Horse getting too fat in the winter, can anyone help

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Emma& hugo

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Hi I have a 15hh highland cross, she's 7 years old. This is our first winter together, she's going to live out 24/7. I ride 3-4 times a week and due to work and lack of day light can't exercise her any more at this time of year. She has a trace clip as she gets very hot when I exercise her and is currently wearing a lightweight rug but seems warm enough. I feed her a handful of chaff and speedi beet with a vitamin powder. There is very little grass in the field but she does have access to a large bale of hay 24/7. I can't take this hay away as the other horses owners like to feed hay this way but she seems to be piling the weight on, I have noticed she seems to be storing fat in pouches behind her withers. *Can anyone suggest how I can trim her down?
 
DO NOT rug her anymore! A LW is sufficient, then she will use her fat to keep warm and not the rug! It may take all winter but if you dont rug too much and she uses up calories just to keep warm, she will lose weight if the diet is controlled and she is exercised
 
it's access to hay 24/7 thats doing it-natives, generally speaking, don't need it especially atm when the bad weather hasn't got here yet. if you can't do anything about how she's managed then the best thing os to keep rugging to a minimum and as the weather worsens she will probably loose weight.
 
Take the rug off and get her a grazing muzzle. If you leave the muzzle on for 12 hours or each day it should make a difference, but you may have to leave it on longer than that if she is going to go and fill herself up with hay. Good luck!
 
Petalpoos said:
Take the rug off and get her a grazing muzzle. If you leave the muzzle on for 12 hours or each day it should make a difference, but you may have to leave it on longer than that if she is going to go and fill herself up with hay. Good luck!
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I'd be more inclined to take rug off but leave grazing muzzle off this time of year unless the horse is in direct risk of lammi when she should be away from all that food anyway. muzzles have their uses but personally would rather they were eating and heating from inside out (and dispelling heat) rather than hungry through not eating and cold. jmho :)
 
Don't take the rug off - she's clipped....

Your going to have to get her off the hay. Can you stable overnight, and give her a smaller ration of hay?
 
Thank you all for your quick replies. The speedi beet is only a teeny handful, when soaked would fill a cup, just to mix her vitamins in. Her rug is literally a rain sheet no fill but she has a trace clip so I don't want to leave her totally naked. The bale only went in a week ago but I don't think she's left it to be fair! She's blown up in a week! I am thinking i can stable her overnight but she would be on her iwn as the ither 2 will live out. I might fence some of the field off away from the hay and only let her in with the others overnight maybe. Reluctant with the muzzle because her teeth are slightly worn down (dentist says only cosmetic) from wearing a muzzle somewhere in her past. It's lammi or founder I am worried about.
 
teddyt said:
DO NOT rug her anymore! A LW is sufficient, then she will use her fat to keep warm and not the rug! It may take all winter but if you dont rug too much and she uses up calories just to keep warm, she will lose weight if the diet is controlled and she is exercised
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Definately this ^^^^^ . Last winter I didn't rug my Clydie and along with lunging allowed the colder weather to assist in weight reduction.
 
I'd take the rug off. A highland will cope really well with a trace clip provided you pop on a rain sheet if it is cold,wet & windy/ sleeting, that sort of thing. One of my cobs has a high chaser clip & I daren't rug him as he is still holding his weight rather too well, even with soaked hay.
You are right too think about weight now - cobs & natives really need to come out of the winter slightly lean to avoid long term problems.
 
Interesting to read this thread as I have the same problem with a native cob x who is the ultimate of good doers, ie, not losing weight in the winter. I have a clip like you OP and a rainsheet for wet days (and it's been so mild here the rug has only gone on regularly this week as it's now been wet and much colder) but bizarrely the winter grazing does me favours as the field is far too small for the number of horses so reduced to a mud bog very early. However mine doesn't lose weight because my problem is the horses are stabled from about 3.30pm to gone 9.30am the following morning - and on haylage which is all we are allowed at the yard. And due to work and light I can only ride currently at weekends. I'm weighing his net but it's not easy as the haylage is the only main forage he'll get as the field is so denuded. I do see a shift though most years by about Feb (the weight does come off but very slow) - and thankfully ours don't hit new grass until after 1st of May so in the Spring I can make use of lighter evenings for a couple of months and get more riding in during the week too. But it's funny as it's the stabling on haylage at our yard that makes it more difficult for me! As even when the light improves again in Jan/Feb/Mar their turnout routine doesn't extend much. Having said that though due to the small paddock and the number of horses and the fact there is no grass from Dec/Mar there is so much fighting that goes on if they are out there too long with nothing to eat I'm quite relieved sometimes that time out is restricted. Always swings and roundabouts with horses and how you can keep them and where!
 
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