Overweight Horses on the BBC News

[Steerpike]

Just watching the news whilst having breakfast, and caught a bit saying that they say nearly half the horses in the UK are overweight causing several to be put down.

 

[Mule]

Just watching the news whilst having breakfast, and caught a bit saying that they say nearly half the horses in the UK are overweight causing several to be put down.

I wonder were they put down due to laminitis? It seems unlikely to happen just because they're overweight.

 

[dogatemysalad]

I don't watch the BBC so not sure what they reported, but the telegraph said that half of horses and 70% of native ponies are over weight putting them at risk of laminitis. Around 600 equines are PTS because of laminitis each year, although not all of these will be over weight.
I do agree that obesity seems to be the new normal in both people and animals.

 

[Cortez]

It is something that is a shock whenever I visit the UK, just how very fat horses and ponies are - enormous compared to those I see at home (Ireland - and yes, we have some fat horses (and people) here too).

 

[SEL]

I think it matches the human obesity epidemic if I'm honest. We've forgotten what fit and trim looks like in both ourselves and our animals. The amount of fat dogs I see waddling around our lanes is ridiculous.

And I say that as the owner of a horse bred for meat who takes good doer to the extreme! **it's my genes** is probably correct for her!

 

[TGM]

A lot of the problem is that people just don't recognise that their animals are overweight. Because fat equines have now become the norm, often those with healthy but slightly lean animals are accused of cruelty and abuse by those who feed their own animals to obesity.

 

[Leo Walker]

If one more person says "he/shes a cob, shes supposed to be like that" I'll scream!

People genuinely cannot recognise a fat horse. When Leo was hard fit I had any amount of ridiculous people tell me he was too thin.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I believe that one of the main issues has been that showing judges always seem to reward overweight horses/ponies with rosettes & this wrongly reinforces that horses/ponies need to be a certain weight to be winners in the show ring. Also over feeding with little exercise is another major issue. If you run your fingers down the side of a horse you should be able to feel the ribs. So many are overweight & this causes joint issues that the horse/pony shouldn't have.

Some owners do literally kill horses with kindness by over feeding, giving titbits, all of which is detrimental.

 

[JustMeThen]

They picked the story up from H&H... https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/owners-must-act-now-prevent-fatal-equine-obesity-675632

 

[Steerpike]

I do think people have lost sight of what a fit horse should look like, whether that's due to the big change in keeping horses compared to a fair few years ago or feed companies pushing out lots more types of feeds or pier pressure on livery yards.

 

[sport horse]

Feed companies promoting 'mixes' that are covered in sweet coating, people massively over rugging their horses, owners thinking that a 20 minute walk around the block is 'hard work' and the rise in DIY with many owners having scant experience in horse care and no input from anyone else. Even the poor YO is accused of interfering if they say anything. In fact I have even seen posts criticising a vet for saying a horse was overweight!!

As the old saying goes 'a little knowledge is a dangerous thing' and there are certainly plenty in the horse world with 'little knowledge' and even less willingness to take advice/learn.

 

[blitznbobs]

I think there is a lot of conflicting advice out there... as lib hay or your horse will get ulcers vs don’t let your horse get fat ..

It’s not a feeding issue in my book it’s an exercise issue . Very few horses work hard enough these days to maintain a level of fitness

 

[ester]

I wonder what the age distribution of the PTS. On the basis that mine is fat because he is retired, no history but if he does get lami he will be PTS but that will be because I believe his quality of life is now more important than being too restrictive over his intake and the usual methods we can’t do anymore without compromising something else.

 

[laura_nash]

and the rise in DIY with many owners having scant experience in horse care and no input from anyone else. Even the poor YO is accused of interfering if they say anything.

I agree re rise in DIY livery, but unfortunately input from anyone else (including the YO) can also be the problem. I have a very good do-er and when I had him on assisted DIY I had accusations of cruelty at various times for:
- not giving the feed manufacturers "recommended amount" of his feed
- under-rugging / not rugging
- not giving ad-lib hay
- using trickle nets
- using grazing muzzle
I can easily see how in-experienced / easily swayed people might just give in to the pressure.

I think the reduction in turnout due to lack of grazing land is part of it, and maybe why you don't see it as much here in Ireland. IME here horses are either out in a herd on a decent amount of land, or in pretty much full-time and working hard. You don't see (around me at least) the DIY livery yard with tiny individual turnout paddocks and only 2-3 hours turnout in winter for leisure horses that don't do enough work to make up for spending most of their life stabled. The other thing I noticed when I moved is that horses here are generally only rugged when clipped or ancient / sick, and then very minimally compared with the UK (yet to see a full neck rug on a horse here, and while it's never very cold we do get gales and driving rain on a regular basis).

 

[pansymouse]

I started riding in 1966 and didn't see a pony in a rug until 1985 despite growing up in North Yorkshire. Our childhood ponies grew coats and had hay in the winter. If they hunted they might have some oats and nuts. Grown-ups had hunters which were clipped and wore New Zealand rugs outside and jute rugs over wool blankets in the stable - only one weight of each available as far as I can remember. Today so many people over-rug, over-feed and under exercise it's little wonder equine obesity is the norm.

 

[Bertolie]

A lot of the problem is that people just don't recognise that their animals are overweight. Because fat equines have now become the norm, often those with healthy but slightly lean animals are accused of cruelty and abuse by those who feed their own animals to obesity.

I have to agree. My mare was overweight and went down with laminitis last June and still no guarantees that she will make a full recovery. The first thing my vet said was that to have any chance she had to lose weght. I didnt think she was fat, and yes she's a cob so was 'big boned'! I have had to take drastic measures to get some weight off of her and i can now feel ribs easily and see them. Now when I see people post on social media asking what people think of their horse I want to scream at them that its fat, especially when others are saying how good it looks. People's perception of what is an ideal condition for a horse is totally skewed, but I can only see that now my mare has shed some weight. Its also a struggle for not increase my mare's meagre rations or chuck a rug on her when it's a bit chilly but I will never let her get fat again.

 

[ohmissbrittany]

Something else I find is that folks are reluctant to feed the horse protein, because "it makes them fizzy"... Well any caloric excess will make them fizzy. But to the point, a ribby looking topline and potbelly are usually not a weight problem, it's a nutrient balance and muscle problem. Loads of people think they can feed topline and you really can't- you just get them so fat they have pads over their haunches and ribs. Macronutrients have different caloric content, and different roles in metabolism. Further on, not all calories are created equally- like in humans, 100 calories of chips will not deliver as much nutritional value as 100 calories of veg/lean meat/variety. Muscle is made of protein- in order for the horse to muscle up and grow a topline to cover those ribs/pelvises it needs quality protein (and equal parts actual correct work!) without adding a ton of excess calories.

Coming from the US, I find particularly in the UK folks think fatter is better. My horse looked like a MANATEE last winter, I wasn't riding much because of personal issues and she was the fattest she'd ever been and I was terrified of spring grass and loads of people were like "oh she looks so well!"

 

[ester]

Ah that’s a Brit thing, if people say that with regards to horses it’s the polite way of saying fat!

 

[ohmissbrittany]

Ah that’s a Brit thing, if people say that with regards to horses it’s the polite way of saying fat!

Lol I don't think so. They said she was too skinny when she came....

 

[ester]

Frank always went on to more work less food if people said it once he got old they tended to actually mean it more literally.

 

[honetpot]

I thinks this is why basic horse education for every horse owner should be freely available with out the ads for rugs,feeds and all the extras.
When they say to some people, it doesn't need a rug and it only needs forage and water they look at you as if you are mad.
Most of mine are far to fat just on hay living out 24/7, with no rugs. We need a month of cold.

 

[Meredith]

I started riding in 1966 and didn't see a pony in a rug until 1985 despite growing up in North Yorkshire. Our childhood ponies grew coats and had hay in the winter. If they hunted they might have some oats and nuts. Grown-ups had hunters which were clipped and wore New Zealand rugs outside and jute rugs over wool blankets in the stable - only one weight of each available as far as I can remember. Today so many people over-rug, over-feed and under exercise it's little wonder equine obesity is the norm.

I bought my first pony in 1966. I only saw canvas NZ and jute stable rugs. They were only used on the hunters. My local (20 miles away) old fashioned saddlers didn’t stock rugs so when snow was forecast just after the pony was to be gelded I hastily made a makeshift canvas rug as there wasn’t any stabling at the farm for him.
Edited to add .. The rugs had a belly surcingles not X overs as seen now.

 

[Denbob]

I know a couple of horses that certainly fit this bill, it's really sad to see adverts of ponies "sold from field" who are a ticking timebomb for laminitis and other health issues.

Mine is at the top end of his healthy weight at the moment, irish clip with a rain sheet to keep him clean (he'd be naked if I could bear the mud!) and soaked hay at night with token handful of alfalfa free feed at breakfast and dinner to stop him kicking the door when others are fed. It is a struggle when turnout isn't as free ranging as the ideal and is more a change of scenery from a stable to the outside with not masses more space as is the case on a lot of yards :/

Feed is a real pain to get any sense out of the suppliers as to what is actually in it.

 

[Jellymoon]

Lots of very clever and compelling marketing from feed companies and rug companies, and people treating their horses like children.
Most Horses would do just fine doing pretty much everything on grass and hay, and need far fewer rugs than you think. IMHO of course!

 

[Berpisc]

I think it is the emotional side as well. If your horse looks a bit lean (as an ordinary leisure animal as opposed to a horse in hard work) you are likely to be frowned upon as not caring for it very much. Regardless of what might actually be beneficial for the horse.
Also as mentioned, feed companies and the dreaded "show" condition.

 

[supsup]

On our yard, you can pretty much separate the overweight horses from those who are ok (about 50/50) by those who are not in work, and those who are. I'm pretty sure it matters that for the ones that are not exercised, the owners' interaction with their horses largely involves bringing them into the yard for feeding and grooming (even though none of them need the extra calories). I do think it is problematic when "feeding" is no longer about nutrition, but more about interacting with the horse, wanting to do something nice for him, liking the feeling of being eagerly anticipated when arriving with the bucket etc.

 

[pippixox]

Those figures don’t surprise me. We ultimately have a lot of good doer breeds in the U.K., designed to live on sparse grazing like moors, who now live in tiny paddocks and have access to hard feed they really don’t need and as others have said- no where near as much exercise- both ridden and from just day to day moving around.

I had a new forest pony who never wore a rug and he only started to have feeds to get medicine into him. Because he was on steroids for his liver I had to be extra careful last year. But it did my other two the world of good to be on a sparse track with him. My 16’2 knappstrupper mare is a very good doer anyway and my ex racer is for his breed and he is retired.

I had to stop myself giving them more grass when the heat wave seemed to frazzle everything, as they still managed to graze and not drop any weight. But I am also very lucky that I have a field I rent that I can put a long thin track around. They’ve eaten foddage this winter as well and dropped a bit of weight (my mare could still lose more!)

I went to a few shows with my friends pony this year (welsh A) and it my opinion they all look fat. Yes some had some muscle too, but all fat

 

[Ouch05]

I do believe that peer pressure also comes in to play here. We had a new lady on our yard novice owner but super keen to learn. Guess what when they other horses came in she then got her in when they got feed she fed etc etc. A really lovely lady wanting the best for her horse.

I get looks because my TB is kept looking like a tb and not a hunter/wb you can see his ribs when his coat is shiny and feel them. but he has a nice covering and a good topline from correct work. I try and keep his weight the same all year round he has a spot on body condition score as well. He is not over feed just the right amount for the work he does.

Weight, rugs and calmers are at the top of my dislike list

 

[cundlegreen]

I believe that one of the main issues has been that showing judges always seem to reward overweight horses/ponies with rosettes & this wrongly reinforces that horses/ponies need to be a certain weight to be winners in the show ring. Also over feeding with little exercise is another major issue. If you run your fingers down the side of a horse you should be able to feel the ribs. So many are overweight & this causes joint issues that the horse/pony shouldn't have.

Some owners do literally kill horses with kindness by over feeding, giving titbits, all of which is detrimental.

And they over rug.....

 

[Morgan123]

only 600 per year pts from laminitis?!?! Must be way more than that, surely.