fat old boy

[samsaccount]

My boy is 21 and has been out of work since summer 05 (out of work in the winter due to nowhere to exercise and due to injury during 3/4 of this summer). Due to him being so unfit he has a huge belly and I am not too sure what this is down to as he has been wormed (but i will worm him again for just incase) he is not on hard feed and only gets a small handfull of hifi lite and for the past two weeks he has been stabled on a night so he gets one small haynet a night. His neck and bum does not look too fat but it is his belly which just seems really huge, especially now since he has 5ft of fur on him....so i am unsure what to do about it, i will also ask for the vets advice next week when he has his vacinations. But due to his age and legnth of time he has been out of work and the fact that unless i go to uni and take him with me he will be out of work again next winter, is there any point trying to get him fit again, or let him retire? I just feel i have wasted him as he has been in work for a bit then out of work again each year and i have never done anything more with him.

Any idea why his belly would be so big (I have put it down a grass belly due to turnout in a huge field during summer, especially since nothing else about him seems to have been effected - inc temprement and his movment does not seem restricted)
And would you bring him back into work if you was his mum?(no health problems resticting work)

 

[ThomasTank]

If he was mine I would start with a 15 minute walk every other day and build up from there. All couch potatoes have a big belly.lol. 21 is no age to retire if there are no health problems. I have had to bring my 27yr old back into work as he hated retirement ! Can you find someone to ride him while you are at uni ?

 

[Fleur100]

I have a 25 year old stallion that just came back into work this year. He had a 'big' belly. He is not fat, nor has he worms. Like older people his shape has travelled south! His shape has altered as he has got fitter but he still looks like he has a fat belly.

So don't worry about your lad too much .....

 

[samsaccount]

Fleur, I am just worring I have (or people will think) I have been a bad mum I guess

Just worried if there was something wrong with him to cause this.

I will start with the walks, just a bit bad since I am home from college and it is dark by then so if and when he gets a bit fitter unless the nights start to lighten up i have nowhere to take him....unless lungng in a field in the dark is considered safe haha.

Emmat, if i am accepted into uni and he is in good health and ridable he will come with me.

Thank you both for reasurring me

 

[samsaccount]

Also is there any sort of diet or feeds you could recommend to help him get back into shape, i don't see the point in reducing his grazing as it is coming into winter, but i could be wrong? At the moment he has a handfull of sugar beet and hifi lite once a day. I was considering lowcal by baileys.
Any help is appriciated thanks

 

[ThomasTank]

Go and enjoy him. If you are not galloping every day and eventing at the weekends, you should have another 10 years left !! There are far cheaper field ornaments in the garden centers. !! lol

 

[ThomasTank]

how about a handful of chaff and a few carrots as he is a little on the plump side. I may be wrong and someone will correct me !!. exercise will shape him up. If too dark now just do it at weekends. spring is on its way.. hurrah. Oh and sugarbeet is sugar and will make him fat.

 

[samsaccount]

he only has a really tiny bit, not even a handful otherwise he gets bored with his feed, hence why i thought about adding a small amount of mix to his feed so he will eat it.

Nah i am not wanting to gallop each day, would like him to be fit enough to school and do the odd jumping session again though.

 

[ThomasTank]

if he is that fat he poss doesnt need anything really. what breed is he ?

 

[samsaccount]

Not entirly sure, guessing a welsh x arab.
He only gets a little bit of food as he has started to come in on a night, so it is just to keep his enthusiasm about being stabled there, not like I am feeding a whole bucket full lol.

 

[ThomasTank]

Oh well in that case, feed what you are feeding and start riding him when you can !! enjoy

 

[hairycob]

What about spillers hi fibre cubes - you can soak them to make a tempting mash mash

 

[Chex]

Chex had quite a while off before I moved yards and started riding regularly. I got the vet and saddle fitter up to make sure he was still good to go and just built it up gradually. This was when he was about 22, and he coped just fine, happier being in work than standing in the field all day. It seems that all old horses are either too fat, or too thin! Mine is a fatty, he's on a handful of spillers happy dieter, and I'll keep him on that until he's back in full work (on a 6 month break just now cos of my leg). Chex is fat everywhere, not just his belly though!

 

[samsaccount]

Hairy, I wil certainly look into the cubes, as he is happy eating anything just the hifi lite tends to become slightly boring if it is on it's own.

Chex, I am quite glad to hear it is not just my boy who is having a problem with his waistline

Hope your leg gets better soon and you boy returns to full fittness again soon