Fat horses

Goldenstar

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I am another that thinks that horses need a harder winter to get their metabolisms running .
You working with the natural cycle of the seasons .
Horses need to get cold now and again and they need to do days when energy out way exceeds energy in .
My horses be will be cold at night atm ( it’s cold here ) especially the one we clipped last week ( because he’s working and was getting uncomfortable hot ) he is out without a rug on most of the time .
You don’t want a fit horse cold and wet for days on end it’s not good for their muscles but you don’t need to keep horses protected from every shower and cold wind .
 

SO1

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What do you mean by nice covering?, I presume for the 80% you felt were not overweight, you mean the standard definition of ribs easy to feel but not seen, not everyone will agree that if ribs cannot be easily felt that the horse is overweight.

I was stewarding in the Ridden horse section at a show yesterday. Hunters, Riding Horses, Hacks and Cobs. Most Royal International qualifiers. I would say 80% of the horses forward were a very good combination of fit and muscled whilst having a nice covering on them to round the edges. I would not class them as too fat or obese. They were more than fit enough to do their jobs with ease. 2 of the cobs thought they were racehorses the way they were powering round the ring! Of the other 20% I would say 2 would have been classed as a perfect weight fat wise but lacking all muscle and top line. 2 were plenty fit enough to do the job but were far too fat on top of the muscle. The others were just obese and unfit. One horse (that I would put in the 80%) was slightly lame behind in its hocks. Of the obese unfit ones one was a hunter the rest were cobs.

I didn't really see any of the other classes or rings as I was pretty much on my own running the class and legging up all day.

Some judges do drop obese horses down the line. Some don't because - and here is where showing excels itself - if you drop that horse down the line but you are showing under that rider/producer yourself later in the season you will be dropped to return the favour regardless of how your animal looks or goes. So quite a lot of it, but not all of it, is back scratching at the higher levels.

I have also seen a few yearling Shetlands (can't even be a full year old yet!) So disgustingly obese they could almost pass as 3yo's if their body was a bit longer and the tail wasn't a foal fluff! It's not just Shetlands either to be fair, it's quite a lot of native ponies but I obviously notice Shetlands more.
 

HashRouge

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What never talked about is fat broodmares I seen some obese ones that have been overfeed.
I used to work as an SJ groom and the broodmares were all horrendously obese. It used to give me a nervous breakdown whenever I had to hold them for the farrier. I should stress, the broodmares were generally not the responsibility of the grooms, as they were owned/ cared for by my boss's parents.
 

Gloi

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I feel very sad that two ponies that I had owned and sold on were allowed to get so fat they got laminitis. One was my first pony who was turned out with cattle when owner had op and ended up going for meat ?. The other a very good pony I had shown who was shown later twice the size before he was crippled and not seen out again.
 
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What do you mean by nice covering?, I presume for the 80% you felt were not overweight, you mean the standard definition of ribs easy to feel but not seen, not everyone will agree that if ribs cannot be easily felt that the horse is overweight.

You wouldn't feel ribs as a glancing hand but a small amount of pressure and you would yes. I'm not talking putting your whole weight behind it but more the pressure you would use for a gentle massage.
 

Miss_Millie

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When I was looking for a horse earlier this year, I viewed a Section D that genuinely looked like a Percheron (and a fat one at that). There was no definition between her neck and her shoulders, fat rolls bulging around the girth, a really depressing sight. This poor horse was ridden a couple of times a month, mainly stabled with ad lib hay and a hard feed every day, heavily rugged...and the owner commented on the 'poor' un-rugged cobs just down the way, which were actually a very sensible weight.

I truly do think that a lot of people kill their animals with 'kindness' by anthropomorphising them too much, rather than educating themselves on their true needs, which are obviously different to us as humans.
 

scats

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My aim for the end of winter is to see some rib. I managed it with Polly this year, but not Millie. In the wild, horses would naturally peak and trough with the seasons, and their metabolism adjusts.
We now have horses who peak and don’t trough, then the next year they peak some more… it’s inevitable that so many end up metabolic.
I do think that feed companies should take some responsibility. There colourful bags and a feed for ‘every horse’ just encourages people to shovel scoops of all sorts down horses who don’t need it.
 

catkin

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There's been a fair amount of debate about rugs and weightloss on some forums I'm on. Only anecdotal but horses seem to move around more and eat less when rugged, whereas the unrugged population stuff themselves and don't move much.

Debatable and probably horse specific.

Must admit that I have found this though for my ponies it has been more about rugging lightly during storms/heavy rain than temperature alone. Ridden ponies do have different musculature to those who are not so I think we do have to take account of that - better that they are moving about than hunching up letting muscles get cold and stiff.
 
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Must admit that I have found this though for my ponies it has been more about rugging lightly during storms/heavy rain than temperature alone. Ridden ponies do have different musculature to those who are not so I think we do have to take account of that - better that they are moving about than hunching up letting muscles get cold and stiff.

My dartmoor is incredibly pathetic. Always has been! He usually wears a full neck heavyweight rug in winter otherwise he shivers all of his weight off hiding behind a tree even with a full winter coat himself. Last winter he wore 2 rugs. His heavyweight and a middle weight as he just stood shivering if there was a breath of wind or a drop of rain. He is retired and 21yo now, I have had him since he was 3yo. He loses weight in winter and the rugs help him to not turn into a hat rack. He gradually gains weight through spring and summer on crap grazing so he is fat going into winter again, too fat for most people on heres liking but he needs to be to lose it again as he should.
 

Peregrine Falcon

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I purposely make sure my ponies drop weight in winter as nature intended. Food is reduced before spring so that they come into March leaner. More fur removed and rugs adjusted accordingly. One of ours only wears a lightweight all winter and trace clipped.
 

Leandy

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It just feels like we are in danger of normalising horses that look abnormally fat to me- and all the health problems that come with that! Especially as these horses seem to still get rewarded in the show ring.

Not a danger, sadly this ship has long sailed. Not just horses either, people, dogs, cats...... I used to do some showing several decades ago, the refrain has always been the same and nothing is actually done. In fact I would observe that the problem and the discrepancy between what is said an what is done has got worse.
 

NinjaPony

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I’ve been loosely involved in showing for a while now and it’s frustrating to see that nothing has actually changed to prevent obese horses and ponies being rewarded. Lots of talk and absolutely no action. My Welsh A is the slimmest he has been because of his laminitis and Cushings; I’m deliberately keeping him slim to try and prevent any reoccurrence of laminitis. He still has an excellent natural top line but at least I can feel ribs easily. He would never be placed in a show ring like this though, even though he is glossy, fit and remarkably well for a 22 year old. Some of the ridden Ds you see in the ring are just enormous, particularly compared to the ‘sportier’ models that go eventing, jumping and do dressage. It’s a culture problem in showing and it starts at the top. At this point, I can’t see it changing unless the top producers drastically change their ways and judges have a complete rethink about what is acceptable.

And no I’m not on my high horse, I know full well it’s difficult to keep the weight off a native, particularly one like mine who is retired, and I haven’t always got it right! But I’ve said before and I’ll say again, showing is meant to be the outstanding example, rather than the dangerous precedent.
 

Fjord

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What's the general view on clipping in winter for weight loss? I don't get much time to ride but have still fully clipped in the past, in order to under-rug to help keep weight down.
 

LEC

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We desperately try to normalise fat humans so horses are no different.

I heard comments at badminton yesterday about some of the 5* horses being too thin but these were horses produced by very experienced riders who had a lot of experience winning at 5* so the horses looked hard fit which is a real skill. The coats look glossy and shiny but they don’t carry an ounce of unnecessary weight and are fit to run 12 mins of endurance.

I just think people are clueless now about fitness and correct management. Showing is literally the worst hobby in equestrianism and I have huge issues with its welfare and standards. Judges absolutely lead the way on this and are wholly responsible.
 

ycbm

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What's the general view on clipping in winter for weight loss? I don't get much time to ride but have still fully clipped in the past, in order to under-rug to help keep weight down.

It makes sense.

Some people will call you cruel for letting your horse be cold, but there is a big difference between mobilising fat to burn to keep warm, and being cold.
.
 

Burnttoast

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What's the general view on clipping in winter for weight loss? I don't get much time to ride but have still fully clipped in the past, in order to under-rug to help keep weight down.
I give my retired native a chaser/Irish (so about 1/3 of his hair off) and don't rug. I hope it makes a difference but this winter's been so incredibly mild that I haven't been able to get him where I want him, not helped by his older companion becoming a poor doer and mine stressing if they're separated for management purposes and scouring if he gets insufficient long fibre. I'm relying on a bare track and big bucket feeds for his companion to keep him where he is this summer, then next winter we'll have another go with a bigger clip maybe.

Years ago I worked with hunters and eventers and crewed for the Golden Horseshoe, and now I see pretty much only leisure horses. The contrast's a bit shocking when I think about it, but it is so easy for what you see around you every day to become normalised.
 

SEL

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What's the general view on clipping in winter for weight loss? I don't get much time to ride but have still fully clipped in the past, in order to under-rug to help keep weight down.
I clip the native pony either trace or Irish so she has hair on her back to protect from rain. She grows a really thick coat so it helps if she's in ridden work not to have sweaty armpits!

I'm not convinced it makes the slightest difference to her weight though. Maybe if I took it all off...
 

AntiPuck

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As someone else said, we (as a society) really have normalised both overweight people and horses.

I am actually nervous about starting to muzzle mine when she's out 24/7, because I know that I'll get some looks and possibly comments about it. She's fat, but everyone I've mentioned it to has responded, "she's not that bad". I don't want to wait until she's "that bad'!
 

Nasicus

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I bought a traditional cob recently, who was obese. Large pads of fat along her back, a crest, rain gutter and absolutely no hope in hell of feeling her ribs. The vet was horrified when she saw her. With restriction, clipping and lots of hill work, I'm proud to say we got rid of the back fat, crest, gutter and can just about feel ribs with some pressure! Still a work in progress, but she looks and feels so much better now.

However, a friend of mine, who (has for a long time) breeds and successfully shows traditional cobs, was adamant that she looked good, and that was how she was supposed to look, and that I was worrying myself for nothing. Absolutely mindboggling how anyone could look at that pony and think she looked good. It was literally the first comment that fell out of my mouth when I went to view the pony, 'Wow, look at those fat pads!'.
 

SEL

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As someone else said, we (as a society) really have normalised both overweight people and horses.

I am actually nervous about starting to muzzle mine when she's out 24/7, because I know that I'll get some looks and possibly comments about it. She's fat, but everyone I've mentioned it to has responded, "she's not that bad". I don't want to wait until she's "that bad'!
I've had someone phone me before to ask if they could take a muzzle off because she "looked sad".
 

J&S

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I bought this pony from a closing down riding school, she was only used at week ends. She looked like this! Here we are studying her fat pads. She weighed 490kgs on a weight tape. It has taken the best part of 3 years to progressively get weight off her by riding, clipping, grass track and careful feeding. She was 390 kgs on the weight tape yesterday! I can feel her ribs quite easily, her shape is lovely, her neck is loose and flexible and she goes like the clappers. She came as a companion but neDSCN0922 (1).jpgeds as much attention to detail as her elderly part TB friend who conversely needs feeding up during the winter. I believe it is the exercise that really does the trick so I understand how difficult it is for elderly or non ridden fatties.
 
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