FAT pony help!!!!!

L

LittleMouse

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 December 2010
Messages
254
Visit site
my pony is veerrryyy fat!!! even through winter he hasnt lost ANY weight. we have had to swap his girth because he 'outgrew' it and im really worried! hes a 14hh connemara cross. he is very cresty and did have small fattty pockets but there pretty miuch gone...but he does sometimes tend to jiggle. even though hes not had laminitis before..im worried hell get it. my mum said he would drop off the weight in winter...but he didnt! he is currently eating 2 small sections in the morning and 2 at night...and a very small lowcalorie feed when the other horses are fed (so he doesnt feel left out haha) he is ridden 3-4 times per week (i have school and there is nobody else to exercise him. he is field kept but there is barely any grasss. im soooo worried!!!! hahaha x im going pony club and im scared there gonna say something x i must just be paraniod! i will post a picture when i get a clear one x thanks for the help!

p.s a while ago the vet said he should lose it naturally..if not stable him in spring. but he hasnt...and we cant really stable him (no time to muck out coz of work./school) and we cant really aford to cal out the vet again xx PLESSE help :)
 
Stop feeding hay; he doesn't need it if he is out 24/7 even if the grazing isn't that good, we have had a mild winter and the grass hasn't stopped growing. Get him doing hill work, if he's unfit and you can't excercise him enough then get someone to help.


If he is rugged, then take them off unless he has been clipped, even then use only a lightweight

Some find feeding magnesium oxide helps with fatty deposits ( off ebay )

Before spring, section off your field by running electric fencing around the edge of a paddock in a track system, it will keep him moving
 
got a few pics...the dressage ones form the summer x they're not very clear...will take some more on wednesday xx
LittleMouse41


LittleMouse41


LittleMouse41
 
AngieandBen said:
Stop feeding hay; he doesn't need it if he is out 24/7 even if the grazing isn't that good, we have had a mild winter and the grass hasn't stopped growing. Get him doing hill work, if he's unfit and you can't excercise him enough then get someone to help.


If he is rugged, then take them off unless he has been clipped, even then use only a lightweight

Some find feeding magnesium oxide helps with fatty deposits ( off ebay )

Before spring, section off your field by running electric fencing around the edge of a paddock in a track system, it will keep him moving
Click to expand...

i cant stop feeding him hay because all the horses are together and theyre fed together x and he wont be in a field on his own :?
 
If he is in a field with others is he getting more than his fair share ?. I would perhaps section a corner of the field off and put him in there overnight. If you are worried about his weight then you will have to change something you are doing. I feed my fatties on straw to keep them full up without the extra calories of hay.
 
Can you section off part of your field so he can still see the other horses but have restricted grass? Other option is a grazing muzzle so he can't get at the hay. MagOx may help, and perhaps try a high fibre feed to fill him up but without giving him the calories and sugar that is in hay. My fatty is currently on box rest following a particularly bad bout of laminitis in November and being stabled is really, really helping to get his weight down as I can monitor exactly what he is eating. It isn't ideal but it is really my only option to get his weight down and it IS working! If stabling really isn't an option for you then I would try a grazing muzzle if you can't stop him getting to the hay. Also as said before, get him down to the absolute bare minimum of rugs that you can. Mine is stabled, has a trace clip and only has a thin rug (Fal Domino) on when it gets below -1 at night, and never in the day. He isn't cold, he has plenty of blubber to keep him warm. I feel a bit mean when I see him in his stable with his tiny haynet and no rug, but he's happy enough, and coddling him with extra hay and rugs won't help him at all, and would be cruel of me to do so! Restrict your pony's food as much as you can, exercise as much as you can and get his rugs down to the thinnest rug you can. You won't feel kind doing it but trust me it is absolutely heartbreaking to see your horse hobbling in pain because he's got Laminitis :(. Good luck! It often feels like its impossible to get weight off these fatties but you will manage it!
 
DO SOMETHING NOW!!!!!

It's much easier to do something now than wait til he goes down with laminitis. Once that happens, you HAVE to make changes: Either pts if you really do not have the time/facilities to bring about recovery, or restricting food (in a sensible way). What you lose the option of, if you wait til laminitis strikes, is the ability to use EXERCISE to get the weight off.

Make the most of that while he is still fit and healthy. EXERCISE him as much as you reasonably can. Whether it's on a horsewalker, inhand or ridden. EXERCISE him rather than chatting with fellow liveries. Is there anyone who would pony him out from their horse if you're not there - great way of getting 2 things done at once.

Another option at the moment may be to ask for a prescription of metformin to help you bring the weight down until you are able to exercise him more.

But I'd be looking for a more sustainable way of keeping him for the future. Isn't there another good doer, or a few, who could be sectioned off with less grass/hay than others? Or a different yard more geared to good doers.

Take it from me, laminitis is no fun at all. One of my ponies is now 6 months on from acute laminitis, and we are just starting to be able to trot under saddle for a few strides. It'll be another few months til the new hoof has grown down fully. And I'll never be able to stop worrying about whether she'll get it again.

You are right to ask for suggestions, and you have to think outside the box and find ways to UP the exercise, and REDUCE the total calories he's eating.

World Horse Welfare have useful stuff on their site, and so do Dodson & Horrell.

Sarah
 
Your pony WILL get lami if you don't do something before the spring grass comes through, when he will get even fatter if you don't change the way he is kept. There is no magic way of losing weight other than diet and more exercise. Why can't you get up 20 minutes earlier to muck him out? If he's in overnight you can restrict his feed to 5lbs of hay/oat straw mix. Oat or Barley straw weighs less than hay, so he is getting plenty of bulk, but it doesn't have as many calories - sort of "low fat hay"! Ponies are designed to live on very poor food in the winter, so this will not hurt him.

If he is getting ad lib hay in the field you have no way of knowing his intake, so get him sectioned off in a little (like quarter of an acre) corner of the field and just let him graze this right down (no hay during the day) and keep him in there until your vet says he is the right weight! If he has to be out 24/7 then just give him the hay/oat straw mix at night. Lots of steady excercise.

I know it sounds harsh, but you could just save your pony's life by doing something now.
 
this is why its very difficult to keep a good dooer with those that need to be fed Im afraid. I sympathise as last year I had one of each, one who needed adlib hay and a fat welshie. The only thing to do is section off a small paddock within the exsisting field for him and as others have said, stop feeding hay or anything else, he doesnt need a small feed of anything even if its low cal. I now have 2 good dooers thankfully and have barely fed hay all winter, the grass is very poor but dont let it fool you, they can still get enough from it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top