Moral support for weight loss

[Widgeon]

For a number of reasons, towards the end of the summer my cob became enormously fat. It was so bad that I bought a very expensive Flexible Filly grazing muzzle and he's been left in the same paddock for months now to make sure he has limited grass. He's out 24/7 in his muzzle and is quite happy nibbling away at the short stalky grass. The other horses are starting to get hay in their paddocks or get shuffled around onto winter grazing, but obviously he is not getting either of these (yet). After a lifetime of riding and caring for natives, I've honestly never met such a good doer as this cob.

It's definitely working; after a month of this regime I can get the girth up an extra hole, and girthing up is no longer such an ordeal (for either of us!). However he is getting hungry - not "breaking through fences" hungry, just wanting to dive into every patch of grass or pile of hay we walk past. He can inhale a full haynet in twenty minutes - needless to say I won't be making that mistake again!

So, a few questions:

- can I / should I wait until the grass stops growing and take the muzzle off? I'm not worried about muzzling him as it's a good design and he can graze very comfortably through it, it just slows him down
- would there be any benefit to giving him straw chaff, whatever the lowest calorie stuff is?
- when the grass is gone, should I soak his hay? Feed a hay /straw mix? They will all be out 24/7 for as long as the ground stands up to it, Christmas at least

Or just feel free to advise me to grow a backbone and continue as we are! He's out 24/7 in a no fill turnout to keep the mud off so I can actually ride him rather than just move his mud around.

 

[Maryann]

I went through the pain of the diet with mine earlier this year. I am trying to maintain his current weight. He is bedded down on good oat straw and has 1 - 2 slices of clean straw (mini heston size) each night, a rationed amount of steamed hay and a small feed of wet bran and Alfa each end of the day. I think he would be standing around for a long time with nothing to eat if he didn't have the straw to nibble at.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

If you have somewhere to put a trug full of plain oat straw chaff (Honeychop or Halleys) I would offer him that in addition to his rationed hay. I don't personally like washed hay except for dust allergy as it is messy to organise and in danger of freezing in the coldest weather. I bought an obese mare and got her weight down over time by feeding rationed hay with oat straw chaff, which she turned her nose up at first but she soon found that it was better than feeling hungry. She came in at night and her hay ration was split into 3 or 4, depending on when she came in.

 

[Goldenstar]

I would use plain straw chop honey chop ( silly name for plain chop )
I also put this outside straight onto the grass .
They often refuse to eat it at first so just put out a little until you see how it goes .

 

[SEL]

I've got a fat on fresh air one & she's on minimal work due to a leg problem. She was muzzled but they are currently on a sacrifice field so she's now got pickings. 1.5% of her bodyweight soaked in a smallholed net overnight (appreciate not everyone agrees with soaking but hay is too good).

I leave a treat ball with a few pony nuts in for when the hay runs out. She used to be bedded on straw but ate pretty much her whole bed every night and got even fatter.

Tiny bucket feed of topchop zero with beet and I've found mag oxide helps keep the crest under control.

I think skinnies are much easier!!

 

[Goldenstar]

There’s no doubt that dealing with thin horses is easier and way more physiologically satisfying .
I hate having horses on diets ,what do I own three ID’s and one ID / clydesdale ?
Its diet central here ... but only for horses I don’t have the energy for human diets after I have dealt with that lot .

 

[Widgeon]

Thank you everyone for replying. I do know I'm not the only one but I guess because horses are so big, it takes a long time to see a benefit to anything you do re. feeding. I took the muzzle off yesterday as he's grazed the grass right down and I don't think it's really regrowing much. We're going to try to source some oat straw for him so he can have half and half hay and straw, and hopefully the weight loss will continue into winter. Obviously now I know how fast he can eat (and therefore expand) we can manage his lifestyle accordingly going into next year. When I've got the weight off him you can all have a before and after picture!

I've also checked prices of Honeychop and the local feed shop stocks the plain oat straw, i.e. no molasses, version at a very good price, so if they start coming in overnight at some point he can eat that for his dinner.

 

[PapaverFollis]

I've got no answers but plenty of empathy!

I'm really struggling with my lot, after Beast started to look acceptable for about 3 days then just seems to have ballooned again and MrT whose ribs have been easily felt all summer has decided to put a covering on them coming into winter. ?

I'm just not confident enough to go "that's your ration and that's your lot guys". They have an oat straw bale as field shelter bedding to fill in the gaps but I worry they'll eat too much of that and get an impaction so I end up over-doing the hay. I've started soaking most of their hay now and am trying very hard to give them a smaller amount. They've had some time off the grass because of the weather but it's easier, mentally, when they get grass because I don't feel I have to give them their entire diet in hay and can cut right down. I'm also worried about them fighting or being idiots when hungry. I'm so frustrated with myself because I seem to have an ideal set up but I'm not capitalising on it.

So yeah. I feel your pain!

 

[ycbm]

If you have somewhere to put a trug full of plain oat straw chaff (Honeychop or Halleys) I would offer him that in addition to his rationed hay. I don't personally like washed hay except for dust allergy as it is messy to organise and in danger of freezing in the coldest weather. I bought an obese mare and got her weight down over time by feeding rationed hay with oat straw chaff, which she turned her nose up at first but she soon found that it was better than feeling hungry. She came in at night and her hay ration was split into 3 or 4, depending on when she came in.

This but I'm feeding baled long barley straw. It's even lower in calories than oat straw and i think it's a bit easier to digest.

Mine is losing weight on 5kg haylage and unlimited straw. She is still muzzled as I have a lot of grass.
.

 

[PapaverFollis]

I always thought oat straw was easiest to digest... but am probably wrong. I might see if my farmer has barley straw instead.

 

[ycbm]

I always thought oat straw was easiest to digest... but am probably wrong. I might see if my farmer has barley straw instead.

The old schoolers I learned from 40 years ago would bed on oat but feed barley. I've no idea what the truth is.
.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

This but I'm feeding baled long barley straw. It's even lower in calories than oat straw and i think it's a bit easier to digest.

Mine is losing weight on 5kg haylage and unlimited straw. She is still muzzled as I have a lot of grass.
.

I did feed long barley straw at first but she got colic, so I changed to commercially produced oat straw chaff, no-one produces barley straw chaff commercially

 

[Goldenstar]

We never feed barley straw to much risk of bits of barley grain being left in it.

 

[Goldenstar]

I find it extremely hard to diet horses why do I have three ID’s and a obese cob ?
I have no idea I should have four rescue TB’s .
I do own a TB he’s away on loan he's a mega good doer as well .
I have finally come to terms with the fact that ad-lib forage or even grazing is not possible .
My fat friends never stay in the field for 24 hours a day .
Have restricted forage all year ,apart from if they are hunting a lot when we may have a happy two months of stuffed nets .
ATM Sky is about perfect he’s been going autumn hunting and working hard on the flat he’s about perfect just needs his tummy a little more up .
H was behind Sky going to the hounds as he got a nasty case of gravel just a the wrong time and we lost a month he’s perfect for starting hard work but just a tad tubby .
Fatty has lost 160 kilos since a Feb I don’t think I will get him much slimmer as we have to tailor his work to his soundness he’s still a bit plumb but for a old horse who is retired I pleased with him .
and then we get to Blue he’s still too fat but looking much much better .
Its a constant battle it’s so much easier to shovel food at them .