Here comes the fat

[Widgeon]

Took my eye off the ball for the last week (horse was having a week off - he's done plenty of miles in the last couple of months and was feeling a bit like he needed a break) and with the rain (finally!) and warmer weather The Fat has arrived. Ribs have disappeared and wobbly tummy has replaced them. It never fails to horrify me how quickly cob types bloat out. He's out 24/7 and the grass in the last week has obviously turned into rocket fuel. Grazing muzzle and electric tape back out today I think.....*sigh*. Feeling a bit demoralized as we were doing so well. Think I can catch it before it's too bad though, if I shrink his paddock and put the muzzle on - and he'll be back in work tomorrow. It's just a never ending battle really.

 

[pistolpete]

They really are meant to survive on poor forage which always makes me a bit sad for them. We simply can’t replicate what is ideal for them wandering for miles over tough ground.

 

[scats]

I find this time of year, in fact, most of summer, extremely stressful. Mine are both muzzled, they are staying on the field they’ve grazed all winter which is very shot and they come in during the day to soaked hay. Millie is in work 6 days a week (Polly currently lame after an accident).
I’ve learnt now that I can’t take my eye off the ball at all with them. I much prefer winter time with horses, if I’m honest.

 

[Highmileagecob]

This year I cannot use a grazing muzzle due to failing teeth. He is in light work, as he is 27 and technically retired. I am adding Pink Mash to his balancer in an effort to keep the hindgut healthy. Touch wood, he is looking good at the minute but I am dreading any weight gain.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

There is hope.

I have changed my two from night turnout muzzled on 3 acres of very stressed grass to out full time on a track with the odd night in. The paddock is just less than an acre and I have fenced the inner which is growing nicely for autumn and neither are in muzzles for the first time in years. They also have access to a 20x40 school for rolling and loafing. Small amounts of meadow hay get spread around so they have to walk to eat and it’s as far away from the water as possible. Nr 2 pony always wants the pile of hay Nr 1 pony is eating so they constantly move and the bit I love is they have a full hedgerow to nibble at. One small feed a day to add supplements and that is all they get. Can’t believe the difference in DP, no swollen sheath and he’s losing weight as is B who is sporting a nice set of ribs. I was at breaking point with their EMS and laminitis last year and will never go back to field grazing in summer again.

 

[I'm Dun]

They really are meant to survive on poor forage which always makes me a bit sad for them. We simply can’t replicate what is ideal for them wandering for miles over tough ground.

Well we can. Thats exactly what a track does. It doesn't have to be a surfaced one. Until recently mine lived on a grass track from March to October/November time

 

[Widgeon]

They really are meant to survive on poor forage which always makes me a bit sad for them. We simply can’t replicate what is ideal for them wandering for miles over tough ground.

I know. It's really tricky isn't it...he would do best on a track system (as others have said) but there aren't any round here, and anyway this yard is excellent in so many other respects - swings and roundabouts isn't it. I've thought about setting up a track in his paddock but we're on clay, so as soon as it rained he'd be living in a churned up orange mud, which is no good. If I had my own land I'd just create a surfaced track, but I don't - livery is really my only option. Thankfully he does drop weight with a muzzle on, so it could be worse, but thank you to everyone who took the time to reply, it's always nice to know you're not the only one struggling.

@Highmileagecob , really sorry to hear you're in a difficult situation with yours, fingers crossed that you can manage things so he doesn't gain weight. All the very best with with it.

 

[SantaVera]

mine stay on an overgrazed very very bald paddock with more soil than grass during the day with straw to eat and a little hay. at night they go into a bowling green level of grass paddock with straw to eat. they dont put on extra weight on this regime. in winter they can go onto longer grass .

 

[pistolpete]

Mine has been on a track with soaked hay and honestly he was miserable. It doesn’t suit them all

 

[hollyandivy123]

i adapted a muzzle, by putting an extra layer of rubber on the out side, this has the effect of the horse having to move to find grass which is tall enough to fit through the hole. which has the knock-on effect of it being less stressed short grass. the inside of the muzzle is not effected and is still smooth for the horse.

 

[alibali]

There is hope.

I have changed my two from night turnout muzzled on 3 acres of very stressed grass to out full time on a track with the odd night in. The paddock is just less than an acre and I have fenced the inner which is growing nicely for autumn and neither are in muzzles for the first time in years. They also have access to a 20x40 school for rolling and loafing. Small amounts of meadow hay get spread around so they have to walk to eat and it’s as far away from the water as possible. Nr 2 pony always wants the pile of hay Nr 1 pony is eating so they constantly move and the bit I love is they have a full hedgerow to nibble at. One small feed a day to add supplements and that is all they get. Can’t believe the difference in DP, no swollen sheath and he’s losing weight as is B who is sporting a nice set of ribs. I was at breaking point with their EMS and laminitis last year and will never go back to field grazing in summer again.

This in bucketfuls! I've used grass tracks in a figure 8 round my paddocks each summer for a number of years now and strip grazed the foggage in the centre through the winter. They're out 24/7 year round now with permanent access to an area of hard standing and their barn no muzzles required. Hay is not ad lib as they'd get fat but I feed some hay year round as their grass intake is limited by the track. They've also easily doubled maybe trebled the amount the move in the day moving each other on round the track. They've never been so settled and relaxed and slim and fit! It looks a bit unsightly and takes a bit of effort to set up but I find long term it's less work to manage as well. Has completely revolutionised the way I manage them.

 

[Widgeon]

mine stay on an overgrazed very very bald paddock with more soil than grass during the day with straw to eat and a little hay. at night they go into a bowling green level of grass paddock with straw to eat. they dont put on extra weight on this regime. in winter they can go onto longer grass .

I think a bald paddock is going to be my plan - obviously at the moment it's anything but bald (!) but if we do get the forecast dry spell he will just stay on the same paddock, I'll open up the bits I'm taping off tomorrow, and eventually he'll probably run out of grass. It just goes to show how fast the grass really grows - his paddock LOOKS like a bowling green, but there's clearly a lot more grass than it appears.

 

[Widgeon]

Mine has been on a track with soaked hay and honestly he was miserable. It doesn’t suit them all

Good point, mine lives to eat - it's his hobby and his great joy in life (!) and he gets noticeably tetchy when he's really *really* running out of grass. Making just the right amount available is like living on a knife edge

 

[planete]

I have been reducing the grazed area gradually until he is now effectively on a track around the outside of the field, getting a few inches of new grass at one end every morning with water at the other end. I am counting the droppings and aim to get 7/8 every 24 hours. He gets his little treat of long grass which lasts about 15 minutes and keeps the grass on the track down the rest of the time plus half his usual balancer and his vitamin E in a tiny feed. So far, not too bad, saddle still fits.

 

[MuddyMonster]

Mine has been on a track with soaked hay and honestly he was miserable. It doesn’t suit them all

Same.

Mine moved much less, put on so much weight on a track system and just wawasn'at all happy. It horrifies the FB pro track system army when I say he's much happier when muzzled and out on grass ? I have friends for which a track system works really well though.

 

[SEL]

Grass track which is pretty bald for the two mares. I wouldn't say either were happy about it but they'd be a lot less happy with laminitis

 

[Tiddlypom]

My temporary summer only equicentral system works really well for my 3. Must be in its 4th year, now. Much better than confining them to a smaller area on the same land and moving the strip grazing twice a day. They move loads more this way crisscrossing between the two adjacent paddocks, simply because they have just one water point now, not two. I rarely need to put hay out, they have enough grass to eat without getting fat.

It always get put up around Badminton time, once the grass starts to shoot up, and this year is no exception . Once the grass dies down in late autumn I strip graze into it.