Porky Ponies!

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spotty_pony

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Well, one of my horses is a little on the large side at the moment! I have decided to start an exercise plan etc and try and get him to lose a bit of weight. I'm going to weigh him once a week and keep a record of it.

I was wondering if anyone else has a horse which is a bit overweight at the the moment and would like to join me? I thought it would be more fun if we did it together and posted updates on here. Would also keep us more motivated!

So what does everyone think? If at least a couple of people are interested I might ask admin if they can make this a sticky thread. :)
 
I think it is a great idea, would be great for all of us to see the progress your making and maybe encourage others with larger ponies to work on getting their weight down.
 
I have a 13.2 Welsh C who I am trying to sell who is erm.....HUGE!! She is on restricted grazing as a muzzle rubbed even with padding and has a handful of hay when she comes in during the day and is worked 6 days out of 7!!! eeeek
 
FlonyPony said:
I have a 13.2 Welsh C who I am trying to sell who is erm.....HUGE!! She is on restricted grazing as a muzzle rubbed even with padding and has a handful of hay when she comes in during the day and is worked 6 days out of 7!!! eeeek
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I also have a 13.2hh fat Welsh C, she was a hell of a lot fatter 6 months ago though.
I restricted her food more and more and the weight just wasn't coming off, it was absolutely pitiful the amount she had, I felt I was starving her, and being winter it was hard to exercise her.
So I gave her more but worked her 6 days a week from around Feb, and I mean she was worked, very sweaty. It was the only thing that worked, she's still a porker, but now has some shape and is looking a lot better, has lost about 70kg. To think we are coming into summer grass as well and welsh C's live on fresh air - arrgghh!
 
I HAVE!!! My Bonnie is rather large. i did this in the winter and made a exercise plan and weighed her every week but gave up after a while!
Count me in :D xxx
 
Yep, I would be interested too (even though I have a horse who needs more muscle and a little less fat, and a pony pretty much the same), especially if everyone can post their exercise regimes, feed suggestions etc. in order to help others who are struggling, and so that everyone can benefit from other peoples experiences! I would definitely get involved! :D
 
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I'll join you. F is officially the fattest he has ever been :( Thats two weeks off work when the spring (previously highly fertilised, sugar filled) grass is coming through for you. Saddle doesn't fit, so we will be commencing a period of long reining, cross-species grazing, lunging and if I am brave enough, bareback fizzy horse riding, shortly.

:D
 
Naturally said:
I'll join you. F is officially the fattest he has ever been :( Thats two weeks off work when the spring (previously highly fertilised, sugar filled) grass is coming through for you. Saddle doesn't fit, so we will be commencing a period of long reining, cross-species grazing, lunging and if I am brave enough, bareback fizzy horse riding, shortly.

:D
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Bonnie's saddle keeps slipping forward everytime i ride because she is so fat :( i keep having to get of and move it back! last time i tried bareback fizzy pony riding i ended up in bum down in the sand :( xxx
 
Id love to join this! My Haflinger had ring-bone in both front legs so exercise is not easy, its been two weeks since we started the diet and he has lost a little, one of the notches on my weigh tape (cant remember how many KG they each are)

My main problem is the only exercise i can give him is ground driving him at walk, but i guess the walking will do me some good also!

To anybody in a similar situation to me that cannot ride their chubby pony, iv cut mine down to a little Hi-Fi good doer twice a day so he thinks he has had something, a double netted small hay net overnight so that it lasts longer and out in a starvation paddock with another small hay net in the day, it seems to be working at the minuet :)

Also hopefully we will have the horse walker up and running some time in the near future so I will be making good use of that;)
 
I'm in - been thinking about starting this thread for a while! Mine started a serious weight loss programme when I got her back off loan a few months ago. Will get photos and add her regime tomorrow!
 
My boy is a bit of a chubber too! I'm in a routine now where he is strip grazed but only goes out for 3-4 hours every morning. I had some nice hay and some hay that he wasn't too keen on that was of a poorer quality - he's now eating the poorer quality stuff! Feed wise he's on a handful of hifi light and a scoop of equivite per day. He also has a rock salt lick in his stable to keep him amused. Work wise he is ridden 5 days and lunged 1 (well, that's the aim anyway!). Tried a grazing muzzle and he rubbed a hole in his chin within 2 days.
 
I did the PDSA Fat Horse Slim thing last year :D...we didn't go in for it formally though just did it quietly ourselves with their pack of info. Will try and give it a go this year and join you though with a programme in place already and no weight loss yet over 5 weeks I am despairing!
 
My pony is an extremely good do-er, but he goes out 24/7 in summer and this actually helps to keep his weight down than when he came in at night last year, becuase he's eaten the grass down and so now he's trickle feeding on short grass instead of gorging on longer grass :) His field isn't too big, and we've sectioned some off too, and also he's kept himself fitter becuase he's moving around constantly, and he's generally happier out 24/7 :)
Also have increased his workload and he's ridden 6 days a week with schooling up to 45mins, hacking (brisk walking instead of plodding!) and some trotting/canters, jumping and he goes to shows to do showing/dressage 2/3 times a month, which he enjoys :) So being fit has helped a lot too, he's definetely slimmer than he was this time last year, and at the moment he's the ideal weight for summer but I wouldn't want any more on him! I weigh him weekly on a weigh tape and he's 440kg at 14.1hh and a chunky Connemara x :)
 
Now that the thread is a sticky, we can start!

I'm going to weigh my boy at the weekend, but I have started planning an exercise and feeding regime for him.

Exercise: I am going to ride him 6 days a week (instead of the usual 4-5) and give him one day off. I am hoping to do 4 hacks (2 long hacks of about two hours each, and two shorter hacks including hill work and two sessions of schooling, 45 mins each session and I may include jumping in one of these. I also may lunge one day a week instead of a hack/schooling session if I don't have time to ride.

Feeding: He is on restricted grazing (not a starvation paddock as the field does have a decent covering of grass without there being too much.) He is living out 24/7 but is going to come in for 3-4 hours off the grass each day. While he is in he will be given a small amount of hay. He is also being fed a handful of Alpha A Chaff and two cups of Baileys Lo-Cal Balancer.

What is everybody else planning to do? :)
 
All after my GCSEs are done :D

Riding: probably riding everyday, hacking most of the time (about 1 hour with trotting up hills) with some schooling and jumping, maybe a couple of competitions.

Feeding: just normal chaff, not restricted grazing, and then A+P Power and Performance for the energy.

In all honesty, I'm not sure, as I think I'm off to Louisa Lockwood's for the summer for paid work experience, so just see how it all goes. Will post some pictures of them now, and then when I come back so you can all see the difference :D
 
Riding every other day, jumping twice a week, and some loose schooling or lunging in between.
Out in the field in the day and in at night. small amount of hay soaked. No feed! xx
 
I'm in! Phillip yo-yos more than most celebrities :p

May 2008 just before contracting laminitis, weighing approx 720kg :o
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Was stabled for a month, lost 40kg and then started working him.

In April 2009 he dropped down to about 500kg, but hadn't been worked and had no muscle.
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August 2009 went up to about 560kg.
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Through september he went up to nearly 600kg again but got down to about 560kg through winter :)
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He is currently sitting at about 590kg, too heavy but I'm at uni till the end of the month and he needs a new saddle.
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Ideally I'd love him to be back to about 550kg.
 
My pony is joining the club!!

She is normally out 24/7 due to coughing in the stable from dust. Due to her large size I thought I would bring her in during the afternoons to keep her away from the grass.

However when I turned her out again she started gobbling away at the grass making up for lost time. I hadn't thought of this & I am now wondering if by bringing her in I will turn her an extremely greedy girl.

Usually when I get to her field she is either dozing, eating( but in a relaxed way) or looking over the hedge. Since the new bring in regime when I had turned her back out she has been eating away at a frantic pace. Is my intervention making her eat more do you think?

I have tried her in a muzzle but she gets this off somehow, once injuring herself in the process. I have upped her exercise starting this week so am hoping this will help.

Not sure whether I am helping her by bringing her in, I had thought this was the best thing to do but after watching her franticly munching away from turned out again I just don't know whether my actions are making her worse

Any thoughts very much appreciated?
 
poops - Would it better to fence off an area of your paddock with electric fencing, so that once she has eaten down that most of the grass she can just forage for food. Then, after a couple of weeks you can move the fencing over to a different area and repeat this. :)
 
I have a fatty who needs to lose some weight, but I can't ride her :( :(

She is on a very bare paddock, with a once a day feed of a handful of good doer chaff and a cup of lo cal balancer with her arthritis supplements.

I am at a bit of a loss how else to get her weight down to be honest :(
 
Hows the weight loss going? I need a bit of a kick up the bum to keep going, both Bentley and myself are a bit fed up!

My fatty is now on restricted grazing at night and coming in during the day and I swear he is still getting bigger :( I'm soaking his hay, feeding him a smidge of HiFi Good Doer with a vit and min supplement and trying to ride or lunge as much as pos but am getting a bit despondent. I guess since my friends horse has been lame and I've been riding out alone its getting harder to motivate myself and Bentley (who doesn't really like hacking alone and neighs his head off the whole ride). I know it'll just take time and patience but I'm having a bit of a low day today.
 
Im in the Fatty ned but cant ride club :( Melly is a 14.2 heavy Fell type, and weighs 483kg (or just over) at the moment. She has lost 90kg since last year, and 120kg since I bought her! She now has Bone Spavin in both hocks, and although she 'should' be ridden to help them, she has bolted several times and has become dangerous to ride, so I dont. Im at a loss as to how I can reduce her weight further, she is out PM on bare boards with Seren my broodie, and comes in during the day to a 5/6lb hay net that has been soaked for well over 12 hours. She has a handful of hifi lite + a danilon when she comes in, and half a scoop of hi fi lite with her supplements and another danilon before she goes out. Any suggestions?? x
 
Rosehip said:
Im in the Fatty ned but cant ride club :( Melly is a 14.2 heavy Fell type, and weighs 483kg (or just over) at the moment. She has lost 90kg since last year, and 120kg since I bought her! She now has Bone Spavin in both hocks, and although she 'should' be ridden to help them, she has bolted several times and has become dangerous to ride, so I dont. Im at a loss as to how I can reduce her weight further, she is out PM on bare boards with Seren my broodie, and comes in during the day to a 5/6lb hay net that has been soaked for well over 12 hours. She has a handful of hifi lite + a danilon when she comes in, and half a scoop of hi fi lite with her supplements and another danilon before she goes out. Any suggestions?? x
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I'm guessing you can't lunge due to the spavin but could you long rein or take her for gentle walks? My friend has a 17hh gelderlander with ringbone, she takes him out walking with the dog lead in one hand and the horse in the other, just for little potters to keep him ticking over.
 
I long rein her out as much as I can,and take her and Seri (my little one) in hand walks, but she can be a bit naughty in hand too! lol! She's just used to getting herr own way! lol!! x
 
I was meaning to join you guys earlier and I sort of forgot...can I still join? :D :D

I've got a fatty too - a 15.1hh pb arab that was out of work for over a year before i took him on loan. He arrived weighing 537 kg on a tape - he's currently about 479kg (thats since March). I'm really cruel though -- he's worked 5-6 times a week, restricted grazing and lots of diet chaff and soaked hay. Now the weight is comin off, he sort of looks like he needs a tuck! Lots of loose skin and a still saggy belly. Any suggestions???

His work regime tends to be varied thru the week depending on my own energy levels and work schedule.

Monday - usually a lesson or worked in the school for an hour, then t/o for 3-4 hours
Tuesday - off (longer day in field, usually about 4-5 hours)
Wednesday - lunged for 30-40 minutes, then t/o for one hour
Thursday - schooled for 40 minutes or so and then t/o for one hour
Friday - same as Thursday
Saturday - hacked for up to 2 hours - sometimes with fast work included T/o for up to an hour
Sunday - hacked as on Saturday, or schooled lightly for 30 min. T/o for up to 3 hours

I would love to turn him out all day and let him live out in the summer...but no starvie paddock is available, the grass is mental where we are. I won't muzzle him - and it wouldn't matter anyway - after a few hours if the weather is hot and buggy or rainy, he's standing at the gate screaming his head off to come in anyway. He's happy to stay out a bit longer if it suits him, you know, perfect temperature, the sun shining -- but not TOO brightly, no bugs, a light breeze to ruffle his araby mane and tail. Spoilt boy! LOL

(Please lets not start a debate on whether or not I should let my horse live out more...this suits his diet regime as well as his mental state - he's far happier in than out - he loves his corner suite stable).
 
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