Fat horses vs turnout

[blitznbobs]

I have 2 very good doers ... they are fatter than I’d like . They are currently stood in their stables which I don’t like but the grass here is incredibly rich and I like laminitis even less. I’ve tried tiny paddocks , tracks and muzzles (muzzles they take off and tracks and paddocks they get fatter and fatter ) any other ideas.

 

[windand rain]

If they are standing in eating hay they will be getting fatter and fatter tracks only work if you let them find food and dont provide it. They need much more exercise if they are going to lose weight Calories in have to be a lot less than calories out so a mud or very short grass track and straw for fibre is all they need. A small handful of vitamin pellets would top up any need ideally out on the track 24/7 so it doesnt get time to grow and they are still moving

 

[blitznbobs]

Easier said than done in the heart of cheshire

 

[windand rain]

Where there is a will there is a way

 

[ihatework]

Standing in stables is no good, they need to be moving. Time and time again I have seen tracks work for really stubbornly fat horses - but you really do have to have barely anything on the track - best done at the end of winter just before spring flush and you might need to accept they will trash it

 

[awelshandawarmblood]

My Welsh D gets fat on fresh air & I've managed very successfully to keep him trim by tracking his field from March.

He won't tolerate a muzzle due to respiratory issues so that isn't an option & also why I try to keep him out.

The track is kept very short with tape & posts forming the middle circle - I move them into a larger or smaller circle to give more or less grazing depending on the growth of the grass or weather possibly causing a flush - I put hay in the shelter if that's the case or if I feel they need a bit more. When I do open it up a bit they obviously hoover the fresh bits but then get on getting their steps up foraging around the loop. Noticed a HUGE difference in their movement even when I had it in a 'U' shape to start (Used to leech power off the perimeter fence now I have a stand alone unit to power a whole circle).

I set it up really early in March before the grass even really starts so its kept on top of & also found feeding mag ox & salt has helped loads along with his feed.

Just to add - he isn't even in work & only ridden once a week max due to his breathing issue.

 

[HashRouge]

Standing in stables is no good, they need to be moving. Time and time again I have seen tracks work for really stubbornly fat horses - but you really do have to have barely anything on the track - best done at the end of winter just before spring flush and you might need to accept they will trash it

I completely agree with this. You have to make sure you get your track/ small paddock set up early, before the grass starts to come through properly. Then it needs to be kept as bare as possible. If your grass is coming through quickly you may need to start with a shortish stretch of track and gradually extend through strip grazing.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Easier said than done in the heart of cheshire

But possible...

My cobbled together ‘equicentral’ system in Cheshire . By simply shutting some gates and removing a waterpoint, my 3 neds, two of whom have PPID, move much more and keep fitter than when I strip grazed twice daily on the same land. They are on about an acre or so all summer.

The grazing was what they had eaten down over winter (when they access to much more acreage), so it was not lush to start with. They seem to like this set up a lot.





ETA When there was too much grass one year on the area where the neds are shown in the above pic, I deployed the garden lawn mower to mow the grass right down.

 

[blitznbobs]

But possible...

My cobbled together ‘equicentral’ system in Cheshire . By simply shutting some gates and removing a waterpoint, my 3 neds, two of whom have PPID, move much more and keep fitter than when I strip grazed twice daily on the same land. They are on about an acre or so all summer.

The grazing was what they had eaten down over winter (when they access to much more acreage), so it was not lush to start with. They seem to like this set up a lot.



View attachment 51041

Hi

how
Much electric fencing did you need for that? Just so I know how much to get

 

[AmyMay]

If you’re keeping your horses at home it’s so much easier as you can set up a track system that really works. On livery I imagine it will be much harder.

Ive always kept fat horses in with a net of poor hay and straw. Less than ideal. But sometimes it’s the only option.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

That's a nice little place you have there.

 

[Cortez]

Make a small paddock. Keep horses in paddock until they have eaten ALL the grass. Leave them in the paddock, do not feed, even if it looks like they have nothing to eat. This is what I have done this year now that I'm not riding the older lad, and he's trimmer than he's ever been. They can glean a lot off what looks like a bare paddock.

*Obviously monitor and make sure there is still food going through the system (otherwise known as poop-counting).

 

[Tiddlypom]

Hi

how
Much electric fencing did you need for that? Just so I know how much to get

I can pace it out later, but really it is probably unique to my set up. The perimeter fencing is post and rail. For scale purposes, the arena is 40m x 20m.

The beauty of this set up is that you can make it work with what you’ve got. They are constantly moving from one mini paddock, with the water point, to the other, which hasn’t. I used to put water in both thinking that I was being kind...

 

[awelshandawarmblood]

Make a small paddock. Keep horses in paddock until they have eaten ALL the grass. Leave them in the paddock, do not feed, even if it looks like they have nothing to eat. This is what I have done this year now that I'm not riding the older lad, and he's trimmer than he's ever been. They can glean a lot off what looks like a bare paddock.

*Obviously monitor and make sure there is still food going through the system (otherwise known as poop-counting).

I found this, it may look bare & they give you 'the eyes' pleading starvation but the middle section of grass you can see just how much they've been eating from the growth there. I also poo count & if gets a bit low move the fencing a bit or give hay.

 

[dorsetladette]

I'd be worried that while they are standing in stables the grass is growing, so the problem is getting worse.

If its your land, can you get some sheep to mow the grass down - trust me they do an excellent job and we only have 4.

The lawn mower is a fab idea.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Since the grass has already gotten a head start, is there another horse or creature available to eat down what is there before you put your horses on it? Or go out there when the sun is strong/the worst time to mow, and mow a patch of grass, short, and hope it fries?

I don't know, I'd be getting creative with ways to kill some grass and begin to get something established so they can be out of their stables.

 

[tiahatti]

Can you now the field? I used to do this for my cob. I realise it depends on your facilities etc as to whether you can do this.
I am in favour of muzzle. Which have you tried? I used to put a head collar over the muzzle to keep it on. Tia doesn't need the head collar now. She realises that she can still get some grass while wearing it x

 

[meleeka]

I make a track of as narrow as I can get away with and then strip graze that until I have a horseshoe shape and finally a circle (well mine is a square). My track is only a few metres wide most of the way, just enough to allow them to pass each other. When the middle is long I make a D shape on the middle fence and then move the D round the square. I can normally go round twice until the winter when I strip graze into the middle and then remove track altogether until the spring. I find having a track keeps them much trimmer because of the exercise they get. Mine is around two acres and some of it in woodland.

 

[irishdraft]

I have the same problem specially with one who is out of work I had to top and clear grass to get it manageable then I have them on bare paddocks at night with some soaked hay & strip graze in the day but I would rather they were out moving about . It's more work now than in the winter

 

[TotalMadgeness]

I put mine in narrow strips in April/May to eat down the grass and carefully move the fences so they eventually get more room. Once the grass is eaten they pretty much subsist on bare paddocks. They are put out overnight and kept in during the day when they are fed oat straw mixed with a small amount of timothy haylage. Both have kept nice and slim as a result. However I also exercise them 5 or 6 times a week - which I think helps to counteract the being in a stable during the day.

 

[Bellaboo18]

I like them out on slightly bigger paddocks, moving about, worked hard if possible and on very long, old grass which is more fibre than sugar.
I think the worst thing you can do is put them on a starvation paddock for a couple of hours, take them off for 22 hours ie let the grass grow so they are constantly eating the short full of sugar grass.

 

[windand rain]

My daughter in law asked who mows the lawns which kind of indicates the length of the grass they are on, the grass looks like a well used bowling green. the track is about 15ft wide and round half - threequarters of an acre it is stopped between the water and food so not a full square the 2 ponies
have to walk from the food end (around 1ftx6ft strip) to the water for a drink. I also give them tiny feeds with vitamins at the opposite end to where they are they come galloping the full length to get it. It wouldnt work if they werent out 24/7 though as the grass would grow and give them a huge sugar hit. The laminitic is a bit too lean but he isnt in work so as he is boss I will simply up his feed to get him a bit more weight on before winter. They live out all winter which means they drop over winter and can cope with the first flush of grass on the track in April

 

[Morgan123]

I feel your pain re: cheshire grass. Any option for adding sheep to land or exercising them A LOT?
This guide helps you work through options that will work in your specific situation - there's always something that can be done
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/equine/documents/Equine,Weight,Management.pdf

 

[little_critter]

I'm having the same problem. Mine is kept in on soaked hay. If I made a track or grazed it to bare earth my YO would have a fit