Overweight two year old filly

M

Marigold4

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 May 2017
Messages
2,666
Visit site
I've not really had this problem before, so looking to pick your collective brains for how to slim down my overweight 2-year-old filly while keeping my other two happy. My other two are more thoroughbred types and don't have weight issues. This filly is continuing to put on weight no matter what I do. At the moment she is out with the other two on a fairly bare large paddock that has been grazed down with a little new strip of grazing each day shared with the other two. Just a couple of feet wide and 10 m long on average. When she comes in during the day she gets half a "slice" of Marksway haylage and 1/3 scoop of Suregrow balancer. It doesn't seem a lot to me but she IS overweight. I don't want to separate her off from the others as she will be miserable if they have grass and she has none.

Any ideas anyone?
 
You could clip some neck/belly off (or possibly more?) not so that she's cold, but so that her body has to use a smidge more energy to keep it at optimal temp?
Or whack it all off and lightly rug as needed, again so not she's shivering cold, but just having to use that smidge more energy to keep warm.

Also, you could give the haylage a 30min-1hr soak to leech more sugar out, or if you're not comfortable soaking haylage, then switching to a low calorie hay and soaking that?

Sympathies to you, I had a youngster that thrived on fresh air too, tracking helped, especially when I kept them on a steep hillside (water at the top, grass at the bottom haha), kept them moving a bit more.
 
ihatework said:
Cut the balancer replace with a powder in a handful of mash. Dont be rugging (if you are?)

She is a bit porky in her pictures but not so much that overly concerning this time of year.
Click to expand...
I only rug if it's pouring down. She might not look overly fat, but I can't feel her ribs! At all!
 
Nasicus said:
You could clip some neck/belly off (or possibly more?) not so that she's cold, but so that her body has to use a smidge more energy to keep it at optimal temp?
Or whack it all off and lightly rug as needed, again so not she's shivering cold, but just having to use that smidge more energy to keep warm.

Also, you could give the haylage a 30min-1hr soak to leech more sugar out, or if you're not comfortable soaking haylage, then switching to a low calorie hay and soaking that?

Sympathies to you, I had a youngster that thrived on fresh air too, tracking helped, especially when I kept them on a steep hillside (water at the top, grass at the bottom haha), kept them moving a bit more.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I think I'll start soaking the hay and reducing the balancer to just a handful and see if that helps.
 
Jenko109 said:
Can we see some pictures?

Seems an odd concern for a youngster heading into winter.

Unless she is a proper lard ass.
Click to expand...
She is quite fat. I can't feel her ribs. I'm hoping that she will lose some this winter. I must have taken my eye off the ball in about May time this year because she was fine up until then. Her sire is a bit of a tank and she has a wide frame, but even so ... She can't just say she has big bones! She IS fat. Other two are just right.
 
Don't feel too bad, this May was really difficult, I have two on 1,5 acres from about April onwards and the cob still managed to get (really quite) fat. Took me all summer to get it off, and he's ridden. Now you know she's inclined to chub out you'll catch it early next year. I've given up feeling guilty, I just do my best.
 
Widgeon said:
Don't feel too bad, this May was really difficult, I have two on 1,5 acres from about April onwards and the cob still managed to get (really quite) fat. Took me all summer to get it off, and he's ridden. Now you know she's inclined to chub out you'll catch it early next year. I've given up feeling guilty, I just do my best.
Click to expand...
It's just the ongoing conundrum of how to keep them all happy and turned out together when she only needs half of what the others eat! Hmmm.
 
I think you are worrying unnecessarily, OP, and to me, your filly looks very good. That bit of grass she gets with the others is doing her the world of good and it would be a bad idea imo to stop her from enjoying that and what goes with it (the enjoyment of sharing that with her two friends in the field).
 
Lois Lame said:
I think you are worrying unnecessarily, OP, and to me, your filly looks very good. That bit of grass she gets with the others is doing her the world of good and it would be a bad idea imo to stop her from enjoying that and what goes with it (the enjoyment of sharing that with her two friends in the field).
Click to expand...
Me? Worrying unnecessarily? Surely not! Honestly, she's fatter than she looks in the photos. I agree, I like them to have the new grass for the vitamin e and they do love being in a little herd, so I'm reluctant to separate her off. I'm hoping that once she starts coming in at night for fireworks and weather, I can give her soaked lower calorie haylage and reduce her weight slowly that way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top