please help me with weightloss!

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ChubbyPony

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hello..my pony is quite overweight and possible cushings and i need some advice as to how to get his weight off.
hes a 14hh connemara and 15 years old.

He lives out with 3 other ponies 24/7 who cant really be seperated. there isnt alot of grass...everythings muddy :P we dont have stables so he cant be stabled.
they are all fed a small bale of haylage between them morning and evening.
he also has a small feed of fast fibre so he can get his supplements.

he is rounded throughout his whole body, but has quite a cresty neck (although it has gone down slightly), and slight bulges above his eyes (note the cushings worries) im also worried about laminitis! and is quite fatty on his chest and bum (but always has been)

he has curently had a few weeks off as we are waiting for the farrier to put his shoes back on the back feet. he is normally ridden between 2 and 4 times a week depending on time of year.

we're pretty much stuck in this situation as our time and facilities are limited (our own fields) so any advice how i get his weight down to a healthy weight to reduce the risks of lami, metabolic disease or cushings would be hugely appreciated. alarm bells are ringing! im thinking possibly grazing muzzle? or turning him out in little sand school...but not sure if mum would let me :(

heres a pic...although not very clear:
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q593/LittleMouse41/fat.jpg

and if you managed to read all that WELL DONE YOU! :D
 
Get a muzzle on him ASAP, swap to hay and lunge him or ride him everyday or even twice a day.... Take care to build up the time if he is very unfit. Looks like a lovely boy :o
 
If I fed my natives ( highlands) haylage they would get lami, it's the sugars that might it rich! Hay has less sugar, you can soak nutrients out of hay.... As for haylage I am not so sure as it ferments! Remember a horse or person will keep hold of weight if you try and starve them, called ketosis.

Do you rug your conny and if so what weight of rug?
 
Can you get hold of some late cut hay? Ours is cut late august, sometimes as late as the end of September, its fab for porkers, its not got as much goodness in but keeps them happy munching ad-lib. Or, some of the year befores hay. Depending where its been stored chances are it will need damping cos it will have gathered dust, but again, quality will be more suitable..
 
I dunno if you can change the type of haylage you feed, but we feed our fat pony and my (not fat but good doer) Connie x ID on Horsehage High Fibre as it's fermented differently to other types of haylages, meaning it's got lower sugar and it's suitable for laminitics. I think EH Haylage does a similar product, but I just use Horsehage because I always have.

I know our pony loves the stuff, we mix it in with his hay and it makes him eat slower which is great.

A grazing muzzle could also work and limited turnout, also try to exercise as much as possible. Hill work is great if you can, but any type of work will work for him.
Limit his feed as much as possible and perhaps be prepared for a grumpy/pushy or depressed pony :rolleyes: Mine went all sad-looking on restricted grazing, mum's TB is grumpy when he's hungry and the fat pony goes really bargey and stubborn.
 
When I first got Leo he was overweight, fat pockets and everything!
He's now at a healthy weight, I didnt muzzle him in the summer however if you want to its probably a good idea.
For Leo I was also bringing him back into work so it was a slow process getting the weight off, he was on the horse walker for 20 minutes twice a week and I rode him 2-3 times as well, hacking mainly, but some simple schooling occasionally too.
I would swap to hay, as I did, he was on haylage when I bought him, and he was given a handful of hi fi lite as all the other horses got fed twice a day (he couldn't be left out) and apart from that it was just exercise, slowly but surely the weight started coming off him.
I'll post some before and after pics tomorrow when I'm on the comp.
I would do some light work, and gradually increase the time, then increase the intensity of the work. :)
 
ChubbyPony said:
hello..my pony is quite overweight and possible cushings and i need some advice as to how to get his weight off.
hes a 14hh connemara and 15 years old.

He lives out with 3 other ponies 24/7 who cant really be seperated. there isnt alot of grass...everythings muddy :P we dont have stables so he cant be stabled.
they are all fed a small bale of haylage between them morning and evening.
he also has a small feed of fast fibre so he can get his supplements.

he is rounded throughout his whole body, but has quite a cresty neck (although it has gone down slightly), and slight bulges above his eyes (note the cushings worries) im also worried about laminitis! and is quite fatty on his chest and bum (but always has been)

he has curently had a few weeks off as we are waiting for the farrier to put his shoes back on the back feet. he is normally ridden between 2 and 4 times a week depending on time of year.

we're pretty much stuck in this situation as our time and facilities are limited (our own fields) so any advice how i get his weight down to a healthy weight to reduce the risks of lami, metabolic disease or cushings would be hugely appreciated. alarm bells are ringing! im thinking possibly grazing muzzle? or turning him out in little sand school...but not sure if mum would let me :(

heres a pic...although not very clear:
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q593/LittleMouse41/fat.jpg

and if you managed to read all that WELL DONE YOU! :D
Click to expand...
Best to discuss this with your vet as it's important that in "slimming" he doesn't go short on essential nutrition. Some (I use that word advisable) of the feed manufacturers have very good nutritionists who will visit free of charge and advise you on your horse's diet if you explain the situation when you ring up.
 
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