Pony's diet plan...

[bex1984]

Following on from restricted grazing post...

Right, so here is pony's diet plan (please bear in mind he is obese, not talking just a little bit of extra covering).

Out 24/7 in starvation paddock. Weight will be monitored every few days with weightape, and will be boring you all with pictures (took pre-piggy-paddock-pics last night). Maybe I should start a Pony's Diet Blog!!

Once grass is eaten down pony will get a few handfuls of Happy Hoof and his apple, and when the grass becomes poor I will either move the fencing slightly, or feed a slice or two of soaked hay.

Pony will be ridden or lunged 6 days a week.

Will consider using the grazzling muzzle again and putting him back in the large field he was in once his weight is down and needs maintaining, rather than reducing!

What do you all think?

 

[ISHmad]

Personally I would turn him out in normal field with a muzzle on during the day to ensure he can move around a lot, socialise with other horses etc and then put him in his piggy paddock, or preferably a stable at night with ad lib soaked hay.

Starvation paddocks are okay, but the grass which shoots through tends to be very sugar laden. As the grass thinks it is under threat and is endeavouring to survive if that makes sense.

Good doer's really are difficult aren't they! But with this regime and extra work he should be fine. Don't overdo the lungeing if he is overweight though, could put strain on his legs. Long lining or free schooling is much better.

 

[Hettie]

my only concern with that plan is that he may not be getting enough roughage to keep his tummy going and keep him from feeling starving. Would it be an idea to offer him some good quality straw (oatstraw forexample) to munch on? Or one of those "low calori" hay replacers for laminitic ponies?

Also agree regarding the shoots of grassin starvation paddocks! they can be quite scary!

 

[kizzywiz]

Definately agree with the lack of roughage & sugar laden shoots in starvation paddock. Would suggest stabling by day, with a small amount of happy hoof & some soaked hay. Then turn out at night when the sugar values in the grass are less in the small paddock with grazing muzzle until grass is eaten, then return to the other field, are you able to fence a bit off & strip graze? Then let the small paddock recover & start the rotation again. Exercise will help too, but agree not too much lungeing because of risk of joint strain, wouldn't necessarily agree with free schooling, as it is not controlled. Hacking is fine, make sure he is really striding out. You can call one of the major feed companies advice line, & they will be able to calculate his feed to weight ratio for you to help him lose weight. Hope that helps.

 

[bex1984]

Ok, will monitor his coat, hooves and poops for any change in condition, and as the grass goes down I can start giving him soaked hay in the field, a bit of happy hoof and a multivitamin (can anyone recommend one?).

To be honest, have found out this evening that all the fields have been rotated and from the looks of things the starvation paddock is not going to be a long term thing - it will be until he has lost a little weight and the grass has been eaten down in his normal field. Then he can go back out in his normal field, and if his weight creeps up at all i'll try the grazing muzzle again (he hadn't worked out how to eat with it on so ended up a bit grumpy and miserable which is very out of character).

Stabling in the day is not an option at the mo, but may be when the weather gets very hot as the others will come in then.

How do I tell good quality straw? I can use as much straw as I want as it's included in my livery...

Will avoid doing too much lungeing...hopefully I can ride most days from now on.