Is my pony overweight

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My daughters pony was out of work for a couple of months and with the spring grass got a bit chunky. She’s now back in work and we’re working on getting her fit. She’s lost a bit of weight however we’re first time pony owners and I’m not great at gauging correct weight. Is she still overweight? Obviously don’t want her getting lami and I’ve heard the term cresty but not sure what that means. Please be kind 😊
 

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Hi and welcome to the forum. She is a very pretty pony, but she does look well covered and her neck is very cresty imo. (The crest is the top of the neck & is a place where fat gets stored to give it that curved look) Does she lose weight easily in work or what other restrictions are you putting in to reduce calories?

There is a lot of good information online about body scoring - this is one place: https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/horse/how-to-body-score-your-horse. All horses are different and you might find more fat deposits in one area than evenly spread all over.

You have my sympathy. I have a very good doer, and, even with a muzzle and soaked hay, this summer has been a bit of a battle of the bulge.
 
SEL said:
With that neck I'd actually have the vet out and ask them to run their EMS blood panel. There are some very effective drugs now which can help with insulin resistance and her neck is sounding the alarm
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agree that is very cresty, difficult to see the hind quarters. I think you need to be restricting grass considerably and also to consider that in only a month or so we will be into Autumn laminitis season so I would be planning her accommodation (ie field restriction) now in advance.
 
I agree, she is very cresty and I’d be worried about EMS. From the ridden photo she does have quite a “peachy bum”, which has been normalised by showing, however, it does signify that she’s overweight.

Am I right in thinking Welsh D? If so, it’s possible that a small crest would exist naturally but it shouldn’t be lumpy and uneven.

You’re definitely doing the right thing by getting her back in work because that will help with the (possible) EMS situation. Restricting access to grass and giving soaked hay is the next step really.

Prepare for a disgruntled pony doing the ‘I’m a poor starving pony act’ 🤣. She is a very pretty pony though, lovely glossy coat! And it’s good that you care enough to ask, hopefully you can start putting her in the right direction 😊
 
If you/your daughter are novices, firstly well-done for asking for help and advice. Many owners who call themselves "experienced" have horses which are appallingly obese, and won't accept it. Worse still, when people try to tell them, they throw a hissy-fit and get all defensive. So you are doing the right thing as in "if we don't know; we will ask".

What I would say is that I share the thoughts of others on here who have expressed concern about the "crest". Yes that is a bit concerning. The other picture is not clear enough to be sure about TBH; it really needs to be a side-on photo, without any tack or a rider up, to be able to adequately make an informed assessment.

What I would suggest you do is to ask a professional about your horse's condition, and seek their advice. I would be inclined to get the vet in the first instance to have a look and perhaps suggest a management format which you could put in place to keep your horse at a healthy weight. I would also ask them - as others have suggested - to take some bloods to check for EMS as this is something you would need to be aware of.

I would also - in conjunction with the vet - get a physio out to assess as they will be able to help you with getting this mare back into condition. Ask them to show you some exercises you can do. We have ours checked-over four times a year.

The other - very important - thing to consider is to have your horses weighed regularly. Assessing weight by weight-tape is ridiculously inaccurate and will not give you an accurate gauge of your horse's weight. The only sure way is to put them on the weighbridge. We have ours weighed at the end of the season; so now, soon, at the end of the summer and beginning of autumn, we will have them done again; then again coming out of winter into spring. There are mobile weighbridge people around; or you may find some physio's offer this service in addition to their treatments. But at my yard (along with worming etc) we regard it as an "essential". Ohh, and do make sure that you have a good saddle fitter as if your horse is changing shape (and she will!) you will need to adjust the fit of the saddle on a regular basis.

But like I say, you are obviously good conscientious owners who are concerned enough to ask if you are not sure. I wish you well. What a lovely pony and I am sure you/your daughter will get a lot of pleasure from her when you've got her fully up to condition and on a management regime for the weight issue. If you are on a yard which permits a Track system to be put in for your area then I would commend this as an excellent regime for weight loss, in fact our old vet was the one who got us started on it as it was his suggestion.
 
If the first photo is very recent, I'm afraid that she is indeed overweight if not obese. I would immediately restrict her intake. I would bring her in for at least 12 hours, give a small amount of hay and a large amount of plain oat straw chaff, so that she isn't left without forage but isn't getting unnecessary calories. Then I would muzzle her when she is out at grass, unless you have access to a grass-free track.
I bought an obese Kaltblut and got her weight down by feeding oat straw chaff. Just a word of warning, I tried feeding long straw at first but she got colic.
 
Yes your pony is much too fat.
Restrictive diet needs started at once.
I would ring your vet you need advice,your pony weighed and probably some blood work done.
 
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