benson21
Well-Known Member
My pony has been diagnosed with EMS, so I am looking at what steps to take to help him. He is a section B welshie, 12.2hh gelding, 12 yrs old. How much should he weigh?
How much should my pony weigh?
- Thread starter benson21
- Start date
windand rain
Well-Known Member
It is down to the frame I have a big built dartmoor he weighs abour 290kgs any more than that he gets Laminitis. His neck measurement is probably more accurate as long as the center of his neck is no more than 85cm all the way round he seems to be fine. He is a big pony though
Shay
Well-Known Member
I had a welsh A at that height. Much smaller frame of course but we kept his weight at the 225 kg mark as he had cushings when he came to us. Have you asked your vet?
Morgan123
Well-Known Member
They vary so much, it's usually more accurate to body condition score because that tells you how much FAT is there. Could your vet help you with that? If you're not used to doing it, it can be hard to work out (esp as crest fat tends to be hard so lots of people mistake it for muscle).
Sorry to hear yours has EMS. There's a free weight management guide here which should help you see what options are available to you to help:
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/equine/documents/Equine,Weight,Management.pdf
Sorry to hear yours has EMS. There's a free weight management guide here which should help you see what options are available to you to help:
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/equine/documents/Equine,Weight,Management.pdf
vickie123
Well-Known Member
My miniature Shetland was diagnosed with ems last spring. In a way it was a relief to finally get a diagnosis as she’s been on/off with Lami for years and some years she never got it at all which meant (I’m sorry to say) I sometimes took my eye off the ball. I was always trying to cure it rather than attempting to prevent it. I thought I was doing enough but in reality I wasn’t. My vet said to get the weight off and it can be managed. It took 6 strict months of soaked hay, exercise (once she was sound) and metformin (all of this is practiced still and will be for the rest of her life) but she can now go out for the day with a muzzle on in one of the bare paddocks.
Come Spring, the turnout will be reduced until the Summer. She has adapted so well and loves nothing more than running around the field kicking her heels up but is equally happy to come in as she knows she gets her handful of chaf and hay. I hope never to have to see her crippled with pain again so I am vigilant with her routine and keeping the weight down. She is clipped in winter bar head and legs and that has helped as well as also being able to keep an eye on her weight which I tend to do by sight rather than weightape.
I just wanted to say that it doesn’t have to be the end of the world and you soon get used to the adjustments. Wishing you all the best with your pony.
Come Spring, the turnout will be reduced until the Summer. She has adapted so well and loves nothing more than running around the field kicking her heels up but is equally happy to come in as she knows she gets her handful of chaf and hay. I hope never to have to see her crippled with pain again so I am vigilant with her routine and keeping the weight down. She is clipped in winter bar head and legs and that has helped as well as also being able to keep an eye on her weight which I tend to do by sight rather than weightape.
I just wanted to say that it doesn’t have to be the end of the world and you soon get used to the adjustments. Wishing you all the best with your pony.
holeymoley
Well-Known Member
Sorry to be off topic, can I ask how long your wee Shetland took to recover from laminitis? Did she have rotation? Going through it at the moment and trying to learn from others every day. Mine has been diagnosed as being insulin resistant and struggled with his weight for years. He 'looks' okay as in you can see his ribs but he holds the fat in his crest and shoulder.
windand rain
Well-Known Member
Took friends ems pony about 6 weeks to be sound off painkillers it didnt happen until she got the weight off him and it was a problem to do that as he had to eat to prevent hypolipidemia which shetlands are prone to and be kept immobile for 30 days after he was sound. He is now sound out 24/7 on a track which is part rubber matting, part soil and gravel part grass. Water is as far from the grass end as possible so they have to move between food and water it is not a complete circle but blocked at one end to give the greatest movement without too much grass he does not need a muzzle either
OldNag
Wasting my time successfully....
Ours at the right weight for her was about 250kg from memory.
vickie123
Well-Known Member
She took about 3 months on box rest with some rotation to come completely sound and then the vet said ok to go out for half an hour each day on a bare paddock for 2 weeks with a muzzle and then i gradually built it up from there. I checked her pulse each day when she went out. Still do in fact. She is out for about 6 hours at the moment with a muzzle. It took a very blunt conversation with my vet to really see that what I thought was your usual Shetland build was in fact a fat little pony who needed to eat less and move more. I shall be forever grateful to my plain speaking vet for her firm but fair words. I learnt an awful lot on these forums about how to manage her as well. I did find the box rest tough but made sure she had company, I also fitted a rubber scratching board in her stable which she loves, the radio on Classic fm and fed little and often to keep her from being bored. Any and everybody was also roped in to have a chat with her when passing her stable door. Good luck, once you get the weight off it makes a tonne of difference to their quanlity of life in my opinion.