Oil....

Oil is a good energy source. But yes, it may cause weight gain as any energy is calories.

Is your horse overweight?
What does he currently get fed and why is he lazy?
What kind of work does he do?
 
Not sure. What kind of oil? I use olive oil in hard feed for horses with poor coats/mane/tail when I first get them; and I use linseed - rich in oil- all the time in winter hard feed. But I use it for well-being, joints, and magnificent quality hair - not to speed them up - though it possibly does!
 
Oil is generally fed to those that hype up on grains or who need to put on weight.

Try introducing oats to his diet - a cupful at a time and allow several days for the change to take effect.

Increase fitness level, trim down weight - if overweight. Decide if he is lazy or inclined to ignore leg aids - if so sharpen him up, use your schooling whip and heaps of transitions between paces and within the pace.
 
Evelyn said:
Oil is generally fed to those that hype up on grains or who need to put on weight.

Try introducing oats to his diet - a cupful at a time and allow several days for the change to take effect.

Increase fitness level, trim down weight - if overweight. Decide if he is lazy or inclined to ignore leg aids - if so sharpen him up, use your schooling whip and heaps of transitions between paces and within the pace.
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Sorry don't agree with suggesting oats. For a start oats are nutritionally unbalanced so will unbalance the diet unless a supplement is given. Secondly oats are high in starch and we do not know if this horse/pony can handle high starch. It might have suffered lami or colic.

Increasing fitness levels is a better idea. No amount of high energy feeds are going to make your horses fit and energetic, only exercise can do that!

If its overweight, out on a diet (balancer) and increase excercise. Energy levels will then go up.
 
Quite aware that 'oats' alone are an unbalanced feed, so is oil! Generally all feeds we give to horses are deficient in one thing or another.

We haven't been given a full history, except that the horse is lazy and the OP asked if oil put on weight.

Being a cob - yes he is likely to put on weight reletively easily, put him on a basic feedstuff and he is far less likely to suffer from any metabolic diseases.

Oats will increase energy without increasing weight to any great extent.

Work will improve fitness levels which possibly will increase the desire to move more.
 
Yes he is slightly overweight but not obese. More of a grass belly. I feed a lite balancer, handful of hi fi lite along with joint supplement (arthritis). I think he's bored and yes definately ignores leg aids. We hack out 4 times a week. We are not lazy wen we step foot in an orchard lol. He is still living out unrugged at the moment.
 
White socks said:
Yes he is slightly overweight but not obese. More of a grass belly. I feed a lite balancer, handful of hi fi lite along with joint supplement (arthritis). I think he's bored and yes definately ignores leg aids. We hack out 4 times a week. We are not lazy wen we step foot in an orchard lol. He is still living out unrugged at the moment.
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Hehe! I say continue with what you are doing, and maybe utilise his burst of energy in fields for some fitness work.

If he is more forward going outside of the school you could use fields etc to school him. The key is not to nag with your leg. Remember its not your job to keep your horse waking or trotting by kicking at every stride. Your leg simply goes on when your want to trot. Ride some transitions like that for 15 mins being really careful only to apply leg when you want them to go up a gear NOT to stay in same pace and he will quickly learn your leg means go. If he doesnt listen to leg straight away back it up with a short sharp smack with your stick.
 
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