Is your horse ready for bikini season?

Oberon

Oberon

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 May 2009
Messages
7,241
Visit site
I've been around this forum for a couple of years now :). I've noticed there are often trends of threads around the seasons (I mainly pay attention to the hoof related ones).....

Over the next few weeks and months we will see an upsurge of threads complaining of:


  • Footiness (in both shod and unshod)
  • Misbehaviour when being shod
  • and sadly the inevitable thread started by the desperate owner whose horse is suffering acute laminitis :(

Whether it looks like it or not at the moment,THE GRASS IS COMING.

Hoof inflammation isn't always an all or nothing scenario.
Often acute laminitis is a 'straw that broke the camel's back' situation.

Such things as high sugar/starch feeds/lack of exercise/ill health/poor digestion/stress/unhealthy hoof form/high sugar grass can all be factors.

With some of these issues ongoing (and ever the creature to hide illness or pain) the horse might have been trucking along just fine with even the most vigilant owner none the wiser.
Until the hooves drop off when grass is added to the mix and tips them over the edge.

Not meaning to sound preachey (lord knows The Tank needs to lose some weight and do some work :o).

It can happen to any of us.

In terms of laminitis, prevention is better than cure. And sometimes it CAN be prevented with a few simple changes.

NOW is the time to take a pre-emptive strike and review our horses to see if there are any changes needed to 'ease the burden'.

We can.....

Take a critical look at their weight - we aren't used to seeing fit horses in this county now....we complain they're too skinny and it blinds us to ours being overweight.
Review the bucket feeds from 'rich winter stews' to 'light summer salads'
Look at whether their intake matches their output metabolically (best to work them like dogs and just feed them scraps :o)
Consider if they need gut aids/charcoal for the season
Have a damn good look at their hooves - get a second opinion if in doubt.
Have a think about the grazing situation (out at night/in during the day etc).
Start taking the rugs off

For those finding the horse being 'naughty' at shoeing time - try keeping them off grass/bucket feeds for 24 - 48 hours before the farrier comes and see if that helps.

Anyone else with tips?
 
Well said and sound advice to one and all, but especially those of us whose ponies tend to the weighty! I'll be keeping a very close eye on the hairy highland this summer as it seems he's had it all feet wise over the winter. Sore feet from being over trimmed, thrush, mud fever and even suspected feather mites (which turned out to be a bit more mud fever).
 
Ditto well said, a timely post and good advice.
Mine have all gone onto poor-ish unferilized mountain top sheep grazing. Its lovely and dry due to being well draining so am looking forward to a break from mud fever management.
The youngster has started a hill work programme to build back up a bit of top line after coming out of the winter a little poor (not underweight particularly but not looking well muscled or fit)...the small can-be-chubby one is poised to have his 5 minutes of spring grass fun restricted for the rest of the season and start a similar hill work regime. And big lad is just about right for the time of year but he too will have his acreage restrained before too long to keep him there.
They all get a handful of unmollassed speedi beet and unmollassed chaff to have mag ox and forage balancer in....farrier is due next week so we'll see what he thinks of how feet have fared lately.
They are mooching around slightly sadly about the loss of their winter ad lib haylage bales, but as they've just gone onto a lovely pristine ungrazed field, that's tough. They are being weaned off it with an armful each when they have buckets.
So yes, seasonal strategies are very much on my mind too.
As to 'bikini fit'...I suppose they are losing their winter beards, does that count?
 
Great advice Oberon!

I've just weigh taped my lad - I've been a bit lax over the last month or so about actually doing it and I've lost the bit of paper I've scribbled on the last few times and stupidly I can't remember what he was last time :o so the only weight record I've got in my horse book is from January! :eek::o I keep a book of all things horsey - dates they were wormed/shod/weigh tape results/when they were moved into which paddock/when vaccinations are due or done etc etc etc etc etc :rolleyes: From now on I'll be being religeous about writing these important things straight into the book as soon as I get home!

He wasn't being worked until recently (god I'm feeling pretty ***** about myself reading this over!) and when I weigh taped him today (and dutifully re-wrote it into my book when I came home so I didn't forget!) he's gained 33kgs... poop! :o To be fair he'd lost a bit more than that over winter :rolleyes:

As this is our first year going it on our own I've been having regular freak outs about laminitus/abcesses and various other what if situations :o But then I'd rather have a little less sleep because I'm over-worrying than become complacent and end up with a horse in pain.

I'm afraid I'll be one of the many coming on HHO asking for advice on a different thing every 5 minutes, sorry folks! :o

I've been trying to explain to my mum the importance of really getting on top of excercising our horses from now on and what could happen if we aren't combining excercise with practical management of our lot as they are now on grass.

Boot camp for my lad started a couple of weeks ago and the poor sod's brain is probably struggling to cope with this new excercise regime and why he's not allowed to be a glorified lawn mower anymore ;)
 
Well said. Very well said indeed.

I've seen so many fat horses out and about competing / fun rides over the last few weeks and I genuinely am concerned for how they'll fare as the grass comes through.

Mine are all in good shape - and anyone on here knows I like them slim ;) -but I'm still paranoid, watching feet and weight like a hawk, working them as much as they can and feeding nothing but some forage.
 
I do worry as this is the first summer that my girl will be barefoot, she has navicular and is currently working as a dressage horse soundly.

Her feet are occasionally warm, is this a warning sign for laminitis?
 
Yep I'm back to paranoid :rolleyes: Mystis weights back up to normal so don't want her gaining anything now, she's on soaked hay, fast fibre and I'm checking for pulses twice a day.

Love this time of year but it does make me very very paranoid :p
 
I'm certainly paranoid, mine has a muzzle on all the time she is out, but because the grass was so short she was getting next to no intake at all so was spending more time inside with hay (too windy recently to put hay in the field). It has started to come through now though so perhaps she won't look quite as depressed!

My farrier must think i'm a bit crazy as I got a bit obsessive about hoof growth and asked him out a bit sooner than normal - he reckoned she could have gone a bit longer but i'm happier when they are shorter.

Just need to get on top of exercise, but am going to be limited to lunging as am huge at 7 months pregnant now, v
frustrating!
 
My electric fence has been out for a couple of weeks already, although there is very little growth yet it has greened up considerably. Still feeding horsehage as I feed year round due to restricted grazing, but reduced quantities.

Rugs are now off and exercise programme started!
 
Oberon said:
We can.....

Take a critical look at their weight - we aren't used to seeing fit horses in this county now....we complain they're too skinny and it blinds us to ours being overweight.
Review the bucket feeds from 'rich winter stews' to 'light summer salads'
Look at whether their intake matches their output metabolically (best to work them like dogs and just feed them scraps :o)
Consider if they need gut aids/charcoal for the season
Have a damn good look at their hooves - get a second opinion if in doubt.
Have a think about the grazing situation (out at night/in during the day etc).
Start taking the rugs off

For those finding the horse being 'naughty' at shoeing time - try keeping them off grass/bucket feeds for 24 - 48 hours before the farrier comes and see if that helps.

Anyone else with tips?
Click to expand...

Advice for a newbie to barefoot feeding please.
Currently in at night with haylage a handful of fastfibre and a handful of coolfibre with mag ox brewers yeast and agnus castus. This week out during the day on new grass in at night next week out 24/7 on grass no haylage but still getting the small feed to get the supplements into her.

Workwise we do a longish (10-14miles) walk/trot hack a week, a half hour schooling session a week and a couple of 1 hour trot canter hacks a week. She is fairly fit and not fat (can feel her ribs easily)

We have a few sharp stone/gravel tracks around us we have to go down to get to bridleways which she is footy over so I am going to try in her in front hoof boots for when I know we are going on this route. Does all this sound ok?
 
Lami pony is back on his soaked hay and 7 hours out and now he is back sound (nothing to do with lami *hugs wood*) he is back in work and will be hacked out 6days a week.

The two good doer girls are coming into the summer lean after a hard winter dieting and their hay is being dropped as the weather is good grass growing weather and they will be going out at night next week.

All feeds are low sugars starch since lami pony is ems. And they only get enough for the pro balance plus to hide in (and lami ponies metformin)

I always under rug now so they use more of their own energy to keep weight off, its worked wonders.

And as always I am neurotic when check their feet over!:D
 
Nice post. I would add to not rely on digital pulses, puffy eyes, laminitic stance and hot feet as a laminitis warning. Henry's warnings are windgall like puffiness, first on the HINDS and spongy coronet bands. He's been muzzled for a month, now, during the day and on straw/haylage mix overnight. Even then we're muddling along (he's a classic EMS case).
 
Already on low sugar, low starch diet - exercise regime (for both of us) starts this weekend! Just got to make sure I stick to my PMA and keep my nerve. Am adamant that I will do this though, I need to do this for the sake of my pony and (blows raspberry) to anyone who thinks I'm being a wimp). Baby steps for both of us to start with - long hacks can come later when we're both in better condition. Not going to go mad to start with, after a winter lay off that could do us both more harm than good.
 
I am currently in a permanent state of paranoia as my boy had his first ever attack of laminitis over winter, despite being a really good weight (vet confirmed this saying that if anything he's underweight.) Cue panicking me. Anyway, I've always been careful with him over the summer as he is a native but this summer is going to be even worse! Poor boy, I don't think I'm going to be hugely popular with him!
 
Superb advice as usual Oberon :)

OH's good doer is on a *now the weather is better it's time to get you moving lots programme* Also been soaking haylage as he had gotten a little portly, managed to shift a reasonable amount of weight so far with a bit more to go so he will be looking slim and fit, horse seems very happy on current regime and is enjoying being out and about and I feel better as I'm hoping any weight/sugar/lami risks are reduced :)
 
Great post, I'll admit I'm a bit panicky about my first summer since we found out my mare has cushings :o

ETA we started our summer routine a few weeks ago - they're in during the day, usually about 10am-6pm, and we've cut their access to the field, so they only have around 2 acres as opposed to the 8 acres they had over winter. They're already on low sugar diets, and their hay is soaked for around 6 hours. The hardest part is making sure they're both exercised enough, especially as my mare is more or less retired now. I'm doing A LOT of walking at the moment!
 
Last edited:
Great post and reminder for us all! My lad is in at night on soaked hay all year round since he had laminitis some years back. It gives him a rest from being out on his bare paddock and allows me to give him a weighed portion of hay over 12 hours.
I started him back on his hacking work last week and am building that up over a steady period of weeks. His weight is pretty good but I have noticed how green his paddock is even though it is bare as was his winter paddock too. He stays on this all year round so he can never stuff his face on longer grass and I am due to reduce his area on Saturday so he has even less to pick at.
 
Oh and i wandered in here thinking that we would be discussing whether spots or stripes were going to be this years Bikini choice :(
 
So might I be the first poster to ask for foot advice....

My horse is barefoot and has been for at least 2 years all well, very normal feet, sound in all paces on all surfaces, so far so good. About three weeks ago I cut the conditioning cubes from his feed in a premptive strike as I thought he looked great but anticipated the addition of grass may tip him over the edge to being a chubster, again so far so good he's looking good but a little leaner. They have just been turned onto the summer field where they will live out - this has been taped off to make a smaller paddock initially so they don't gorge themselves on what little grass there is. SO... here's the issue, out riding last night and he is trying to find softer ground, not at all unsound if he has to walk on the gravelly tracks but he would rather not if he can help it. This isn't really like him he's normally a bit of a mountain goat and will plough along through the rockiest of paths. So before we go to all out footsoreness(?) what can I do to help? Or am I worrying for no reason?

He is being fed fast fibre, micronised linseed, mag ox and pro balance supplement.
 
StoptheCavalry- probably best to make your own thread in vet/hoof care to get max views :)

Well ours have already been on a track/hay/in during day regime for over a month now (yes I'm paranoid!) but we are in the south east so grass has been growing for around that time, but in the last week or so has really started to go some!

I think those who have laminitic/fat/at risk horses should act before they notice any problems, not wait until it happens again this year.

By putting ours on a track, having a non fertilised field, and startnig to soak hay this week we have managed to avoid lots of footiness/stretched white line that everyone else at the yard is complaining about.
 
My pony was immensely obese when I bought him last summer and I have worked really hard getting the weight off him this winter. I decided to leave him in his winter paddock all year. Its bare around the edges, but there is enough grass for him to nibble on, but not enough to cause problems. He gets hay and fast fiber to supplement.

I took him to his first show last weekend, and I was told by 2 different people that he was too thin :D Thats a compliment to my ears :) Yes he needs muscle, but he probably needs to lose a few more pounds too. What do you all think? Weight taping at a stable 365kg since January and coming back into ridden work tomorrow.

 
I have recently finished a nutrition course based at Edinburgh Vet school. It was an excellent on line course with Coursera. I learned that stressed grass contains more sugars than non stressed grass. Causes of stress to the grass include NOT being fertilised. ie not enough food for ther grass and also very short grass is stressed. It recommended that grass about 3 or 4 inches in length and fertilised contains less soluable charbohydrate than short unfertilsed pasture. I realse this stands conventional thinking on its head.
Also grasses contain more sugars [carbs] in the daytime as they store them up during the hours of sunlight , so pasture from 11 am til about an hour before dusk has the most sugar ciontent particulaly late afternoon. So turn out at night/ late evening and bring in in the morning to reduce sugar consumption. feed hay during the day when stabled.
 
HaffiesRock said:
My pony was immensely obese when I bought him last summer and I have worked really hard getting the weight off him this winter. I decided to leave him in his winter paddock all year. Its bare around the edges, but there is enough grass for him to nibble on, but not enough to cause problems. He gets hay and fast fiber to supplement.

I took him to his first show last weekend, and I was told by 2 different people that he was too thin :D Thats a compliment to my ears :) Yes he needs muscle, but he probably needs to lose a few more pounds too. What do you all think? Weight taping at a stable 365kg since January and coming back into ridden work tomorrow.

Click to expand...

To me he looks like he lacks muscle rather than being too thin. I think a lot of people are used to mistaking fat for muscle
 
HaffiesRock said:
I was told by 2 different people that he was too thin :D
Click to expand...

banghead.gif


I think he is lovely ;)
 
I took him to his first show last weekend, and I was told by 2 different people that he was too thin
Click to expand...

I think he looks great for a horse at the end of what's been a hard winter. Don't do as I do now and rest on your laurels, though - now the weather's good burn extra calories and build up a bit of topline with increasing his exercise, and don't then feel sorry for him and add a few extra calories in :)

I have done that and gone from horse at perfect weight in May to porker in September, and this year I am writing myself notes and pinning them up all over the feed shed to remind myself :D

So yes, mine is currently ready for the bikini season, having been mostly rugless all winter, fed only pre weighed hay in the field and had loads of expensive Forageplus balancer shovelled into him (I've even persuaded him that Vitamin E capsules are treats...).

Only time will tell whether I allow him naked on the beach though :D
 
I've been reading this post with interest because I've become paranoid about my good doer, his never had lami but it's always worrying me just in case. I weigh tape him every couple of weeks he's currently 408kg, 14.3 connie cross, I have him on hi fi lite and hay, out in bare paddocks but will be moving to summer fields soon. So have the option of night time turn out nd in during the day so I'm thinking this is a good option. Also is hi fi lite a good option for good doers he also has magnesium, anything else I should doing? His worked six days a week. Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top