Fat scoring cobby type horses or heavy horse x

Supertrooper

Supertrooper

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 March 2010
Messages
14,106
Visit site
Just a bit of advice really, I share a shire x cob, when my friend brought him last year from a riding school he was obese, I'd say very obese and had already had one lami scare but had never developed into a full blown attack. We where shocked at how huge he was and immediately put him on a diet as he had no shape, no muscle tone and fat pads and the vet told us if he ever got laminitis, due to his size and build he'd have to be put down straight away.

We got him in September and luckily my friends field has never been fertilized so although reasonable grazing it's never been lush, he started dropping weight straight away and we didn't rug him all winter, and only gave him hay and hi fibre diet (fast fibre and hifi lite). He's came out of winter looking alot better, has now got shape, muscle and can pick his feet up when he walks which he couldn't do before!!!! However he still is well covered, I wouldn't say excessively so and he has no crest or fat pads but he has a covering of fat.

He is currently in prob a half acre of field which he has grazed down well, we have had no rain for approx seven weeks till this weekend. He has been moving round more trying to find grass and I have been giving him three scoops of hifi lite am+pm with vit/min supplement as want fibre going through his gut. I don't want to move him into other bit of field as I'd rather really he stayed on well grazed bit and I controlled what he was eating, cause he can pack alot in his mouth!!

Do others with cobby types worry as it's so hard that line between chunky and ok, and chunky but fat!!!!

P.s i've realised that it sounds like he's mine, basically my friend owns him but I look after him as he's too big for my friend to handle, she has back problems xx
 
I'm the same with my boy (posted a thread yesterday regarding weight & lami) he's a cobby type, hard to know if he's overweight or not!!
 
Sure you're like me, paranoid about laminitis!! Mind you, i'd rather be like that. I think I read your post, was it the coloured cob??
 
Dorey treads the fine line very, very carefully!! She's a little bloater atm for being back on good grass but I suspect it's mostly just gas.

The thing with cobs - crests and peachy bottoms (or apple bums) are a breed characteristic!! It's so very hard to judge when they're right!

I would concentrate on the should fat pad and ribs, as even cobs shouldn't have fat there.
 
have you looked into the track field system or paradise paddock system. i do this on a small 1/2 acre paddack, i just leave a track about 10-12 foot round the edge and feed a little bit of hay which has been soaked. i find this the best way to keep weight off.

i make the track with electric fencing and then take it down in the winter so the pony has the whole paddock, we have gone from 30 dressage girth to a 26 inch i am thinking of buying a 24 inch and for the first time in years i can fill the ribs when i run my hands over the rib cage
 
Yes, we have thought about track system for him. I had a lesson this afternoon and instructor said he's the perfect weight now, without me asking him so I'm going to continue with his bit of field and supplement with hifi lite or hay xx
 
I fat score and weight tape my cob all year round and watch his weight constantly.

Its so hard isnt it to know whats the best weight and looks right with the heavy ones. My boy is 14.3 and 430kg which doesn't sound a lot compared to some, but you can only just feel ribs if you have a good feel, no crest and not much of a round bottom but he is very fit at the moment. I have posted on the past to see what weight other similar horses were at and they went from 400 to well over 500kg.

My horse has been 500kg before it was revolting, but we're on top of it now with had work and perseverance and finding the right feed and routine!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top