Got a very fat pony needing advice!

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Ms.Cameo.22

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My pony can get fat on the smell of an oily rag! But the trouble is she gets ridden every other day and her food is next to nothing ( she has to be fed at night so she can have her supplement and stuff like that) and hay I only give her three pounds at night and day and in the starvation paddock for only about fours hours!! And I am completely bemused at how my pony can still get fat! Any advice please? And no nasty comments please!
 
Wolf is in the bare paddock with our EMS sh * tland, Tobe, now, and they only get straw to eat. The straw was the vet's idea, as Tobe was starting to wear his teeth oddly not having enough fibre to chew being on a diet. Tobe looks ace, and his teeth are much better as he can have ad lib fibre again, and Wolf has been steadily deflating since he joined him. He's still got a belly but it's going.

You need to be able to source good quality clean oat or barley straw though.
 
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Too much standing in his stable bored stupid. Make a track around the biggest field you can, about 8-12 ft wide water in one place, salt lick opposite, and turn him out. He will self exercise all day walking around and around it. You can dot a couple of soaked nets about as he MUST trickle feed all the time else he will get ulcers due to constant acid production.

Leave him out, no rug, move a post every now and then like strip grazing etc.
 
My pony is currently on a small handful of bran & chaff then 15ml of nobute tiny bit of Angus castus, a half a handful of no itch herbs and a bit of seaweed. And I only feed her at night. I'm sorry as this is the only photo I have of her body.
 
I got the weight off my obese Draft horse by feeding her on huge trugs of pain oat straw chaff. She had been given coarse mix by her previous owner and was truly massive, she was also showing symptoms of ulcers, so I really did not want her to be standing in with nothing to eat at any point. It took 3 yrs to get her to a sensible weight but it can be done. I found that she gets colic if she eats long straw.
 
Agree that it generally takes a long time to bring down a fat horse, much longer than people realise. They have to have just enough of everything which is a very hard balance to strike. Not too much or too little food or exercise. Keep sight of your goals OP and don't give up :)
 
I have a fatty who I have to manage with a TB as they are turned out together. They both have grazing at night - it's not a starve patch, but it isn't lush either. They both come in during the day and while the TB has ad lib hay and a decent feed, the fatty has a soaked net. I also work her at least five or six days a week for around an hour at a time and at least one hack a week is a longer one. In winter when they are in more, TB has adlib and fatty will have a reasonable net at night and a trug of chopped straw during the daytime if not turned out. I find exercise is key. Good luck!
 
But the real thing I'm ell not worried, but slightly concerned about is she loses weight really quickly like for example after a ride you could do her girth up another 2 or 3 holes more she is a welsh c, so is it her breed or something else?
 
Ms.Cameo.22 said:
But the real thing I'm ell not worried, but slightly concerned about is she loses weight really quickly like for example after a ride you could do her girth up another 2 or 3 holes more she is a welsh c, so is it her breed or something else?
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Wow, amazing how she can lose weight over the course of one ride...lol. That will just be gas.
 
Ms.Cameo.22 said:
But the real thing I'm ell not worried, but slightly concerned about is she loses weight really quickly like for example after a ride you could do her girth up another 2 or 3 holes more she is a welsh c, so is it her breed or something else?
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It's because you're not ultimately doing the girth up tightly enough. Get in to the habit of always checking it throughout exercise, and adjusting as necessary.
 
Ms.Cameo.22 said:
I do check it!
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Your horse cannot 'lose weight' within one ride. It's gas that causes the stomach to be more bloated before you ride, which is works out during the ride. Quite common and normal.

If she loses weight extremely quickly, then why have her on such a strict diet? Just work her appropriately and keep the weight down instead of putting her into a starvation paddock and stabling for such long hours.

I also would ditch all the useless supplements and herbs, but that's just my personal opinion on things like that.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I got the weight off my obese Draft horse by feeding her on huge trugs of pain oat straw chaff. She had been given coarse mix by her previous owner and was truly massive, she was also showing symptoms of ulcers, so I really did not want her to be standing in with nothing to eat at any point. It took 3 yrs to get her to a sensible weight but it can be done. I found that she gets colic if she eats long straw.
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Agree - it took two years of living on a billiard table paddock with no additional feed in winter (we don't get snow) to get my Clydesdale down to a respectable weight.

Oat straw is a great idea for fibre to keep her teeth busy.
 
Spring Feather said:
Bit contradictory, no? Either she gets "fat on the smell of an oily rag" or she " loses weight really quickly". Which is it? Can't help if we don't know the real situation.
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Aren't some of you being a bit snippy? I agree that the pony isn't losing weight, it has probably blown itself out when being girthed up, and some don't just do it at the beginning of a ride, they do it everytime they feel the girth being checked & then don't bother at the end when they know the saddle is coming off anyway.
OP it will take time to get your pony down to a better eight, but fortunately winter is coming so you can use that to your advantage. In the meantime exercise is key and providing lots of forage with a low feed value - well soaked hay, straw etc. Try googling paddock paradise as well for some ideas and suggestions about how you can set up a better system for keeping her on the move
 
LCH611 said:
Aren't some of you being a bit snippy? I agree that the pony isn't losing weight, it has probably blown itself out when being girthed up, and some don't just do it at the beginning of a ride, they do it everytime they feel the girth being checked & then don't bother at the end when they know the saddle is coming off anyway.
OP it will take time to get your pony down to a better eight, but fortunately winter is coming so you can use that to your advantage. In the meantime exercise is key and providing lots of forage with a low feed value - well soaked hay, straw etc. Try googling paddock paradise as well for some ideas and suggestions about how you can set up a better system for keeping her on the move
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Personally I think it's a load of rubbish that horses 'puff themselves out' whilst being girthed up intentionally. More likely to just be movement of gas in the gut before, during and after exercise.

OP says the horse loses weight extremely quickly and easily. Therefore I struggle to see why she is bothering having the horse on a starvation paddock, and stabled long hours. She should simply exercise it and give it some sort of pleasurable existence.
 
Moomin1 said:
Personally I think it's a load of rubbish that horses 'puff themselves out' whilst being girthed up intentionally. More likely to just be movement of gas in the gut before, during and after exercise.

OP says the horse loses weight extremely quickly and easily. Therefore I struggle to see why she is bothering having the horse on a starvation paddock, and stabled long hours. She should simply exercise it and give it some sort of pleasurable existence.
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Just because you don't think it is likely does not mean it is a fact. I have one that literally blows out and holds his breath. If you wait it out the girth does up easily, but it can be 3 or 4 holes difference.

The OP's pony is clearly getting some exercise (hence reference to girth) but there may be all sorts of reasons why she can't give it enough exercise to combat its tendency to gain weight - many people can't which is why you see horses and ponies in starvation paddocks/stabled when they would presumably far rather be stuffing their faces on plenty of grass with all their mates.
 
Moomin1 said:
OP says the horse loses weight extremely quickly and easily. Therefore I struggle to see why she is bothering having the horse on a starvation paddock, and stabled long hours. She should simply exercise it and give it some sort of pleasurable existence.
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Indeed. The girth thing is both bizarre and irrelevant. The pony needs working properly, and feeding appropriately (oat straw, limited grazing etc).
 
LCH611 said:
Just because you don't think it is likely does not mean it is a fact. I have one that literally blows out and holds his breath. If you wait it out the girth does up easily, but it can be 3 or 4 holes difference.

The OP's pony is clearly getting some exercise (hence reference to girth) but there may be all sorts of reasons why she can't give it enough exercise to combat its tendency to gain weight - many people can't which is why you see horses and ponies in starvation paddocks/stabled when they would presumably far rather be stuffing their faces on plenty of grass with all their mates.
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I didn't say it was fact. Hence why I said I personally THINK it's a load of rubbish.

If OP cannot give it enough exercise in order for it to be healthy, then perhaps she should consider her options with keeping the horse, or getting someone in to help. If the horse loses weight that easily, which OP says it does (I am a bit baffled by this), then I don't see the issue...seriously. We aren't talking about a horse that is very difficult to keep weight off, and needs exercising twice daily to just keep it at a healthy weight.
 
Moomin1 said:
I didn't say it was fact. Hence why I said I personally THINK it's a load of rubbish.

If OP cannot give it enough exercise in order for it to be healthy, then perhaps she should consider her options with keeping the horse, or getting someone in to help. If the horse loses weight that easily, which OP says it does (I am a bit baffled by this), then I don't see the issue...seriously. We aren't talking about a horse that is very difficult to keep weight off, and needs exercising twice daily to just keep it at a healthy weight.
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The girth needing doing up tighter after the saddle is initially put on is NOT necessarily a sign that the horse loses weight quickly. As JFTD said that is irrelevant. It needs as much exercise as it is able to have and the owner is able to give it, and it needs feeding in a way that will keep it healthy and enable it to lose weight.

The OP has posted asking for advice and look to be a new member, and they are getting some unhelpful comments when what they want to do is learn how to deal with a problem
 
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