I know it's a bit early, but advice needed!

[RachelB]

When (ish) does the grass start growing again? Or does it not stop?
I was talking to a friend who has farming connections, who said that all the farmers she knows have had to change their winter routines for their livestock over the last few years to account for the fact that the grass now grows pretty much all year round. Although she concluded that it will "properly" be starting to grow again in about March time. No-one else I've asked seems to have the foggiest idea!
The reason I need to know is, Maiden is going to have to lose some weight before the grass starts growing and especially before I get the vet back out in April to see whether I can ride her again. The only way I can restrict her grass intake is to have a muzzle on her. I've tried putting it on just during the day but that poses many problems, such as the cost in time and petrol for going over to take it off, the fact that I can't catch her to put it on (!), and the fact that she pigs out at night when it's off, so she didn't lose any weight anyway. My friend who has a fattie who she has to keep on a very very strict diet, has advised me to leave Maiden's muzzle on 24/7 and weigh her every few days until she drops to a sensible weight (needs to lose about 75kg, my weight tape won't go round her at the moment so it's a bit of a guesstimate). She keeps telling me, "cruel to be kind" and all that. I am actually worried Maiden will end up with laminitis if she's still the weight she is by the time the spring grass comes through.
So I've been planning for next year, but can't really do much until I know when abouts the grass is expected to come through! Should I:
a) muzzle her for 12 hours in every 24 and leave her headcollar on so I can catch her, although I'm not keen on leaving anything on really
b) muzzle her 24/7 until she loses enough weight, then leave it on for 12 hours in every 24 and monitor her weight
and when should I start doing this? I was thinking February at a rough guess? Or should I start from January, get the weight off her ASAP (considering she has a tendon injury and the vet has commented on her weight before, but putting the muzzle on for half the day didn't work) and then monitor her weight carefully into the following months?
Any advice muchly appreciated, although I realise it's a bit early yet but I can NOT wait until April and I have a "thing" about planning ahead! Also I know I'm a bad mummy as I haven't really made 100% effort to get the weight off her

 

[Sneedy]

I'm not much use re muzzle, but my 'interesting fact' is that I think the ground temp needs to be 6 degrees C for grass to grow. Probably doesn't help you a great deal but thought I'd let you know!!!

 

[K9Wendy]

Farmer friend keeps telling me grass needs a consistant night time temperature of 8 c for good growth.. He says it is the night time temperature that is more important than day time!

 

[zigzag]

If she is overweight now , she needs to lose weight now not in Jan or Feb, either leave her muzzle on or electric fence a paddock off for her

 

[lucym]

mm yeah ive been told the 6 degrees thing too,
our grass is growing atm, although slowly, as the patches that are electric fenced off are greener than the other bits, but i suppose really it will start to grow with purpose in march/april time- feb is noramlly quiet cold

 

[mrsbloggett]

No advice re the grass growing. Losing weight - are you able to box Maiden for 12hrs a day? That way you will be able to restrict her food intake, especially if you muzzle her for the remaining 12 hrs.

Winter is the perfect time to get weight off a horse. My pony had a bad bout of lami last year and as a result was box rested over the winter and lost an astonishing 80kg by restricting her food to 1% of her body weight. It was tough, but necessary.

Other suggestions - don't give any hard feed, perhaps a couple of mugs of Bailey's Lo-Cal feed balancer for vits & mins and if the field is sheltered, don't rug unless the weather is really foul - she'll burn up the excess calories keeping warm.

Good luck with the weight loss - believe me, you'll probably find it harder than the horse!

 

[RachelB]

I have no access to stables, I can't fence the field off, basically all I can do is put a muzzle on her. She has two and a half mugs of Baileys Lo-Cal a day, with a handful of HiFi Lite which I use purely to mix her joint supplement in with. She isn't rugged and she isn't worked and has a huge thick woolly coat.
I think sticking the muzzle on 24/7 as soon as possible seems the most voted-for option then!

 

[BethH]

You have my sympathy, a bag of Hi Fi lite lasts my ned a year he is a nightmare re weight as he is such a good doer. I have had particular trouble trying to get weight of him after this summer. Normally I have him in overnight when it gets cold and give him nominal hay and feed and he is only being light weight rugged to keep the wet and mud of him so I can keep him exercised, but that just isn't working this year I think it is because it is still so mild. The only way it really works for my ned is in overnight with a smallish haynet (around 8lbs as he is approx 1100 lbs and a stocky 15.3hh)and muzzled during the day but am like you when he lives out he becomes a nightmare to get the muzzle on so I have to put him in a stable to manage it as he has become so stroppy and bolts in hand when he sees it. When he gets hungry he becomes unpleasant to deal with in every respect.

I sort of do think cruel to be kind but you also have to be able to handle and deal with your horse, once you are riding again the weight wil come off more easily. Are you able to do some long reining as that really helped me when my ned couldn't be ridden?

 

[RachelB]

Thanks BethH for sharing your experience! Sadly I can't do a thing with Maiden, vet's orders are that she can be led into the barn we have for seeing the farrier or if she needs the vet, but she's not to be made to move other than of her own accord in the field. No long-reining, no riding, definately no lungeing (ever again), not even leading her about to make her walk.
I'm just going to have to be cruel and leave her muzzle on (it has holes in so she can graze a bit, not like I'm literally starving her). I've bought her the new 'EquiBites' things from Dodson and Horrell which are like a balancer/ supplement but in a biscuit so I can post it through the bottom of her muzzle each morning to ensure she's getting her vits and mins. I'm a bit stuck though because as much as I'd like to move her to somewhere with less grazing I can't, and I'm not allowed to stable her on vet's orders. She also trashes any electric fencing (on or off) or worse, she jumps it which could potentially mean that she damages herself so badly she has to be PTS. When she was first on the good grass she's hoolie round with her muzzle on and vet had told me that she was not to be running around if I could do anything at all to prevent it - so off with the muzzle and on with the weight. I really should have muzzled her when she moved to the new field in September but 1) I haven't had the heart, and 2) I'm pretty sure the weight on her is stopping her from running around the field. It's going to have to come off before the grass starts growing though!
I much preferred having my worrisome skinny Welsh Cob to having a fat ID!

 

[BethH]

I do understand because my horse has had kissing spine surgery, so would be good if he was thinner to take weight off spine and joints etc, but when I starve him, my happy little chap turns into the horse from hell! Ditto on attitude to muzzle, fencing and generally making known his feelings on restricted food in every respect!

I think your vet will understand why she is overweight, the surgeon had to rush Ryan's op as he was obese and didn't want him under general anaesthetic too long but he also said to me that as he had no muscle and couldn't work to get the muscle, it was one of those things and once I could work him it would make all the difference.

I would just keep trying to get a little weight off slowly and gradually over the next couple of months and it will be more likely to stay off, you don't want to do anything too drastic to her as then she will fight you when you try to restrict her intake when you really need to in the spring, I would just get her into a routine of wearing it and slowly increase the time it is on so that it becomes normal routine, think that is what I will have to do myself over the next few months so that he gives up on the arguement and accepts it as normal. Quite honestly I am already dreading his behaviour in the spring!