Keeping the weight off fatty

[CobsGalore]

I am desperately trying to keep the weight off my cob at the moment, and it's proving difficult with the good grass we have at the new yard!

I have started bringing him in again at night with 5kg of soaked hay. This will soon switch around to coming in during the day.

I can't use a muzzle as he absolutely won't tolerate it and will end up hurting himself - so all I have left is exercise, and lots of it!

He is schooling/hacking almost every evening, but would it do any harm to lunge every morning too? Or is this a bit too much?

Any other ideas from fellow fatty owners?

 

[dollymix]

I have the same problem and posted a very similar question recently... As a result of this I've upped my fast work and length of hacking as I think it was the only thing I could change to make an impact! My last schooling session was longer and I reckon at least 75% was canter work

 

[WandaMare]

No definitely not too much to lunge, I would go for it. I do a quick lunge with mine before she's turned out, even if just 10 mins I think it all helps. Also like with us, a quick burst of exercise boosts the metabolism which means they start burning calories faster. If I have more time I pop her over a couple of poles too, she has plenty of time to rest and recharge before I ride her in the evenings!

 

[CobsGalore]

Thanks I will have a read of your thread building up fast work is a good idea, I will get cracking on that!

 

[CobsGalore]

No definitely not too much to lunge, I would go for it. I do a quick lunge with mine before she's turned out, even if just 10 mins I think it all helps. Also like with us, a quick burst of exercise boosts the metabolism which means they start burning calories faster. If I have more time I pop her over a couple of poles too, she has plenty of time to rest and recharge before I ride her in the evenings!

That's true, he's not exactly in hard work, I'm sure the lunging will help shift some pounds...... Well I hope!

 

[RubysGold]

I know how you feel
Im struggling with mine this year. And his weight is creeping up!

my two are out at night and in through the day with 3kg hay and then i ride most afternoons.

I am going to take the muzzles to the yard tonight and theyll wear them.
Im also thinking I might buy some barley straw that they can nibble at

 

[CobsGalore]

I know how you feel
Im struggling with mine this year. And his weight is creeping up!

my two are out at night and in through the day with 3kg hay and then i ride most afternoons.

I am going to take the muzzles to the yard tonight and theyll wear them.
Im also thinking I might buy some barley straw that they can nibble at

Interesting that you feed 3kg of hay - how big are yours? Do you think I could perhaps reduce his haynet to 4kg? It is soaked though, so hopefully not that fattening.

 

[RubysGold]

They had more when they were in at night. They had between 5 and 6kg at night. They come in about 8.30am. I go back about 4, give them another handful of hay while i tack up and then they go out about 6.30/7pm. They only have 3 because its less hours.
one is 15.2 coloured cob. The other is a 16.1 shire x tb who cant do much ridden work at all (30 mins walk only)

 

[RubysGold]

I need to start soaking hay!
how big is your cob?

 

[CobsGalore]

I need to start soaking hay!
how big is your cob?

Ok I think 5kg is about right then, he never has any left in the morning, but I always give him a little hay while I muck out and he isn't starving either. He comes in at 6ish and goes out at 7am weekdays and later at weekends, but only because I hack in the morning.

He is 14.2 heavyweight cob. His ideal weight (on the tape) is about 440kg - he's about 465kg at the moment.

 

[Mongoose11]

Fast work is the only thing that makes a difference to mine. Very noticeable when she gets to have a fair canter an gallop a couple of times a week.

 

[PollyP99]

Fast work is the only thing that makes a difference to mine. Very noticeable when she gets to have a fair canter an gallop a couple of times a week.

I agree with this, I'm doing the miles with mine but think it's too much slow stuff as she is looking porky. Will try for some faster rides

 

[CobsGalore]

Fast work is the only thing that makes a difference to mine. Very noticeable when she gets to have a fair canter an gallop a couple of times a week.

Ok there's a big field opposite our yard that we can ride in, think I will take him in there a few times a week for a good canter! It's very difficult to get him to gallop by himself, he will only go flat out if racing another horse!!

 

[Hurricanelady]

Interesting post recently (see below) on the Equinatural Facebook page. I use this company for herbs for my horses and they are very good. Good luck, I have the opposite problem at the moment with a 20 year old recently diagnosed PPID horse who just cannot gain the last bit of weight that she needs to, we think it might the the prascend but can't cut the dose at the moment due to the laminitis risk, sigh...

Fennel – An Effective Appetite Suppressant

With the grass significantly pushing through now, I’m already hearing from worried clients regarding laminitis risk.

A great tip is to add fennel to feed. Apart from it being an effective, palatable stomach soother and a natural parasite fighter (we use fennel in our GutRelief and our natural wormers, WormClear and WormClearPlus), studies show that fennel may assist in suppressing appetite as well as stimulating metabolism.

The Thuringian State Institute of Agriculture in Germany has shown that fennel can help drastically reduce food cravings and hence diminish food consumption. It's also thought that fennel consumption can cause fat deposits in the blood to be more efficiently decomposed in order to be used as an energy source. Apparently, even simply inhaling fennel's essential oil helps to digest food!

It's also useful to help treat or improve the physical symptoms of upset tums such as sloppy poo and flatulence. My Murphy is Mr Sensitive Tum - he can generate enough gas to power a hot-air balloon - so anything that helps reduce gas in Murphy’s gut is good in my book. From spring onwards, I'm permanently on poo watch with Murf, and so far, he's producing healthy, reasonable solid stools, a far cry from his gravy-bum of previous years.

Fennel is definitely recommended to add to any weight loss or weight controlling program, so really useful to add a spoonful in feed for sensitive tums and lami-prone horses, especially as those young green shoots are too yummy to resist now!

 

[CobsGalore]

Hmm I've heard some other herbs claiming to help with weight loss but not fennel. Will do some research into it now, thanks!