something to eat though if there isn't any grass they need a bit of hay, I agree about hard feed though its unnecessary.

They will still eat on a field that looks bare to a person. Hence still being fat and passing droppings. A fat horse on a bare paddock really does not need extra food of any kind.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Horses still need something to eat though if there isn't any grass they need a bit of hay, I agree about hard feed though its unnecessary.

I agree with you they do still need to
Eat something, especially for gut health and acids etc and there may not be the necessity for hard feed But like the other poster, I only give enough for any supps to be eaten. BB sure wouldn’t eat the anti histamines out my hand, or salt or charcoal ?

 

[Gloi]

Count the droppings when you poo pick. You'll soon know how much they are eating.

 

[Michen]

My field looks similar. Yet they are in 12 hours a day and not eating much hay. Nor have they broken through the non electrified temp fence which I’m charging the battery for.

The fat one is still in a muzzle and the fit mean one looks fit but round.

 

[PurBee]

Short grass stores carbs in the crown of the grass, for leaf growth to commence - so horses nibbling right down want that sweeter section. longer grass has the carbs distributed. The grass going through drought will pull-out all stops and store carbs like mad to ensure recovery of growth when rain comes.
So imo, short grass in a drought, can be more carb-heavy than it looks and give plenty of calories.

 

[marmalade76]

Mine is mostly eating hedges ATM.

 

[Lois Lame]

Sometimes a paddock looks like there's nothing much in it. Many people shriek, "There's nothing in it!" Then a fire comes. NOW you see a paddock that has nothing in it, and it looks very different.

Trust your horse's behaviour. If what you put out isn't wanted, only nibbled at, (and there's nothing wrong with it health-wise) the horse is fine on what is present.

OP, I see grass in that there paddock.

 

[Gloi]

OP, I see grass in that there paddock.

There was never that much grass on our fatties paddock but they still were finding food because there were plenty of poos. They wait for it to emerge from the ground and snaffle it up ?

 

[scats]

I have relented at the moment and removed muzzles because the muzzles were filled with sandy soil and both were struggling through them. Poos still a plenty though so watching carefully. In fact we’ve had rain last night so muzzle may go back on Millie this weekend.
They are at the gate every morning being eaten by flies so they come in during the day and mostly snooze, though I do give them 1.5kg of soaked hay in a small holed net, given they stand in from 8.30-5ish.
Current grass

 

[southerncomfort]

I have relented at the moment and removed muzzles because the muzzles were filled with sandy soil and both were struggling through them. Poos still a plenty though so watching carefully. In fact we’ve had rain last night so muzzle may go back on Millie this weekend.
They are at the gate every morning being eaten by flies so they come in during the day and mostly snooze, though I do give them 1.5kg of soaked hay in a small holed net, given they stand in from 8.30-5ish.
Current grass
View attachment 96784

This is what my track looks like.

Mine are in from 8.30am until 12.30pm and then in the school until 5pm. They go on the track overnight with one net of soaked hay between them.

The mini has not shed a single pound but the Fell pony looked a bit tucked up yesterday so I put him on a strip that hadn't been grazed for a week or so and he's much happier this morning. I restricted the mini to half of the track.

It's such a balancing act and I'm not really sure what to do going forward especially as we've had rain every day for about a week now!

 

[Horseysheepy]

If they're grazing close to the ground like they are at the moment, I like to offer hay both ends of the day to help sweep any soil through their gut. Our land is a sandy type so just want to avoid sand colic if I can.

 

[Barton Bounty]

If they're grazing close to the ground like they are at the moment, I like to offer hay both ends of the day to help sweep any soil through their gut. Our land is a sandy type so just want to avoid sand colic if I can.

Precisely ?

 

[sport horse]

Fatty ponies I would have thought dead grass was perfect and I would not be topping it up with hay. I have large, young warmbloods and I am afraid that we are haying most of them. I have just walked a big 17 acre field with quite a bit of long dead grass and 1 oldie and 4 youngsters out there. I reckon they will need hay next week if there is no rain.

Just beware everyone, I believe that once the drought is over and the grass starts to grow again it will have a very high sugar content.

 

[Horseysheepy]

I do wonder if we'll get an early autumn flush of grass this year.
I've seen blackberries already ripe a couple of weeks ago. It's been an odd year, but hay is made and harvest is almost over, and thats the wheat!!!.
It must be difficult for those like you, sport horse, with youngstock to grow and the lack of good grass to nourish them.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I spent three hours clearing sycamore seeds, dead leaves and moving electric fencing today so my two could have some rested grass which gave me the ideal opportunity to watch them. As an experiment I put a slice of hay out for each of them and once small breakfast had been eaten they ignored the hay completely and went straight back into the middle of the track which I’ve left open to snack on the brown dead looking stuff. After about an hour they took themselves off to snooze under the trees until B realised there was fresh grass on offer. DP on the other hand wasn’t interested at all and carried on snoozing. I’m glad I haven’t been giving them much as it’s quite obvious that what looks dead and inadequate to me is perfectly edible and neither of them are starving ?