HELP - Overweight Connie

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The only time my good doer (sports horse but likely a bit of cob in there somewhere contributing to his ability to live on thin air) has ever been a perfect weight was over this summer drought we have just had where he was basically on a dirt paddock for 16 hours overnight (he did have something to eat but had to really work for it and zero goodness in the grass that was out there) and in during the day with hay. He's in full work with a varied workload of schooling (at least 20-25 minutes trot and 5-6 minutes canter), jumping once a week and 7-8 mile fast farm rides. It made me realise just how little he really needs! We are on dry sandy soil so our grazing is never lush but even so he will pile weight on just by looking at anything remotely green, it's a constant battle. If you're wanting her to actively lose weight you're going to have to be pretty tough for a few months, muzzle when out in the field and feed soaked hay when in, mix with straw if you need to bulk out rations. Unfortunately work alone often just doesn't cut it with native types.
 
The haylage if from a friend of hers, cut from a field that is not in use. No he does not have any hard feed either.
Bobthecob15 said:
My 14hh Welsh D is 378kg and looks absolutely spot on for weight. She's lost some since we upped her hacking and reduced the grass from out 24/7 to in at night.

Definitley off the lush grass, haylage is fine if its lower sugar/calories - find out what brand and if its been tested etc. I bring mine in at night now just to keep off the grass as its quite good where she is (recently moved) and she has low sugar timothy haylage in a slow feeder net, Equilibrium's Portion Pacer haynet: https://equilibriumproducts.com/products/portionpacer-haynets?variant=49129268052282 I weigh it to make sure she's not having too much...she always has a good 1/4 of a net left over in the morning so that's about the right amount.

Does he have any hard feed? Again diet needs to be forage based (hay, grass), exercise sounds pretty good so he's obvioulsy getting too many calories IF he is actually that overweight
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KikiDee said:
The only time my good doer (sports horse but likely a bit of cob in there somewhere contributing to his ability to live on thin air) has ever been a perfect weight was over this summer drought we have just had where he was basically on a dirt paddock for 16 hours overnight (he did have something to eat but had to really work for it and zero goodness in the grass that was out there) and in during the day with hay. He's in full work with a varied workload of schooling (at least 20-25 minutes trot and 5-6 minutes canter), jumping once a week and 7-8 mile fast farm rides. It made me realise just how little he really needs! We are on dry sandy soil so our grazing is never lush but even so he will pile weight on just by looking at anything remotely green, it's a constant battle. If you're wanting her to actively lose weight you're going to have to be pretty tough for a few months, muzzle when out in the field and feed soaked hay when in, mix with straw if you need to bulk out rations. Unfortunately work alone often just doesn't cut it with native types.
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Thank you, is there any particular work that you would recommend for weight loss? eg- hill work or canter?
 
Thank you so much.
First Frost said:
355kg is too low for a 14.2 connemara. My boy is fit and slim and weight tapes at 460kg.
Native ponies don't need any lush grass, he is probably getting enough calories for the whole day in a couple of hours! I would have him on poor grazing with soaked hay and a balancer. Be careful with the intensity of his work until he is a better weight.
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Thank you so much for all your suggestions - Please keep them coming :)
 
Too much feed=too much poo
Horseloverrrrr said:
Would that show you if he is being overfed?
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I expect my 14hh cob and Saus (standie with cob somewhere, I suspect) to produce ~6-7 poos each in a 24hr period. So if there’s suddenly 20 poos overnight, I know they need less to eat. You can usually find a good guide for what they should produce online.
 
HaplessHorse said:
Too much feed=too much poo


I expect my 14hh cob and Saus (standie with cob somewhere, I suspect) to produce ~6-7 poos each in a 24hr period. So if there’s suddenly 20 poos overnight, I know they need less to eat. You can usually find a good guide for what they should produce online.
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okay, that is really helpful. last time i did his bed he had done about 6 poos (over approx. 8 hrs since last done), i will speak to my friend about cutting his time on lush and keeping him in overnight to better monitor
 
I think a photo would be helpful to actually see what the pony looks like, if he is that overweight the workload sounds far too intense, he needs steady consistent hacking . I bought a very overweight horse years ago and it took 18 months of steady work to get him to an acceptable weight.
 
HaplessHorse said:
Too much feed=too much poo


I expect my 14hh cob and Saus (standie with cob somewhere, I suspect) to produce ~6-7 poos each in a 24hr period. So if there’s suddenly 20 poos overnight, I know they need less to eat. You can usually find a good guide for what they should produce online.
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Our 2 Connies are on a grass track that looks totally bare. They do 8 droppings each in 24 hours. My vet says not to worry unless they go down to under 6. Obviously eating the grass as it grows. They could easily lose some weight and would still be fine.
 
irishdraft said:
I think a photo would be helpful to actually see what the pony looks like, if he is that overweight the workload sounds far too intense, he needs steady consistent hacking . I bought a very overweight horse years ago and it took 18 months of steady work to get him to an acceptable weight.
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I will upload a photo as soon as possible!
 
Stop the lush grass, swap haylage for well soaked hay double netted in small hole nets. Ask farmer for his least nutricious hay, plenty of clean really good quality straw he can nibble. Clip and minimal rugging
 
Thank you so much everyone, I will speak to my friend about swapping haylage to not as nutritious soaked hay and setting up a track grazing system with a muzzle. I will also look at cutting his workload because last time I saw him ridden in the arena he seemed to be struggling with maintaining a forward going canter. I honestly can't thank everyone enough for all the advice you have given me!
 
I find it really hard to keep the weight off when bringing them in and giving hay or haylage, I get best results from leaving them out 24/7 on poor grazing with no additional food at all apart from a low cal balancer.

So in this situation I would fence off a strip and let him eat it down and leave him on that until he’s at the right weight and then move the fencing to give him a bit more until he’s on a paddock that maintains the right weight.
 
Jellymoon said:
I find it really hard to keep the weight off when bringing them in and giving hay or haylage, I get best results from leaving them out 24/7 on poor grazing with no additional food at all apart from a low cal balancer.

So in this situation I would fence off a strip and let him eat it down and leave him on that until he’s at the right weight and then move the fencing to give him a bit more until he’s on a paddock that maintains the right weight.
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That sounds like an excellent idea! Thank you.
 
Wizardsnecklace said:
Our 2 Connies are on a grass track that looks totally bare. They do 8 droppings each in 24 hours. My vet says not to worry unless they go down to under 6. Obviously eating the grass as it grows. They could easily lose some weight and would still be fine.
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I wish more people understood this. I had complaints from other liveries earlier this year for 'starving those poor horses' on the track. They simply could not grasp the concept that if it's coming out, it's going in. Weirdly enough they never took up my offer to do the daily poo picking so they could see how much there was each day 🙄
 
Nasicus said:
I wish more people understood this. I had complaints from other liveries earlier this year for 'starving those poor horses' on the track. They simply could not grasp the concept that if it's coming out, it's going in. Weirdly enough they never took up my offer to do the daily poo picking so they could see how much there was each day 🙄
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I have to admit I am rather OCD about counting droppings. They did 9 each today! Also you can pick up any potential problems early, by knowing what's normal for each pony.
 
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