Help needed with fat 3 year old filly please

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juevans

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Hi I really need advise with regards to my riding pony filly, shes 3 years old and I have shown her in hand this year at local level where shes done well ,but Im now really concerned about the weight shes carrying I havent fed her all summer shes just been out in the field now shes out from 8 in morning till 5, will be less as it gets darker earlier. She stays in at night as small handful of chop with her vits/minerals in and a few pony nuts just enough to cover bottom of bucket really,shes on hay and is only eating about half a net by choice so would she be better if I just left her to winter out??? or do I need to do the opposite and keep her off the grass?? I have no clue what to do with such a good doer as I always have ones that need loads of feed and still dont put weight on .Due to the fact she is only 3 she doesnt do any work she will lunge but Im not sure if I should do it and if it will be of any use I dont want to harm her legs
thanks for reading

ps i do have the option of wintering her out
 
Can you restrict her grazing? when she comes in at night i would be soaking her hay also.
I have a very good doer too so feel your pain!! and on the other scale i have a poor doer also, together!!
 
I would be inclined to leave her out for now, as it gets colder and the goodness goes out of the grass she should lose some weight, I have 2 RPs still out they are now getting a little hay as there is little grass in their field. The only problem is they now need rugs as they are so fine in their coats so if I am not careful they will put the weight back on.
Soak her hay for 12 hours this will help reduce the feed value.
Maybe start to do some lunging or longreing to give her some exercise, a small amount should do no harm.
 
Im on a livery yard so there is no option to restrict her grazing with fencing and doubt she would eat wet hay to be honest
 
she as very little coat as she as been rugged but only with lightweight ones as I hate her with a woolly coat but wouldnt have a problem leaving her to winter out as my young fell and coloured are out for the winter
 
If you could winter her out, that would probably be best for her. She will use energy walking around the field grazing. Rug her if necessary, if she has a fine coat, but not in anything heavier than 200g in the coldest/wettest weather. Use a lightweight turnout with a little filling (40 - 100g), if she is still holding too much condition. The "no fill" lightweight turnouts are only really useful in warmer weather, to keep the rain off, as the rug flattens the coat so she won't be able to "fluff it up" to keep warm.
Feed wise, a handful of unmolassed chaff with a good vit/min supplement until she loses a bit of weight. Then monitor her weight over the winter to maintain her condition once she is at an ideal weight for her height, type and age. IF she needs any feed to maintain her weight, go for a high fibre diet. High fibre cubes, unmolassed chaff, speedibeet are all good for good doers living out.
I'm not a fan of lunging youngsters due to the stress of working continuously on a circle on their developing joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments. Long reining (in the school on straight lines, basic left and right turns, and the odd big circle), would benefit her more and help towards backing her when she is old enough. You can long rein out around safe fields and tracks too once the basics are established (walk, halt, turn left and right, and trot if she's ready). This will give her confidence hacking out, again, once she is old enough. Walks out in hand are good too, although I would avoid busy or fast roads to begin with.
Hopefully, you will be able to get a bit of weight off now, then maintain it over the winter. You don't want her to be even a tiny bit overweight going into spring. Rugs off as soon as the weather picks up again (unless you are planning on early shows next spring, then keep a light rug on to keep her coat looking good).
Another benefit of long reining and walking out in hand, is the muscle development you will get slowly over the winter. She will look great for showing next year with a little muscle tone.
I have 2 young natives myself, who are both living out but have rugs on. One of them was a little overweight when I bought her, but she's looking great now from using the suggestions I've given you above. :)
 
juevans said:
she as very little coat as she as been rugged but only with lightweight ones as I hate her with a woolly coat but wouldnt have a problem leaving her to winter out as my young fell and coloured are out for the winter
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For a start I would whip all her rugs off now to give her a chance to get a coat on her, I would also stop grooming her so that the grease gets a chance to build up to give her better weather proofing. Let her get to be a right muddy teddy bear, it'll do her and her limbs the world of good. Just by doing that alone will help her to lose a bit of weight. See how she does for a fortnight with no rugs but still bringing her in at night, you might be surprised at the difference it might make just by doing that. If you want to turn her away completely just pick a warm dry night to leave her out but I still wouldn't rug her myself as long as she has had a chance to acclimatise without a rug for a week or so.
 
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