Horse needs to lose weight but can't be ridden at the moment?!

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MJ_1993

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Hi everyone!

Just wondered if anyone had any tips for me, my horse is a big lad, only 15.3 but full irish so well built, problem is he looks at grass and puts on weight!! He's just come off two weeks box rest re hind lameness - vet ruled out suspensory injury today so x rays on monday - He may need to go back on box rest following the outcome of this.

My issue is he is FAT. like proper fat. almost so fat i can't even say 'Show Condition' anymore!! He gets a handful of HI FI Lite and Pony Nuts between two feeds - just so he is fed when everyone else is. Tiny feeds! His hay is soaked for about 18/24 hours.
I can't get the weight off him because i can't ride him but vet says if he needs steroids due to injury he is High Risk Laminitis now. I don't know what else i can do?
The grass in his field isn't lush but he will be moving to new paddock with the herd in a couple of weeks and it will be long and lush!
I really don't know what to do! =/ I feel it's a battle i cant win right now!!

Any cool ideas you've all had?
 
Either restrict his grazing (as in a track, which works well because it encourages them to move) or use a muzzle. I know if you are at a livery yard the use of the grazing isn't really up to you but can you negotiate a fatty paddock or track, much preferable to a muzzle IMO?
 
Just because he can't be ridden doesn't mean he can't be exercised. Lunge, long rein and hacking being led from another horse are all options.
 
That's an idea i hadn't thought of, we have a laminitic pony at the farm with two dirt pens... i could ask to steal one of those for a bit!! thankyou! x
 
OrangeAndLemon said:
Just because he can't be ridden doesn't mean he can't be exercised. Lunge, long rein and hacking being led from another horse are all options.
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Maybe i worded his lameness incorrectly.... I mean exercise in general, Ridden or otherwise - until they find out where the lameness is coming from he is not allowed to do anything to prevent it from getting worse.
 
JillA said:
Either restrict his grazing (as in a track, which works well because it encourages them to move) or use a muzzle. I know if you are at a livery yard the use of the grazing isn't really up to you but can you negotiate a fatty paddock or track, much preferable to a muzzle IMO?
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That's an idea i hadn't thought of, we have a laminitic pony at the farm with two dirt pens... i could ask to steal one of those for a bit!! thankyou! x
 
OrangeAndLemon said:
Just because he can't be ridden doesn't mean he can't be exercised. Lunge, long rein and hacking being led from another horse are all options.
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If he’s waiting for x-rays this wouldn’t seem very wise. Mine is in the same position, lame and fat. Ultrasound said ligaments etc all fine but x rays say he has fractured his splint bone and a piece of it is sitting further down. So no lunging or other forms of exercise.

He is now in a small space, no real grass to speak of, soaked hay in small holed net. Best I can do until he gets the thumbs up. If he was allowed to move more I would have him out on a track (or in a dirt paddock as you said).

I definitely wouldn’t be putting him in the new field with the lush grass!
 
Bring him in and feed oat straw chaff, rather than soaked hay, hi-fi or nuts. It does work. If he is full of chaff, he won't gorge on grass when he is allowed out.
 
I'd do away with the pony nuts & change the HiFi Lite for a plan straw chop. Hay in tiny mesh nets to slow him down & if needs be double net - just because it's well soaked doesn't mean it has no calories. If nothing else works it might be worth talking to your vet about Metformin. Do not put him on good grass, if needs be grovel to your yard owner and ask if you can build him a small pen on a bare patch. And don't go down the route of steroid jabs until his weight is better, add laminitis into the equation & you'll be in a huge mess.
 
Get him off grass completely, and into a dirt pen.

Calculate his weight and then feed either 2% of ideal weight or 1.5% of current weight (whichever is GREATER) of forage (hay, hay replacer, chaff) per day. Ensure ESC + starch is <10%. If you can;t test hay, soak for 1hr in cold water or 30mins in hot water (rinse until water runs clear and then leave to drip for approx 20 mins before feeding; dispose of water where other horses can;t access it)

Use multiple slow feeders dotted around so he is moving.

In the stable use slow feeders supplemented by an open bucket of plain oat straw chop (to be included in the 1.5/2%).

If on a straw bed, seriously consider switching to a non-edible bedding.

Feed an iron free vit and min supplement.

It sounds very severe, but it can be a life-saving diet.
 
BBP said:
If he’s waiting for x-rays this wouldn’t seem very wise. Mine is in the same position, lame and fat. Ultrasound said ligaments etc all fine but x rays say he has fractured his splint bone and a piece of it is sitting further down. So no lunging or other forms of exercise.

He is now in a small space, no real grass to speak of, soaked hay in small holed net. Best I can do until he gets the thumbs up. If he was allowed to move more I would have him out on a track (or in a dirt paddock as you said).

I definitely wouldn’t be putting him in the new field with the lush grass!
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Sorry I mis read the OP. Thank you for correcting.
 
I had this exact problem about 4 years ago. My mare went lame just as the spring grass came through around April time. Following rest, investigations, work ups and scans the problem was traced to her hock and she needed steroid injections.

She was kept on restricted grazing all summer, hay was soaked, no hard feed, the vet gave me diet pills, we tried irap which got her sound enough to do some walking exercise but in the end the only thing that got the weight off enough for the steroid injection was winter and she had the steroid injection on New Years Eve.

Hope you have better luck!
 
I have a 16.2hh IDx appaloosa, and at the moment he is not ridden due to my back injury. I was forced to stop work on 26th April, and I can safely say that without going hungry, he has lost a bit of weight.
I keep him in a large sparse paddock with his laminitic friend. They have a strip of fresh grass every day and at night they have one 12lb hay net of hay and one of Silvermoor Lite haylage. The ID eats all of his (18lbs in all when you adjust for haylage water content) and spends equal time each day either in the field or in his stable. Both horse and pony are very trim.
 
MJ_1993 said:
That's an idea i hadn't thought of, we have a laminitic pony at the farm with two dirt pens... i could ask to steal one of those for a bit!! thankyou! x
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As long as you replace the grass with soaked hay, only needs 20 minutes to reduce sugars. Please don't starve it off, I see too many posts talking about reducing intake, whereas it's the quality of the intake that needs looking at really.
 
I am nearly in tears at some of the responses to this. Would you really treat your own horses like this? 24/7 muzzle???? Get him off the grass??? Gosh, how incredibly rude. The poor person is asking for advice nicely, how about you all think before you type.
 
buzyizzy said:
I am nearly in tears at some of the responses to this. Would you really treat your own horses like this? 24/7 muzzle???? Get him off the grass??? Gosh, how incredibly rude. The poor person is asking for advice nicely, how about you all think before you type.
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Really? I don’t see any rude or tear inducing replies here at all. She has an obese horse who needs to lose weight in order to potentially be treated for lameness, or for his health in general. So yes, absolutely a muzzle if it’s on grass or coming off the grass. None of that means starving him, just limiting the sugar and starch intake and replace with more fiberous hay or haylage. I honestly don’t see what anyone said that would upset you?
 
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I've had a first-half-of-the-year from hell with saddle issues, snow, mud fever and pneumonia meaning that until recently I had only ridden a handful of times since the beginning of December! Yet I have still been able to slim my traddie mare down in that time. I went for a slow and kind option so she just had slightly less rations and partial-muzzling so she's been happy(ish....she IS a cob after all!!) and retained her energy. She's looking fab at the mo...much trimmer than our first spring together last year.
 
buzyizzy said:
As long as you replace the grass with soaked hay, only needs 20 minutes to reduce sugars. Please don't starve it off, I see too many posts talking about reducing intake, whereas it's the quality of the intake that needs looking at really.
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I don&#8217;t see anyone recommending starving the horse.

Starving a fat horse (1% or less dry weight of Forage per day), can lean to hyperlipaemia which is incredibly dangerous.

But you must reduce intake if exercise is out of the question, ad lib poor quality food still contains more calories than regulated high quality food. In fact, it is important to feed high quality food to a &#8220;dieting&#8221; horse, as they naturally receive fewer nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
 
BBP said:
Really? I don&#8217;t see any rude or tear inducing replies here at all. She has an obese horse who needs to lose weight in order to potentially be treated for lameness, or for his health in general. So yes, absolutely a muzzle if it&#8217;s on grass or coming off the grass. None of that means starving him, just limiting the sugar and starch intake and replace with more fiberous hay or haylage. I honestly don&#8217;t see what anyone said that would upset you?
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I did say he was FAT. the vet said he is overweight, not Obese.
 
buzyizzy said:
I am nearly in tears at some of the responses to this. Would you really treat your own horses like this? 24/7 muzzle???? Get him off the grass??? Gosh, how incredibly rude. The poor person is asking for advice nicely, how about you all think before you type.
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Thankyou, most people have been decent and helpful but a few of the replies have surprised me, you can't starve a horse after all! =/ x
 
buzyizzy said:
As long as you replace the grass with soaked hay, only needs 20 minutes to reduce sugars. Please don't starve it off, I see too many posts talking about reducing intake, whereas it's the quality of the intake that needs looking at really.
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Yes that's what i was thinking. vet said give him 8 kg at night on what she worked out from his weight.... if he is in a dirt pen would you give say 5-6 kg during the day? say from 6 AM to 3PM? Vet is coming back out Monday so will check with her but Thankyou x
 
MJ_1993 said:
Yes that's what i was thinking. vet said give him 8 kg at night on what she worked out from his weight.... if he is in a dirt pen would you give say 5-6 kg during the day? say from 6 AM to 3PM? Vet is coming back out Monday so will check with her but Thankyou x
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My horse gets 8kg of Forage in total over 24 hours, this includes, 6kg hay, 1.5kg oat grass chaff and 500g alfalfa nuts for a long sloppy feed.

He is 16.1 and weighs approx 530kg.

He is muzzled when in a field, but is currently in a hard standing pen due to increased pulses.
 
buzyizzy said:
I am nearly in tears at some of the responses to this. Would you really treat your own horses like this? 24/7 muzzle???? Get him off the grass??? Gosh, how incredibly rude. The poor person is asking for advice nicely, how about you all think before you type.
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Yes, it is being cruel to be kind. Have you any idea of the health problems horses can acquire when they eat too much grass? No-one has said give him nothing - that way leads to gastric ulcers - but horses have evolved to live on very sparse poor quality grass, not the green sugary doughnuts most people keep them on these days. Restricted (or no) grass is an accepted health treatment these days, so long as the horse has fibre (straw or soaked hay as advised above) they will keep healthy and occupied. My horse lives on a track of very short grass - any more and he gets itchier and laminitic. It is in his interests to be so restricted.
I won't be as rude as you were but really you should do your homework
 
buzyizzy said:
I am nearly in tears at some of the responses to this. Would you really treat your own horses like this? 24/7 muzzle???? Get him off the grass??? Gosh, how incredibly rude. The poor person is asking for advice nicely, how about you all think before you type.
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None of the replies have been tear inducing, all have been very helpful. If this was my horse then yes I would be either getting her off the grass asap or muzzling 24/7. This is a sensible approach when horses are overweight, I'd rather be seen as a horrible horse owner for muzzling than to have a horse in agony with lamminitis
 
MJ_1993 said:
I did say he was FAT. the vet said he is overweight, not Obese.
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Apologies, that was how I interpreted fat in capitals and when you said not even ‘show condition’. Sorry if I over exaggerated. But FAT or obese, you said he needed to lose weight without being in work, and I genuinely didn’t see any replies that suggested starving him? I’m in the same boat as you (although diagnosis confirmed so I can’t even put mine on a track) so I know just how hard it is to get the balance right. Good luck.
 
I have 3 who are all on the fat side.
Thankfully I can manage my own rented field- a track has been brilliant this year. Put it up as soon as it was dry enough in April (as due to wet wet wet river side field I could not do it in March) as strip grazing I personally find means they don’t move enough and just gorge the new strip. One is retired and arthritic so track keeps him moving. One is 16’2 appy x warmblood type who again just has to look at grass (also about to get bloods done though as despite only being 15 she is building fat pockets and coat appears too thick so worried about cushings) and I have a newforest pony who has sadly been diagnosed with bad liver fibrosis- so we decided it was bad enough that we needed to try steroids. Therefore I am watching them and feeling for pulses twice a day and monitoring weight. The track has also been made even thinner and includes a few areas that are actually dirt and weeds.

I am heavily pregnant so cannot do much riding and have toddler so exercise is limited.

If there is anyway you can get a track- especially as there is likely to be at least one more horse at the yard that can benefit- I massively recommend it. It is very easy to set up with posts and electric tape (and a decent battery!)

Personally mine won’t keep muzzles on
 
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