Let him get a little bit fat!

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BBP

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This is my little horse last year (not doing a vast amount of work at this point) at 4 years old.
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I would say right now (no recent standing photos) he is in about the same condition. Although his work load overall is higher than last year, due to the hard ground he is doing less fast work and also less bounding around the field than normal, so he has started to gain a little bit of weight,maybe 10kgs on top of this photo.

I mentioned to someone this morning that I desperately need the rain so that I can start doing some harder work with him and get those extra kgs off, and they said to me 'thats mean, let him get a little bit fat!'. I was staggered - how can anyone think that allowing a horse to get fatter than he is in this photo would be of benefit to the horse?! I can't be the only one that would rather have them on the leaner side than the round side?

Also, for the people who helped me with my contact question, my instructor yesterday came up with some really helpful stuff, along with what you guys said, and I was starting to 'feel' it. I am looking into getting a working hunter saddle for him, so it is a little better cut to help my position. He and I have both just had our backs done as well, and my stretching is helping. Thanks!
 
research shows that Britain has the fattest horses around and we let them get like this! i prefer them to have a good amount of muscle and weight but im not keen on the fat horses at all!
 
Oh my... How do people think it is okay to get 'a little bit fat'??? I would say that in the picture the horse is overweight. Especially for a youngster. I know it is my 'pet hate' but I see no need for it. It can do serious long term damage to all sorts of body systems, let alone short term damage to the developing joints and bones. Please dont listen to this daft woman!! You have a cracking looking youngster and with the right diet and exercise (although I totally understand the limitations of the ground atm!!!) he is going to be great.
 
My thoughts exactly, I would count him as slightly over in that photo and it's my pet hate too. He gets no feed, just a multivitamin, and is on fried grazing with a strip each day of new grass, so I can't cut his rations any more, it's upping the exercise that is hard. I will try to get a stood up photo of him today for comparison. It just staggers me that anyone can think being fat is a good thing - she and someone else both said they would rather see a baby on the fat side and couldn't see why I worry, I just don't understand that thinking! i just needed to vent to someone!

There are two horses up the road from me who must be nearly 100kgs overweight and no-one seems to notice!
 
I agree! I have so many problems trying to keep my chap trim, and this hard ground is making it twenty times worse. We always get placed below really fat horses at shows - because they apparently 'look better' - how?!
 
fjordhorsefan said:
I agree! I have so many problems trying to keep my chap trim, and this hard ground is making it twenty times worse. We always get placed below really fat horses at shows - because they apparently 'look better' - how?!
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Oh, tell me about it! I was in a showing class the other day with my baby (although she is being produced to event, I like local shows and showing classes to get them out and about) and I was placed 5th, (after doing a lovely individual show and showing perfect manners and having damn near perfect confo) behind horses that bucked / napped / rider fell off!!! Because she is 'underweight'. Crazy
 
I think he looks gorgeous there. I run my natives a little under as I don't want to risk lami and other issues, but I prefer my 21yr old tb a little over as he loses weight overnight so it's easier if he's a tiny bit over to begin with. However, he doesn't agree with me and is stubbornly staying a bit thin. :o Don't listen to the showing people or that lady, he is gorgeous as he is but there is certainly no margin for being fatter!!
 
i would say he about right and i wouldnt want any more on him .
i like my horses to run alittle under in winter so come summer they have alittle to give . but for one to say let him get fat , is seriously needing there head tested .
he georgeous please send him my way if i send a big enough jiffy bag
 
trouble is these days people just don't know what a horse should look like, people think overweight is the ideal.
Your horse is gorgeous, and does not need to put on any weight. Well done for keeping him trim.:D
 
KatPT said:
I mentioned to someone this morning that I desperately need the rain so that I can start doing some harder work with him and get those extra kgs off, and they said to me 'thats mean, let him get a little bit fat!'. I was staggered - how can anyone think that allowing a horse to get fatter than he is in this photo would be of benefit to the horse?! I can't be the only one that would rather have them on the leaner side than the round side?
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Because many,many people seem to equate "being kind" and "treats" with food and time sat on their bum-it's no wonder they translate it to their animals as well.

Obviously,you are right and know it-fit is good,fat is bad(unless you are a seal OFC :p ).
 
Couldn't get any decent photos this evening, but he has definitely put on a bit - and in the space of a couple of hours met check have reduced the amount of rain they are forecasting for us by more than half! I think I'll have to try to get him to the gallops on a more regular basis instead.

No posting him i'm afraid, he is being far too much of a sweetheart to give away!
 
I think he looks great in the first photo, He has a wonderful shiny coat and looks very healthy and well. Not fat or thin - have you tried rating his weight? There are loads of vids on youtube etc about it. If he has too much "crest" excess shoulder fat, a very flat well padded back or an apple bottom he may need to lose some. But I'd be very happy with him myself looking at that picture.
 
Thanks, yes, I do try to score him regularly. Having just read another post about a horses bloated tummy, I am almost wondering if he has been getting too little forage with the fields as fried off as they are. His excess weight seems to be on his tummy - his neck, back and bottom are fine. I am going to try increasing the amount of forage so he is now in a bigger field with rough grazing, and given that the rain hasn't hit us, I will try to add a second exercise session into some days, give him some in hand pole work etc to do.
 
All horses store their fat in different places, just like we do, so maybe yours is just prone to having a fat tummy.

Well done for seeing the issue and taking action :) - as for the person who told you to let him get fat, show them some pictures of a horse with severe laminitis and see if they think that is kind to the horse...:mad:
 
Think he looks great in that picture. I am so relieved we have rain here at last as I have been unable to lunge my daughters old pony and she is definitely getting too fat. Yet two people have said to me "she looks so well", no she doesn't she is fat, and as she had a fractured leg in the past I really need to slim her down for her sake.
 
I think the person in question is used to a dressage yard where in my opinion, all the horses are hugely overweight. Because he's little and hyper, it's easy for them to see him as underweight, but he is fat. The other quote I heard yesterday, from someone else was - 'if youngsters are a bit fat, at least you know they have enough calories to grow'...aaarrrghhh!!!!!!!!! It doesn't work that way! I feel like i'm the only one who is sane round here. I weigh taped him this morning and he definitely has 15kgs to lose to get to where I want him. I want some rain!

(my old pony was laminitic, despite not being obese, so i'm amazed that people are still saying this stuff to me)
 
Oh dear - so many vets and welfare bodies have tried to get the message through about how being overweight can be damaging to horses, but it just doesn't seem to reach some people. I just hope the horses at her yard don't have to suffer the terrible pain of laminitis as a result.

Well done to you for keeping your horse's welfare paramount - I wish more people had your attitude!
 
I don't bother with condition classes anymore.....I got fed up of being placed below the fat wobbly ones with no muscle......and having to explain why to my 7 year old daughter (who is fully aware of why we need to keep the horses trim, and thinks the judges are all mad.....on occasion, I have to agree with her...:rolleyes:)
 
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