My Dieting Horse Lacking Energy

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lucyloo7

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Would anybody be able to help. My cob is very reluctantly on a diet. My vet scored him 4.5 out of 5. On strict instructions, no hard feed and out on sparse grass (greening up a bit now). He has always been fairly energetic (sometimes a bit too much) but is now very sluggish. Can anybody suggest anything that won't hot him up but would give him a bit more ooomph but not put any weight on. Also, because he is not very forward I'm finding that he is leaning on the bit and generally being quite resistant. At the moment he has a lozenge hanging cheek snaffle.

Thank you.
 
Could he have Baileys Low Cal, or Top Spec lite/antilami. You only have to feed a cupful and it may giv him the vits/mins he needs???
 
I do feel I should give him something. Would you expect a horse to have enough energy to work on just sparse grass. He works most days. We hack out for about an hour and a half or in the school for about forty mins to an hour.
 
Baileys low cal with a handful of oats maybe? He'll be doing enough work to work off the cals from the oats but they might make him a little more lively.
 
I'm not surprised he is lacking energy. It's a difficult one as he needs the calories to have energy, but needs to cut them to lose weight. I agree with Louby. Try a low cal hard feed to give him some extra oomph!
 
Thank you. I have got a him a low cal feed but wasn't sure if I should give him some as was given a long lecture by my vet about how horses can quite happily live off grass. Was also very tempted by the new NAF product which is supposed to be a dietary aid. Maybe I'll buy some of that too. Thanks everybody!
 
He'll feel more energetic as the weight comes off won't he? Tough love is a hard one, listen to your vet. In addition to the weight you can see from the outside, fat also surrounds the internal organs, obviously not good.

Mine is on a diet, not on vets orders, Alpha A Lite and oats. If feeding oats remember to add correct vits - lots of articles on web and H&hH

Good luck.
 
You could try D&H Equibites http://www.dodsonandhorrell.com/products/horse/tailor-made/equi-bites/ ? Bex1984 used them when her pony was on a diet (he lost loads of weight and was in Horse Mag
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). They provide vits and mins but without the calories. As he loses weight he will get more energy. I wouldn't give him any hard feed - just some vits and lots of fast walking to burn fat.

Good luck
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To be honest if the vet gave 'strict instructions' then you should probably either follow them or get a vet you trust! ;-) If horsey is used to being fat and hyper on sugars etc it will take some adjusting during the dieting phase to get him used to being fit and healthy. I feel a bit off when I change my diet too - doesn't mean it isn't good for me though.
 
I'll have another chat with the vet. Definitely get some extra vitamins and minerals for him. I suppose what I was trying to ascertain was that would it be expected for a horse to be lacking in energy on just sparse grass and it wasn't some underlying cause. He is a very good doer and has only ever been on quite small feeds but the mistake I made last winter was to feed him up with haylage. It took much longer to get planning permission for our stables than we thought and he was living out and I felt sorry for him. My daughter's horse absolutely fine but he's a completely different type. Definitely won't be making the same mistake again this winter! Thank you everybody for your advice!
 
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