Pony ballooned since steroids

Hormonal Filly

Hormonal Filly

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My gelding had his hock and neck injected 7 weeks ago.

He has NEVER been fat since I've owned him, even when he was off work for 6 months through winter and has always needed a good feed. For a coloured cob he was never a good doer and always had a healthy shape to him.

Since having his neck injected hes ballooned, he has fat pads on his back and I can only just feel his ribs, nothing else has changed. :eek: Hes only ridden 3/4 times a week, hes slowly coming back into work and its difficult with my due to work hours. Hes turned out on barley no grazing, gets ad-lib haylage at night (1 huge small hole haynet) and a handful of chaff with balancer and his supplements. He use to pick his haylage but now he scoffs nearly everything (eating more than my other horse whos a hand bigger)

I've reduced his feed again to barely a bowl covering. Never have I not given ad-lib haylage but considering reducing his haylage, any ideas? To add I can't change his forage, haylage is bought in for everyone and no room for anything else.
Can't stand fat horses! On the plus side hes going well.
 
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Oat straw? I have the same problem but I give mine a large net of good quality oat straw overnight and that keeps him sane and slim.

He still gets haylage but it is nearly dry timothy haylage and its controlled - so he seldom gets more than 5 kg a day (one compressed slice).

Bit more difficult when fields are frosty / snow covered as I give him haylage in the field when he is first turned out. But I also give him oat straw in the field later on as this breakfast haylage is always hoovered up in seconds.
 
Steroids make you incredibly hungry (humans, so I don't see why it wouldn't horses), so I imagine that has changed him as much as anything. If he didn't used to eat all his haylage and now does maybe that is just enough, as well as his metabolism being changed overall? Could he have a bucket full of chopped straw or something and less haylage?
 
Thank you both for all comments. Can you buy plain oat straw chaff? I can't buy big bales as theres no space. Makes sense, hes suddenly constantly hungry even wants to eat now while i ride (never did before!)

I'll speak to my vet Monday as hes coming to view my other horse.
 
Aimeetess said:
Thank you both for all comments. Can you buy plain oat straw chaff? I can't buy big bales as theres no space. Makes sense, hes suddenly constantly hungry even wants to eat now while i ride (never did before!)

I'll speak to my vet Monday as hes coming to view my other horse.
Click to expand...

I buy oat straw chaff from eFeeds comes in 20Kg (?) bales. Lovely stuff - I use it in his feeds and sometimes give him a trug of it dampened to nibble on during the summer when he is on a very restricted diet. You can buy half pallets which I think is only 4 bales.

I buy small bales of oat straw (unchopped) from a farmer who makes oat straw for the hippos at Edinburgh zoo. £6 a bale. I used to buy compressed oat straw from EasyPack but last year they ran out... That was very easy to store as the bales are compressed. https://www.easypackhaylage.com/product/easy-pack-compressed-straw/
 
I struggled to find bales of oat straw when I tried this past summer. You can get plain oat chaff which I used to bulk out bucket feeds.

I’m not sure there is much else you can do. It’s hard. My new forest pony was like yours- a good doer, but he did manage to look quite trim when in work and on a track. But he was on a high dose of steroids every day for liver damage and he was giant! Even when he had a month on a bare paddock with restricted hay he gained weight
 
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