Help me help my horse lose weight

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melissa1971

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I have a 15hh coloured cob who is not too bad but just slightly overweight and thats now I would like him going into spring carrying less.

He goes out at 9am and back in at 5pm he has one section of soaked hay when he comes in, a handful of fast fibre to mix his supplements in the another soaked hay net at 10pm, the grazing is not fantastic but there is still grass i cant muzzle him as my youngster would just swing of it..lol.

He had surgery last year so is only in very light work at the moment not enough to be doing anything about his weight he is also naked..

So any tips help advice on how i can get some more kgs of him before spring..thank you.
 
Can you fence off sections of your field? I tend to fence off a square in the middle of my field so that the horses have access to the outer section and have to walk further to graze. Its a similar idea to Paddock paradise but I don't go as far as putting down different surfaces for them to walk over etc.
 
What weight of hay are you giving him?

Also consider that if he has just come in from grazing he may very well not need hay at that point, better to give it later on and cut that section out.
 
I had a similar issue to you except could not cut weight down due to age- too young for heavy work. Someone on here suggested substituting 1/3 of the hay for straw. I stated this christmas day and since then we have lost 18kg! I changed nothing else! Now either its the straw OR that grass quality has suddenly dropped off?

So I still feed 6kg of net a night but 2kg of that six is now straw mixed in fully so he cant pick and choose!
 
Thanks, I could try fencing a track round the outside of the field my only worry is that this time of year its quite wet and would maybe get churned up.

He gets 6kg of hay but i could get away with not giving him the one when he comes in like you say he has just come of grass so could go a little while without.

I have tried the straw lol he wont touch it..

thanks for the tips
 
melissa1971 said:
I have a 15hh coloured cob who is not too bad but just slightly overweight and thats now I would like him going into spring carrying less.

He goes out at 9am and back in at 5pm he has one section of soaked hay when he comes in, a handful of fast fibre to mix his supplements in the another soaked hay net at 10pm, the grazing is not fantastic but there is still grass i cant muzzle him as my youngster would just swing of it..lol.

He had surgery last year so is only in very light work at the moment not enough to be doing anything about his weight he is also naked..

So any tips help advice on how i can get some more kgs of him before spring..thank you.
Click to expand...

less hay but double net with small hole haynets so it so it lasts longer, and how long do you soak it for? The longer you soak the less there is to pile the weight on.
 
I would persevere with substituting the straw. He can't be so hungry if he won't eat it, and if he is really hungry he will eat it. Either way, he's eating less hay and should lose weight. Oat or barley straw not wheat straw.
 
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