not got a clue what to put for the title! food/lami related

loz9

loz9

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When trying to get a lami prone pony to loose weight which would you say has the least calories;
a grazing muzzle on reasonable grass 24/7
OR
no grass & 5-6 average sized sections of hay from a small bale soaked for 24hrs?

Im pondering this as my 15hh cob was diagnosed with lami several weeks ago. She is now completely sound, but still off grass. However she still needs to loose weight, so trying to figure out the best way. Obviously there are pros & cons to each method, but trying to determine the least calorific!

thankyou!
 
The soaked hay option is probably the best one being as your horse has just got over an attack of lami. My mare had one in the past and she was also allowed Happy Hoof as recommended by the vet. A good exercise regime is a factor and my horse was stabled at night until the weight was off. Shes a fatty and easily puts it on.
 
thanks for the replies.
Not quite sure i got my wording right in my first post though. It was more a pondering along the lines of; as a horse cant consume as much whilst a muzzle is on when out to grass, would that mean that they would eat less calories in 24hrs then if they were fed soaked hay instead. Would they be on a par with each other? Ignoring the fact that my mare is on a diet.
Im all for trickle feeding & as my mare can some how manage to eat 1section of hay in 45mins when it is triple netted in haylage nets! So i guess its more of a question as to how much can a horse eat whilst wearing a grazing muzzle? Which is better; having a grazing muzzle & continuous small amount of grass, OR no grass & only 4ish hrs of hay in the case of my mare?
congratulations if you can decipher what I mean! & sorry for typing my random ponderings! Have a hot choccie! :)
 
I'm no nutritionist but there'll be less calories in soaked hay than there will be in normal grass through a muzzle I think.

I'd get poor/average quality hay and feed it almost adlib placed round.
 
will stop after this one, honest!
So assuming the grass has more calories, just how much could a horse consume in a day? for example compared to if you provided a continuous supply of soaked hay in haylage nets spread out like grass. Providing them with a similar trickle feeding to being on grass, therefore being more natural.
I only started to ponder this as mine is on the hay option but is spending the majority of the day without food as she eats so fast, even with a wall of haylage nets between her & the hay! & im paranoid about colic, which she has already had a mild case of. & is 5-6sections enough for a 15hh lw cob, even if she is on a diet?
Sorry will switch the brain off now!
 
If it helps at all my mare, who had her last bout of laminitis about 6 months ago and is on a weight loss diet has the following regime:

1 x scoop hi-fi lite - 4 times a day (plus pink powder and omega oil)
Large-ish soaked haynet morning/lunchtime/overnight
Turned out for 4 hours a day in a muzzle
Worked 6 days a week for around an hour

She was losing more weight before she was getting her 4 hours turnout on new grass - I'm thinking about trying to up her workload a bit to ensure she carries on on the right track.
 
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