Preparing for spring!

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xbuzzx

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Hi! Im just wondering the best to keep weight off? At the moment buzz is overweight, and for the three years I've had him he has always been fat!
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This spring im planning on trying to keep his weight down as much as possible, as I've been looking at photos of last summer and can't belive how obese he had got!
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So what all methods is there?
He only gets a small handful of low cal pony nuts if he's been worked and a strip of grass most night (which can't really be stopped). He's worked around 5 or 6 times a week which is once and hour lesson, once me schooling him, then usually the rest hacking.
Thing is, I can't stable him as he hates it, and i don't know about a mussel cos I would worry it would frustrate him?
Sorry this has turned ou quite long!
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Thanks!
 
Ok, I might try one and see how it goes, does the grass have to be above a certain length for the muzzel to work? Or does it work in any grass?
 
We struggle with weight with all of the horses I look after (3 laminitic ponies and an arab) We have far too much grazing in summer and not enough in winter!

If he was mine I would stop feeding, its pointless if he is already overweight.
I would also muzzle as I have found its the only thing that will stop them gorging themselves. A well fitting shires type does the job and restricts the amount they can eat. I have had no problems with miserable horses using them (only greedy ones pretending to be sad for a sweet, they are fab actors!)
I will start muzzling from the moment the grass starts growing, easier to keep weight off than get it off once its on.

The easiest thing to loose some weight would be to start now while winter is still here, so he comes into spring slimmer. Underrug, dont feed if he dosent need it and limit grazing and the weight should drop off in winter.

Also with the stabling, I have a horse that wouldnt stable. 6 months on of bringing him in for 10mins a day and now he will happily stable now for hours on end with no fuss, with or without a companion. It just takes time to desensitise him to it.
 
I use a shires grazing muzzle on my boy when the spring grass comes through, he's not bothered about it at all and it really helps keep the weight off.

I wouldn't feed the pony nuts either.

Also when hacking if you mainly just walk with a few canters try to do lots of trotting and keep the canters going for longer than usual, uphill if possible.
 
Thanks laura! I'd been hoping this winter that I would be able to work him quite a lot and even teach my mum to lunge him, but we live in north scotland and for about the last 10 weeks, theres only been about two where the ground hasn't been hard or snowy! We only have a grass school so it cant be used when the weathers bad
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I will defenatly try a mussel on him then!
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We have a little fat laminitic at my field and he is already wearing his muzzle. He is also going to be clipped on the weekend.

He usually gets a bib clip at this time of year (he is unrugged) to help him to shift some weight before the spring hits.
 
I have a sin bin for the day time and he goes out on the grass at night. Sin bin has very little grass and spare stable in it. He also wears a muzzle if needed but I play that one by ear.
 
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