My fat horse is out 24/7 and getting fatter! help!!

Leo Walker

Leo Walker

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 July 2013
Messages
12,384
Location
Northampton
Visit site
My little cob is on grass livery. Hes only 5yr old and I've never had a problem with his weight before, and previous horses I've been in a different situation and able to manage them. Long story short 3 weeks ago he was very slightly chubby, probably what most people would consider normal, but slightly heavier than I would like. Now hes fat, gutter down his back and a big thick crest :( I cant ride him now as I am the maximum I'd like him to carry when hes slim and fit, I am definitely too heavy to ride him now hes fat.

Hes out on 30 acres with 14 others. I have no option to section it off and while I'm going to ask/beg for a stable I dont think it will be an option. Normally I'd just move him but I'm buying a house and will hopefully complete within the next month and move 25 miles away, so its not really an option to move him as no one wants a livery for a few weeks. Again, in a pinch normally I'd stick him on full livery for a month or so, but we are really stretching ourselves to buy this house. Ironically once we move I will be considerably better off, but for the next couple of months I dont really have a spare £600 which is what it would cost me to have him on full livery in this area.

The vet saw him today, she saw him 3 weeks ago, and she confirmed what I knew, hes fat and shes worried he could tip over into lammi. Theres no signs now, but suddenly its warm and wet and the grass is flushing. She wants him muzzled 24/7. I've got a muzzle for him today but I dont think he will keep it on. This is the horse who literally strips his own rugs off if he is too warm! I've had some good advice about plaiting it in and duct tape ect so hopefully that will work. She also wants him lunged till hes puffing and sweating every day.

Does this sound feasible? I can bring him in every day and take the muzzle off and give him a small feed of non mollased chaff and a balancer, but there isnt an option to feed him a haynet and they aren't very keen on horses being tied up on the yard. The grass liveries are supposed to be tied up on a grass bit, and while hes generally a nice boy hes food obsessed and he will create merry hell tied up on grass and not able to get to it!

Are there any other options I'm not thinking of??
 
If he's fat and seriously at risk you need to do more.
Move yards if you can't restrict his grazing were you are.
If he muzzle works great, if not you really need to think about doing more.
Could you get someone to ride him?
Could you lunge him?
Exercise will help.
 
he will cost you more in tim/money and heart ache if it does tip over into lami, put him on full livery or move yards so you can stable him. work him in an active walk using hills and road work, personally I would not lunge an over weight horse as the extra weight puts so much strain on their limbs and the circling makes it far worse.
 
i'm really struggling with finding a tactful answer to this so i'm just gonna bool on in and probably upset you

the horse is your responsibility you have let it get too fat
you need to do something about it pronto before he gets laminitis and stop making excuses
in my eyes people that allow this to happen should be brought up for animal cruelty !
there is a case similar on my yard atm purely due to lazy stupidity of the owner in letting the animal get into such a state and the poor horse is crippled
it is no fun to watch , the horse can't even bare to stand on three of his feet so he lies down most of the time puffing and sweating he's in so much pain

it is purely down to his ignorant lazy too many excuses owner that the horse is in this state by allowing him to get far too fat in the first place
laminitis is no joke and anyone who allows there horse to get into such a state through simply not doing anything to prevent the horse getting so fat should be ashamed

yes muzzle him and bring him into a stable through the day , find the money to look after the horse as he should be
 
You say youare too heavy to ride him while he's fat, but to be honest, it sounds like it would be far better for him in the long run for him to ridden by someone who is a bit heavy for him, than to not be doing anything, and just getting fatter and fatter. If it were me, I'd be on him like flash, and getting him moving. Lunging is all very well, but if he is overweight and unfit, doing sufficent work on the lunge to shift the weight will be too much for him at his current level of fitness/fatness - probably more damaging to his joints than hacking out with a slightly heavy rider. Hacking AND lunging till he puffs would be a great way to start shifting the weight. I also wouldn't be feeding him hay, chaff or a balancer unless he was in without access to forage.

Bringing him in off the grass to feed him more forage doesn't make sense to me. Even if he's muzzled he will still be getting sufficient grass down his throat to keep him going. I had two blood horses muzzled last year - no hard feed, no hay, and they lost weight, but stayed healthy, glossy and bouncy - there's really no need for supplementary feeding, particularly of cobs, who are designed to exist on next to nothing.

I'd also be thinking seriously about the yard. If a horse is at high risk of developing laminitis, they should be bending over backwards to find a way to help you manage it. It's no skin off their noses if someone builds a small paddock in a corner of a field that is already being used - and if they would rather see your horse get ill than help you out, they're not people I'd want to be handing over my hard earned cash to!
 
I'm not upset :) Well I am, but not by what people have said. I know this is a nightmare situation. I cant find a yard that will take him for a few weeks. I've spent most of today trying to find one. This has happened in 3 weeks. I've never known a horse gain so much weight in such a short space of time. Hes not crippled and he doesnt have lammi, not even LGL. I check his pulses daily and hes barefoot and 100% sound, so is obviously not feeling his feet. But I am aware that it isnt acceptable and I need to do something NOW! Its just a horrid chain of events that are making this so hard to deal with.
 
Auslander said:
I also wouldn't be feeding him hay, chaff or a balancer unless he was in without access to forage.

Bringing him in off the grass to feed him more forage doesn't make sense to me. Even if he's muzzled he will still be getting sufficient grass down his throat to keep him going. I had two blood horses muzzled last year - no hard feed, no hay, and they lost weight, but stayed healthy, glossy and bouncy - there's really no need for supplementary feeding, particularly of cobs, who are designed to exist on next to nothing.
Click to expand...

I thought if they were muzzled 24/7 they needed a couple of hours of forage? The vet said similar. A couple of hours a day with a haynet so hes getting enough fibre?
 
FrankieCob said:
I'm not upset :) Well I am, but not by what people have said. I know this is a nightmare situation. I cant find a yard that will take him for a few weeks. I've spent most of today trying to find one. This has happened in 3 weeks. I've never known a horse gain so much weight in such a short space of time. Hes not crippled and he doesnt have lammi, not even LGL. I check his pulses daily and hes barefoot and 100% sound, so is obviously not feeling his feet. But I am aware that it isnt acceptable and I need to do something NOW! Its just a horrid chain of events that are making this so hard to deal with.
Click to expand...

you just move yards you don't have to say how long you will be there, anything could happen so he ends up staying longer
 
I have a pony muzzled 23hrs a day (the other hr is when I am there and he isn't eating) he is still in the winter field so grass is by no way lush and he is still eating enough to be steadily gaining weight so I have no concerns about him eating enough whilst muzzled. He is moving on Sunday to a bare ish field and he will be muzzled still and can eat soaked hay
 
FrankieCob said:
I thought if they were muzzled 24/7 they needed a couple of hours of forage? The vet said similar. A couple of hours a day with a haynet so hes getting enough fibre?
Click to expand...

You would be amazed ohw much they manage to shovel through the hole in the muzzle!! Mine didn't need any suppelmentary feeding, and they aren't cob types!
 
Last edited:
Ok. My not fat pony got laminitis last year despite 12 hrs in with soaked hay, and turnout on a narrow track round 2 acres overnight. It cost me £1800 in vet fees and he was off grass for 2 months and off work 9 months , 18 months later is still footy on hard ground and can't walk 10' on tarmac without boots. I doubt he will ever be truly sound again. Financially it will probably be an awful lot worse if you don't get him off grass. I know how hard it is and how trapped you feel and I really feel for you but once he tips over its a hell of a long road back.
 
Auslander said:
You wuld be amazed ow much they manage to shovel through the hole in the muzzle!! Mine didn't need any suppelmentary feeding, and they aren't cob types!
Click to expand...

Well thats that problem solved then! He can have the muzzle on almost permanently and just have it off for a short period when he comes in to be worked. And I'll try and get someone to ride him for me and in the mean time I will lunge him and get my OH to march him out in hand. I am disabled and struggle with walking so cant do it myself sadly. In the mean time I am still desperately trying to find alternative accommodation for him. I am sorely tempted to bring him home and tether him on the acre of rough ground behind my house, and I'm only half joking when I say that!
 
Can you muzzle part time? A couple of years ago, dolly really ballooned. I used to muzzle her around 4pm, and my friend would take it off the following morning around 9/10am. The weight soon came off her.
 
I could but hes a pig by nature and I'm pretty sure he would just binge when it was off. The vet said it was to be on anytime he was on the grass and gut instinct tells me shes right!
 
What a shame he's not coping with the 30 acres - that would be like heaven to my horse :)

If the muzzle doesn't stay on (plus if you're not going to have the use of a stable, and you're not allowed to section off a bit of the 30 acres even with electric fencing) then you're going to have to move him, I think. If the temperature has gotten warmer where you are, with rain now and then, similar to where I am, then the grass will be getting even more lush and create more problems for you. The current situation will have to change before he starts getting serious problems. Just because you're moving within a month or so (bearing it mind it often takes much longer to complete than anticipated) it doesn't mean you have to move your horse twice within such a short period of time, i.e. there's no need to move him now and then again immediately when you move to your new home. Keep him at a more suitable yard for 2 or even 3 months, and then move him closer to your new home. Unless you don't drive, in which case you're probably going to be limited even more as to which yards you can use.

Hope you find a solution!
 
Last edited:
I'd offer to have him on a DIY basis for a few weeks as I have both stable and small paddocks but I'm nearly as far away as your new house so not much use

Would the new yard take the horse early on an assisted basis with you guys doing the journey once a day maybe?
 
I'm moving 25miles away which will make it really tricky to keep him in the area he is now, which is really the crux of the problem or he would already be somewhere more suitable. I might have found someone who can take him on schooling livery for a few weeks, just waiting to hear back, but it would be perfect. He can be out in a small paddock and ridden every day by a LW rider. so fingers crossed she can accomodate him, shes the only person who has said its even possible so far!
 
I feel for you as its so easy to take your eye off the ball when other things in your life take over. I have had a really poor spring, my grass has hardly grown and most of my paddocks are cricket pitch smooth because the rest is being sprayed. I turned three brood mares out on not lush growth, its been far too cold for that, three weeks later despite the cold nights and winds they are getting far too cresty.
In the bare paddocks I am still feeding hay, tough stemy stuff which is more like straw to fill them up, bare paddock look awful but at least I do have to worry about them getting fat.
 
I feel horrifically guilty! I knew he was putting weight on, but its happened so quickly. The irony is, a lot of people would still think he looks ok. I see fatter horses every day, but I dont allow my horses to be fat and I know hes crossed the line and I need to do something ASAP!
 
Not read it all, but get up two hours early, take him out of the field, take him for a brisk walk, as fast as YOU CAN WALK, stable all day with soaked hay plus chaff and minerals and salt, take him out for another two hours walk as fast as you can walk, turn him out late and get him in early.
Get on a diet, that and the walking four hours per day will bring your weight down a bit pretty quickly.
If you can't manage the horse sell him asap but don't be greedy, accept anyone who can look after him.
 
FrankieCob said:
I do :) but its assisted DIY so a no go to move him now or he would have been there a fortnight ago
Click to expand...

Assisted DIY means there is someone who will look after the horse for money, it cant be that much more, all he needs is a stable and some soaked hay.
You will have two hours a day to start your jogging and dieting.
 
Last edited:
Whatever you do do, please don't lunge a fat, over weight horse until it's dripping with sweat. That vet wants shooting!
That could, in all probability, bring laminitis on,may traumatised concussion.
hopefully you really YO will realise the situation is quite critical,and be helpful, even though you are leaving.
 
This lady has said that due to a previous accident she is unable to walk much , if she were well she would not be overweight herself. Your cob has been ok in the past as he was growing, but from now on, like his type, he will gain weight easily. So you will need a plan. You may find that a muzzle left on all the time rubs him sore, could you share a stable or beg the tempory use of a stable for the short term?Best wishes .
 
Last edited:
Having seen my little Connie get a massive grass belly after just a couple of hours on some poor grass no wonder your boy has put on so much weight in just 3 weeks. They are just some who literally live off fresh air. Which direction are you moving 25 miles towards? Maybe someone near where you are moving to might know someone who can take him in for a couple of weeks? I found it so hard to control weight on livery as it isnt always possible to have fat paddocks and trickle feeding hay is so difficult unless you sit there for 10 hrs. Having mine at home now means I can have small paddocks, gravel tracks and feed soaked hay every couple of hours. It has made a huge difference to mine this year otherwise already they would be in the same position by now despite being ridden/lunged every day (sometimes twice in one day!). At least you are trying to do something about it now rather than waiting til he is footy/hugely obese.
 
Well all the obvious solutions to prevent laminitis by changing the situation...you say you cannot do for one reason or another. But seriously, take your vets advice and act now, even it it means inconvenience or tight finances. You will have far more inconvenience and far less available money if he gets laminitis and you will need a stable that you currently do not have.
As you probably know, if he gets laminitis he will need to be stabled 24/7 so how will you solve that problem?
As someone who's horse got laminitis, my life is now filled with changes that I have had to work round in order to prevent him getting it again. Please listen to your vet and move yards, muzzle or get a stable asap.
What about any odd small fields locally that you could ask about on a short term basis...that way you could strip graze him to limit the intake? Cannot speak for you but round me there are loads of people with barns and stables not used because they have given up etc and could be asked to borrow short term...if in your shoes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top