Fat Pony

[Bessieboo]

I am after some advice please.

Currently I am not riding due to my injured ankle, although I am at my GP's today so this may change.

My pony is being ridden for me by a very competant young girl at the yard and she is on full livery too.

I still go and see her and have come to the conclusion, after assessing her, that she is getting a little bit fat. You can feel her ribs but there is a good layer of fat over them.

She is a fell/dales cross, 14.1, and the best way I can describe her present condition to you is she looks fantastic, shiney coat etc but her belly is starting to look too round for my liking. She does not get alot of grass, very limited grazing and gets fed by the livery yard.

I told them my concerns and asked them to cut down on what she is getting and I have also asked the girl who is riding her to give her more work but what I want to know is is there anything else I could or should be doing?

Any advice really appreciated.

 

[ester]

I wouldn't have her fed by the livery yard at all, natives at this time of year just don't need any extra . Mine is on limited grazing, in fact due to the weather am not sure what he is eating but he is still managing to poo lots so must be something

ps once you can get on injured ankles can do wonders for your abilities of sitting trot no stirrups

 

[Bessieboo]

Thanks for that Ester I will have a word with them tonight to find out exactly what they are giving her at the moment.

 

[guesstimation]

Check out exactly what she is eating, it’s unlikely she needs much, my native is on restricted grazing and getting a minimal handful of Hifi with a vitamin & mineral supplement so I can be sure he is getting the right nutrients but that’s it. He isn’t doing much work though.

If she is getting fed too much I’d get it right down and ask the person riding to keep an eye on energy levels, if the energy levels are no worse for the less feed then great.

Have you got a weight tape? You could also weigh tape her and body score her and keep a regular record that way you’ll be able to know for sure if she is putting on or losing weight, have a look at the Blue Cross website if you aren’t sure how to do this, it shows you how to bodyscore. I found keeping a record really useful
http://www.bluecross.org.uk/web/site/fhs/gettingstarted.asp