My Obese horse - (follow on from the other day..)

NW1

NW1

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Following on from a post i did the other day where my yard owner was adamant that my horse was obese and his health was going to suffer because he was so grossley overweight. I booked the vet to come yesterday to give him a condition score & check his health. Well for those of you that are interested.....

The vet came and gave him a clear bill of health, no lung, heart or laminitis problems and as for the condition score….

On a scale of 1 – 10 (1 being emaciated and 10 being a walking blob of fat – 5 is perfect) the vet scored him at 6! A large 6, but a 6 all the same. She commented on how well muscled he is & yes he could do with loosing a little bit of weight but how many horses this time of year couldn't!

I told the yard owner and all she said was 'oh ok – that’s good'! What else can you say when you've just been proven wrong.

I am feeling a little smug today (& yesterday) to say the least – but it’s a nice feeling!
 
Good news for you!
I too think a little smugness is allowed

You should try and get that down to a small 6 atleast though..i think anyway, being overweight causes a lot more health problems in the long term than being too think does. If your horse was a small 4..bordering on 3 you would trying to get weight on wouldnt you? Why is it any different the other way?
 
I don't really see what there is to be smug about - it is great that he is not absolutely obese but the vet still thinks he is overweight. Just because lots of other people have fat horses this time of year, doesn't make it OK! Hopefully you can sort out a regime for him that will bring him down to a condition score 5.
 
At least your not going to get nagged at from your yard owner. You've now got the correct facts for yourself and he's near enough average weight! A little extra work will do the trick! :D
 
I'm pleased for you :) I know what its like to have a YM that's basically a bully so at least now you can get her off your back. :D

Agree with others though to keep chipping away at his weight, I appreciate the problem, I'm sure mine would have come in at at least the same condition score despite my best efforts! :o
 
Well done you!

But sad that you felt the pressure to go to the expense of having the vet out. Perhaps photograph him at several different angles and weigh tape him at the condition he is now. Then keep those measurements and pictures and if you or YO feel that there is cause for concern in the future, you can refer back to them and see if he's gained or lost weight.

Now, hoof off and enjoy your healthy boy!! :)
 
I am glad for you that things were not as bad as they seemed to your yard owner, but I will say again that I really truly wish someone had pulled me to one side and told me my horse was looking a bit overweight...perhaps then I could have prevented him getting laminitis for 8 months...even though he got it at a time when he was ridden for an hour 6 days a week of hill hacking work and was given no hard feed and restricted grass at the time!
 
Im sad you felt bullied, but on the other hand i wish there where more YO's who cared about over weight horses & ponies, especially after hearing how many cases of Lammi my Vet is dealing with atm.
 
Very valid point, Pottamus, I hope the OP takes it onboard. Laminitis experts believe that being overweight long term increases a horses susceptibility to this awful and painful disease. Yes it is difficult to get weight off a good doer, but it can be done, and owners should not be complacent and think it is OK if their horse is 'a bit overweight'.

As a farrier's wife I have heard so many owners of laminitics say that they wished they had been warned that having their horses a bit podgy could be so dangerous for them.
 
Great to hear that your YO's concerns weren't quite as bas as they feared.

Hopefully you can implement a regime that will get him down to his ideal weight.
 
Not directing this at ANYONE so dont get prickly about it, but...seriously! are people walking about with their eyes closed that they cant tell when their horses are overweight?

I find that quite shocking.

Serious question so dont get all crappy about it, it aint an attack on anyone
 
i appreciate all of your comments (& concerns) - thanks guys :)

& fear not - yes he is (continuing) to have his weight monitored so hopefully we can shed those few pounds!

Like most of you are saying.. at least i have a YO that cares.
 
Well I'm not sure that being smug is entirely justified but at least all concerned (and on here) can learn something from this. You in that you perhaps look at your horse through rose tinted glasses and your Y/O that she is perhaps prone to over exageratiing things. Whatever. You both have your horse's best interest at heart.

When I'm looking at my horse I try to look at him as I would any other horse and then I manage him acordingly. If he looks a bit porky I reduce his intake (he's unbroken) and if he's a little skinny, I up it. This can vary on a weekly basis depending on the grass and the weather amongst other things. It's a constant balancing act but we seem to get the balance right most of the time.

As others have said, I'd rather have a y/o who maybe panics a bit than one who turns a blind eye. It's good that she cares.
 
Yey, well done...shed a few pounds and you'll be bob on, maybe a few extra hacks and less treats and you'll be there.
Sugar Free polos from now on!!!
Shame you had to go to the expense of the vets but at least you know your horses weight and a bit of smugness is allowed as a 6 is better than a 7!!!

I would be surprised if everyone on this site has a horse or pony at a 5 and when people say that owners who can't see when there horses are overweight are just as bad as owners who can't tell their horse is too thin...a low 4 is just as bad as a high 6...your horse isn't a 5!!!

Good luck with the weight loss :)
 
Sedgemoor Chaos said:
I would be surprised if everyone on this site has a horse or pony at a 5 and when people say that owners who can't see when there horses are overweight are just as bad as owners who can't tell their horse is too thin...a low 4 is just as bad as a high 6...your horse isn't a 5!!!
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Actually I would disagree with that. The health risks from being a little overweight are actually a lot more worrying than being a little underweight.

I agree it is difficult to keep some good doers at a perfect 5, but the point I was trying to put across was that you mustn't be complacent and think it is OK for them to remain at a high 6 condition just because lots of other people have fat horses. Yes, sometimes things get away from you and a horse might pile on the pounds before you notice it, but at that point you make a determined effort to get its weight back down rather than saying "It's OK because it is not actually obese and there are lots of other horses as porky".
 
TGM said:
Actually I would disagree with that. The health risks from being a little overweight are actually a lot more worrying than being a little underweight.
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I thought someone would, it wouldn't be the same Horse and Hound Forum if everyone was allowed to have their own opinion withouts some one disagreeing!!! :D

I'm sure there are many "Poor Dooer" owners out there that would love to put some meat on their horses bones, just the same that a horse on the porky size would love a miracle pill to take the weight off?!!?

It's not easy keeping a horse the perfect 5 and i don't think that many people do have a perfect 5.

People with thinner horses feed their horses buckets of feed, rug them up to the eyeballs and feed them as much hay as they can eat but still "they don't put any weight on"...People with tubby horses don't feed a thing as they can live on fresh air, they all soak hay and muzzle their horse...at night because they are in during the day!!!

A thin horse is open to as many health risks as a porky one...maybe not the same problems but an underweight horse is just as bad as a overweight one...because they are not a "5"!!!
 
So tell me what are the risks associated with a horse being a little bit underweight (and by that I mean a little ribby and don't mean emaciated). I can tell you that the main risk of being slightly overweight on a long term basis is that it significantly increases the risk of laminitis.

For more details of the problems faced by overweight horses, please read the following:

http://www.bluecross.org.uk/web/site/Media_centre/Pressreleases2009/May/FatHorsePack.asp

A few pertinent quotes:

"The Blue Cross animal charity today warned of the dangers of equine obesity as it revealed that 40% of all horses and ponies taken in by its equine centres last year were overweight - an increase of 5% on the previous year.

Richard Stephenson MRCVS, equine vet at Pool House Veterinary Group, regularly treats overweight and obese horses and fears that Britain will soon be facing an epidemic of this ‘killer disease’.

He said: “Obesity increases the risk of arthritis, heart disease and lung problems, and it is directly linked to laminitis - one of the most common causes of euthanasia in horses. Next to colic, obesity kills more horses than any equine disease in the UK – yet it is one hundred per cent preventable.”

....

“Many owners may not be aware that their horse has a weight problem or the serious health risks associated with this,” says Rosie Mogford, Blue Cross equine welfare education officer.

She continued: “Our perceptions as horse owners have changed over the years and ‘well’ or round looking horses are now more acceptable than they used to be. With this campaign we hope to educate people about the healthy weight for their horses and teach them how to achieve this.”

 
I'm not disagreeing that an slightly overweight horse has health risks especially if it's a long term overweight, but again....3rd time lucky that you might read this bit...an underweight horse isn't a 5 either.

Therefore an underweight or overweight horse isn't ideal.

Underweight horses are prone to gastric ulcers and impaction colic. Being underweight (as well as over) can affect fertility.

The OP has a horse that is a 6...after losing a few pounds (or kg!!) her horse will be a 5...Whoop, Whoop, Everyones a winner.

A 6 in the grand scheme of things isn't worth panicking about. She has put her horse on a weight management program...Her horse isn't obese like her YO was telling her, which i think is a bit of a cheek as she must of been feeding him as he's on full livery.

People are more likely to phone the RSPCA etc over a thin horse than a fat so what does that tell you about the way our minds are programmed?
 
A large six is nearly a seven. Way too soon for smugness, sorry. I'm with TGM in thinking the celebrations and congratulations are premature. Get the horse down to a 5. Then think about patting yourself on the back. It's not about your pride, it's about your horse's future health.

I have a Welsh Section B condition score low 3 (or 5, depending on the scale). It can be done.
 
My understanding of gastric ulcers in horses was that the likely cause was a cobination of too much 'hard' feed and insufficient forage/long fibre feed. I would have thought that this was not likely to be linked with underweight horses. Can you post a referance for this Sedgemoor Chaos as I am interested in reading the research? Thanks G
 
Google is a wonderful learning tool but often abused, people just pick out the bits they think backs up their argument.
I think everyone is going off the point the OP posted about.
At the end of the day, vet has given advice, OP is following vets advice. She knows her horse is overweight and is doing something about it.
Horses fall fowl to many health issues and horses get many ailments regardless if they are fat or thin. Laminitis doesn't only effect fat horses and ulcers don't only effect thin...not sure why everyone needs to provide evidence everytime they make a comment.
Good luck to the OP and your horses weightloss, nobody else has the right to say if what you are doing is right or wrong. If you want an overweight horse and are happy with knowing the health risks then that's up to you. If you own a hatrack and are happy with the way your horse looks then far be it from me to force my opinions on to you.
Pulling quotes off websites isn't hard and doesn't make you an expert in that subject...you didn't write it!!!
 
The request for referances was genuine, when people post so authoratativly on a subject I assume that they have some research evidence to support their view. I don't actually think that the weight of a horse is absolutely only the concern of the owner, and fortunately neither do the welfare societies such as WHW and indeed the legislators.
 
Sorry YorksG, I went off on a rant *steping down off soapbox* it just frustrates me when people think by chucking in a weblink that they pulled off the Internet, they suddenly think they are an expert on a subject... I fain ignorance to most things that way I find I learn more.
Who knows where people get their info from, it could have been told to them by someone on their yard or by a vet...maybe it's just something they know and they haven't got a weblink or it's in a book or magazine they once read...who knows.
I'm pretty sure that even in this day and age not everything is on the internet?!!?
Enjoy proving eachother wrong with your weblinks.
YorksG...I'm going to go and search Google for evidence and if I find it, ironicly I'll PM you a weblink!!!
 
hudsonw

I presume you are a poultry specialist...

whereas I have had vast experience dealing with the effects of ponies which have been overfed and the terrible consequences. The fact the horse is overweight isn't actually 'up to the owner' to be happy about - it's contravening the new Welfare Act!
 
Sedgemoor Chaos said:
Oh, that's not going to confuse anyone...now we have 2 scales to work off...anyone out there with another scale to go off...we will have OP's horse on a score of 1 or 10 by the end of the night!!!
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well it shouldn't confuse most, more often used is the 1-5 scale. I think the 1-10 scale was more used in the US but that vets over here are starting to use it more as obviously it allows for more variation.
 
I actually said "if the owner knows the risks of their horse being overweight and is happy about that" then that's up to them...what ever the outcome to them or the horse isn't up to me.
I don't really care to be honest what you do or how you keep your horse...it's not up to me.
I know my horses are well cared for and happy so I don't give a monkeys what your horses are like.
I don't pretend to know everything, and I don't really care about your opinions as I have my own and they are enough for me thanks.
I only came on here to wish the OP good luck and suddenly I find myself amongst people who are looking for an argument about something that the grand schem of things really isn't that important!!!
The OP is trying to get weight off her horse...if you feel the need to pick holes in that then fine...
Some people can argue in an empty room...lol, you are a funny lot!!!
 
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