Opinion on my ponies weight

[Miss Horse lover]

What would you say about her weight wise and condition, she’s just over 12.2 a section b and is 3yrs. Is is currently on box rest with lami and I’m getting mixed views and opinions on her weight from the vets, farriers and horsey friends, this ranges from her being obese to being perfect so thought I would ask here to get an outside opinion. P.s please excuse the mane at the top it won’t lay flat since I pulled it, maybe went a little short 🤦🏻‍♀️

 

[ihatework]

Always difficult to assess accurately from a photo but overweight for a 3yo although not obviously obese. I’d have her 6-7/10.

Plenty to strip off given you are now dealing with a laminitic.

 

[be positive]

I would not want a 3 year old to be carrying so much weight especially on her neck and shoulders, she has laminitis which may have a negative effect on her future so my main priority would be to ignore those who think she is perfect and get her weight down then keep it down if you want her to have a long and useful life, she is not obese but could well be if you do not act now.

 

[Goldenstar]

Way too fat for a three year old now she had lami you are going to have to get her much slimmer .

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Def much too fat, small nets with soaked hay, ought to lose a fair bit in a month of box rest.
Sorry, prob not what you want to read tho.

 

[Miss Horse lover]

Thank you, on the vets advise she is obviously on box rest and is currently getting 4kg of hay soaked daily which is in greedy feeder nets, does anyone maybe have any suggestions on how to keep her entertained on box rest she has already started eating shaving.

 

[Miss Horse lover]

Def much too fat, small nets with soaked hay, ought to lose a fair bit in a month of box rest.
Sorry, prob not what you want to read tho.

No I knew she was over weight but just wanted others opinions on how’s fat if that makes sense so no need to be sorry 🙂

 

[TGM]

It is difficult to tell from that photo - would be better from the other side so you could see the neck better without the mane and a view from behind to see her bottom more clearly. She does look like she has fat deposits on the top of her bottom and a crest to her neck. Not massively obese, but definitely needs to lose some especially given she is only three and has laminitis.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

No I knew she was over weight but just wanted others opinions on how’s fat if that makes sense so no need to be sorry 🙂

She has the head neck and limbs of a young B, but the body of an adult A, too much cover on the body and very loaded on the quarters.
Hope it comes off easily.

 

[ycbm]

Always difficult to tell from a photo but that pony really doesn't look that fat to me. As she is still growing, I would not expect laminitis at this age. I would be tempted to get her tested very early for EMS issues.

I had a mini Shetland who was kept slim but showed signs of metabolic issues in her feet from two years old. At four, she was unable to eat grass at all.


..

 

[Goldenstar]

It’s very difficult to keep a youngster like that occupied on box rest .
Feed the hay in as many small feeds as you can .
Try to work out when she’s most unsettled and feed hay to coincide with that .
Replace some hay with plain straw chop .
Most horses don’t greatly enjoy this so eat it more slowly .
Spend as much time as you can with grooming her doing passive stretches that sort of thing .
How long box rest are you looking at?

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

She is in perfect show condition. Which is sadly still far too fat for a youngster.

Get her some toys. A ball, a big thick knotted rope (the big dog toys) hang a net from tge rafters so it hangs in the middle of her stable so it swings about whilst she tries to eat it.

 

[Miss Horse lover]

It’s very difficult to keep a youngster like that occupied on box rest .
Feed the hay in as many small feeds as you can .
Try to work out when she’s most unsettled and feed hay to coincide with that .
Replace some hay with plain straw chop .
Most horses don’t greatly enjoy this so eat it more slowly .
Spend as much time as you can with grooming her doing passive stretches that sort of thing .
How long box rest are you looking at?[/QUOTE

The vets advised 4weeks box rest

 

[vmac66]

I've been using the small forage block nets for my mare. They hold 1k of hay

 

[Goldenstar]

Four weeks is not too long it’s extremely hard to restrict forage on box rest it’s an unpleasant experience for everyone .
Once she mobile again and you are allowed to walk her in hand things will be easier .

 

[Miss Horse lover]

Always difficult to tell from a photo but that pony really doesn't look that fat to me. As she is still growing, I would not expect laminitis at this age. I would be tempted to get her tested very early for EMS issues.

I had a mini Shetland who was kept slim but showed signs of metabolic issues in her feet from two years old. At four, she was unable to eat grass at all.


..

She was fine and sound one night then the next morning she was quite footsie and had a bit of heat but only in her right front and hind and had a very slight pulse in both those feet.
The problem is she is extremely scared of the vet so they can’t get near her to examine her at all, but I will speak to them to see if we can try and get her tested.

 

[Miss Horse lover]

Four weeks is not too long it’s extremely hard to restrict forage on box rest it’s an unpleasant experience for everyone .
Once she mobile again and you are allowed to walk her in hand things will be easier .

Just over a week in and she is bouncing off the walls lol hopefully it will fly in.

 

[Goldenstar]

Just wanted to add can the vet bring a weight bridge to the yard so you can accurately know her weight and how much you need get off her .
If you weigh her on the bridge then use a weight tape you can then use the tape to monitor it coming off .

 

[chaps89]

I have to admit I expected far worse.
I hope she won't mind me saying, but wind and rain on here bought an a or b and it was ginormous (now looks so much better!), which was sort of what I was expecting.
That said I do agree she is on the tubby side. Getting them to lose weight whilst on box rest is hard, which is where boredom breakers and chopped straw come in handy along with soaked hay. Good luck with it

 

[Goldenstar]

Just over a week in and she is bouncing off the walls lol hopefully it will fly in.

They do sometimes settle and just think ok this is my life now .
It’s very hard when you need to restrict forage .
I have used sedation in the past with really difficult horses we had one in plaster he was in a tiny area ( he was not allowed to lie down ) we sedated him at the worse times of day .

 

[Miss Horse lover]

They do sometimes settle and just think ok this is my life now .
It’s very hard when you need to restrict forage .
I have used sedation in the past with really difficult horses we had one in plaster he was in a tiny area ( he was not allowed to lie down ) we sedated him at the worse times of day .

I’ll see how she is and hopefully she settles down in the next few days. She doesn’t sedate well at home so don’t think that would be an option for her she just fights them unless she’s trailer to the vets.

 

[Goldenstar]

Use the time to doing some intensive handling of her .
Her life will be much easier when she learns to accept things .
Once she’s better you must must keep stabling her part of each day she must learn that stables are part of life .

 

[be positive]

I hand pick nettles, goosegrass which is growing like mad at the moment, new hawthorn shoots and feed that to supplement or replace some of the hay, it takes a while to pick through and is more interesting than hay, it is labour intensive but I find it worthwhile when they are on box rest, if you put it in a net it should take a while to pull out, chopped straw is good as a low calorie extra.
I was also going to suggest that you spend the time working through her issues, beaten by GS above, a small pony that has too many hang ups is going to struggle in the real world, get her used to being handled by different people so the vet is less of a concern.

 

[Miss Horse lover]

She’s already stabled at night normally and out during the day, she just doesn’t do well being kept in 24/7. I feel I have portrayed her in a bad light she handles well by a number of people and I normally have her out showing in hand and takes it all in her stride, she has been no problem with the farriers or dentist so far it’s just the vet which stems from her having an melanoma that burst removed at the end of last year her wound then burst open and needed further treatment and since then is a handful for the vet to say the least.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Poor girl!

Ideally you should be able to see the outline of her ribs in a photo. Have you tried giving her Sedalin? Some vets prescribe it to help the laminitis as well as helping to keep the animal calm.

 

[Miss Horse lover]

No they didn’t mention it but I will ask about Sedalia thank you.

 

[splashgirl45]

agree with others she is overweight, not obese. but she looks like a nice type and pretty as well, box rest is hard on youngsters but if you spend lots of time with her it will make it easier....if you split the hay/straw into 4 small nets and put them in at intervals, like 8 am 12 noon 4pm and 8pm, so she has it spaced out and not all at once. apologies if you are already doing this....good luck

 

[Goldenstar]

Gosh you can’t leave a horse on restricted forage from eight till eight .

 

[Leo Walker]

Get a hayplay hay ball. It keeps them occupied for ages without the frustration you get with tiny holded haynets. One of mine liked it so much he would go to it before his loose hay

 

[Hallo2012]

she looks fine to me, really not fat at all just a normal very slightly too covered youngster who isn't in work so is soft with no muscle tone.

unless she's been turned out for a week on lush grass (so no time to expand but time to get lami) or broke in to a feed bin etc i would be worried as to WHY she has it, has she been tested for metabolic issues?

ive just ordered a load of plain straw chaff from e-feed to keep my step kids fat welsh pony from getting hangry....could be an option as if she will nibble it(its very boring!) she can have it ad lib?