Opinion on my ponies weight

cornbrodolly

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I am quite surprised the vet has advised box rest only. We , at times, have had in other people s laminitic horses ,because we use large pens rather than stables.[ and if you can get a large pen for your horse it willmake a huge difference to his mental wellbeing. ]
We then followed ,to the letter, the exercising regime from the laminitis trust.
The beginning was 3x a day 10 mins walk in outdoor school [ incredibly boring for the human!] , building up from there. Unless his laminitis is crippling , I would ask your vet about exercise. I know your pony is only three , but lack of exercise is a factor thats as important as amount of grass, yet hardly seems to be mentioned.
 

meleeka

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She looks fat to me but not obese. Mine lost 100kgs in a month on box rest so it’s possible. I used Tricklenets (25mm holes rather than 30mm of the Greedyfeeder) of soaked hay and then a shire red/black net of straw. This was ad-lib. Obviously straw needs to be introduced carefully but it can really help. My boy was never hungry on this and his weight was checked on a weighbridge at the vets so I’m certain it was a genuine 100kgs loss (from 575kgs to 475 in 4 weeks!)

Laminitis in a 3 year year old is rare, so I think you’ll have to really manage her carefully going forward.
 

Leandy

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She is too fat for a 3 year old and definitely too fat for a laminitic native pony. She is also in "show condition". Note the contradiction! I would slim her down until I could feel her ribs.
 

Pinkvboots

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She wouldn't look out of place in the Show ring but bearing in mind she is 3 and has laminitis I would want her thinner before going on grass, might be worth an ems test metformin can help shift the weight as can magnesium oxide very cheap and can help shift fat pads.
 

Pinkvboots

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I am quite surprised the vet has advised box rest only. We , at times, have had in other people s laminitic horses ,because we use large pens rather than stables.[ and if you can get a large pen for your horse it willmake a huge difference to his mental wellbeing. ]
We then followed ,to the letter, the exercising regime from the laminitis trust.
The beginning was 3x a day 10 mins walk in outdoor school [ incredibly boring for the human!] , building up from there. Unless his laminitis is crippling , I would ask your vet about exercise. I know your pony is only three , but lack of exercise is a factor thats as important as amount of grass, yet hardly seems to be mentioned.

It's vital that the horse has minimal movement in the early stages of laminitis that's probably why the vet has put the pony on box rest, movement is only recommended once they are comfortable it's all well and good following advice from a website but they haven't seen the pony the vet has.
 

Tarragon

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I am another who was expecting a photo of a far fatter pony so I can see why you are getting mixed messages regarding her weight; it is subjective and also hard to tell from just the one photo.
So, whatever the definition of "overweight" is, something has caused the laminitis and it may be related to her weight but I suspect that there might be some other factors involved.
I know of a livery yard which keep ponies, which need to be kept in for long lengths of time, in a large pen which is inside a bigger open barn in which other horses and ponies are allowed to mooch about in. This arrangement seemed to me to tick all the boxes of keeping you pony in and on restricted movement while at the same time making them feel part of a herd. I don't have direct experience of having to deal with a pony on box rest but I can imagine it is hard on both you and the pony!
 
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