Fat pony

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Hello - Does anyone out there have any good suggestions for slimming a fat pony? She's currently out of ridden work, and will be for another month or so due to veterinary treatment but im concerned about her weight. She's out 24/7, has no hard feed and im walking her in hand every day. Any other suggetsions for weight loss will be most welcome
 
It is bloody hard work getting weight off fat ponies. I struggle continually with my shetland. He has to be in a diet field in the summer. He gets carefully weighed hay in the evening. My vet said if they still stay fat, the only way to get it off is to lunge them.

I don't know what your pony's problem is, but if you can't work her, you definately need to stop her access to grass, because that is what will be making her fat.
 
I have had the same issue with my mare who just needs to look at a piece of grass and her belly grows...she has been turned out for the year due to lameness issues, so cant be worked to get the weight off.

I have stripped off an area for her which she has grazed down (with the help of my other one for the first few days!), I move the fence every few days (usually every 3) by about a metre, and she has to walk up and down the length of her strip to graze thus exercising herself (if that makes sense).

Grazing muzzles are an option, however where we are the grass in our fields is at least a couple of inches high, so even with the muzzle on she piled on weight.
 
Yes restrict the grazing...i have seen many owners worry about this thinking it is cruel and they end up will laminitic ponies which is surely more painful for the pony. My miniture shetland has toys to play with to ease his boredom of the dreaded "diet" paddock whereas my friend has a larger paddock but her Welshies wear green guard muzzles and come in at night....this works too......best of luck
 
Its a nightmare isnt it? She's not too fat at the moment, i guess im being over cautious as i know she can't be ridden (she's just undergone treatment on girth for sarcoid, hence why i can't ride her) but want to prevent her piling on the pounds over the next few weeks! She only has to look at grass and she balloons! I think i may restrict her grazing and lunge more! Thank you x
 
I've spent the last 6 weeks getting weight off my laminitic pony.

I have calculated 1.5% of his ideal weight and then give him that amount in hay, soaked for 12 hours, twice a day. This is 4kg per day. I also give half a scoop or less of HI-Fi good doer and the appropriate ration of Baileys Lo-Cal.

He looks great. He gave me a bit of a scare last week, but he's sound again and gets 15 - 20 minutes long-lining work every day. His coat is shiny and he looks a picture of health. He is slowly losing weight.

When his work increases I will increase his hay ration. he doesn't get any grass, he's on a paddock of mud. I have occasionally turned him out for half an hour or so with a muzzle to have a mooch around the field, but no more than 3 times a week and in fact, I try really hard not to turn him out at all. I tell myself it's better for him to be slim and fit than fat and unhappy.(edited to say, his mud paddock is quite large so he doesn't stand about all day and there's lots going on around him so he doesn't get bored.)

He must be feeling well in himself, because he took off with me last night when we were long-reining in the field; there was lots of bucking and f**ting about and a flat out gallop with reins flying. Fortunately, no damage done to either of us. Phew!
 
Set up the racetrack system - it really does work!

(Fenced off track around the outer edge of the field. They have to move much more than in a starvation paddock)
 
My vet always swears by weigh taping and says that if the horse is not loosing weight on its current rations and exercise it is getting all it needs from the food provided...to loose weight it needs something taking away from the diet or restricted and if it is putting on weight it is getting way too much and is at risk of laminitis etc. So I weight tape every week and monitor from there. My lad has been on a fair sized paddock that was eaten off over the winter since March/April so he nibbles the grass as it comes through and then has that supplemented by 2 year old hay. He has been steadily loosing weight on this regime..with work too obviously. I do not even strip graze onto new grass because he does not need it at the moment.
 
get some cr*p quality hay (not dusty or anything...but not nutritious) and find some cr*p grass and turn her out on that, especially if its on a side of hill and put hay at the top/bottom to where she'd usually be so she has to walk to get it

I like the racetrack system suggestion from little_donkey!! great idea!!
 
I struggle to keep my IDx at a nice weight and struggled with the Welshy I had too. I like to bring in during the day in the summer to get them off the grass, so mine is in from about 10am til between 6 and 7.30pm every day. He has a breakfast of low cal chaff, soaked hay (soaked overnight) and then a dinner of chaff with Spillers High Fibre cubes. He is only fed hard feed to carry his supplements. If he didn't need those (vets instructions!) he wouldn't get any hard feed at all.
 
i think the race track idea is wonderful! so simple & should also help stop boredom - bravo

you say she has a girth op? nothing wrong with the legs?

so ride her bareback,

if she is a tubby then she should be quite comfy to sit on, if she is fizzy stay in a small area (or even ride around the 'race track') if not off you go.

as to the cr*p hay idea i was taught there was nothing wrong in giving good quality straw to fatties, that barley and oat straw was best, it even still states in the blacks veterinary dictionary that it is acceptable as part of a diet for good-dooers so who's to argue on that,

i don't think you are being paranoid or a fusspot, much better to keep the weight controlled before a panic than deal with a lami pony, good luck
 
If you can..set up your paddock like this..it really works

020620094106.jpg
 
I have an 11hh grey new forest pony who was very fat when I first got him. (I bought him as a companion for my foals) He had a crest like a stallion despite being gelded. He went down with laminitis almost immediately and I had to learn very quickly how to manage him.

I restricted his grazing, during the spring and summer he came in during the day from 8am to 7pm and was given hay in a small hole net and a straw bed.

The biggest thing you can do is not overfeed in the winter months. If you do they go into spring already over conditioned and you will never win. During winter I only feed hayin the field, adlib, he lives out, he's not rugged (he grows a great coat) and if the weather is very bad, I give a small feed of sugar beet and alfa A morning and evening.

Don't starve your pony, like people, their metabolic rate will just drop as their system goes into starvation mode and then as soon as they have access to food, they'll pile on the pounds; Exercise if you can but I don't do any with mine and its worked really well.

Its July, he's completely sound, no laminitis, looks great and is a very happy pony.
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I'm not particularly restricting his grazing in the evenings when he is out but he is not on lush green pasture either and he has a friend to play with.
 
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