Reducing a cresty neck

[crbecky10]

My Fell has a huge cresty neck, very solid and I'm really struggling to alter her weight. She has had no extra feed over winter, no rugs on, and lived out all the time in a rough pasture that is fairly high up. She comes down to better grazing in the summer so she can be ridden, strip grazing isn't an option and I've tried a grazing muzzle! Any suggestions please?!

 

[Amirah]

Can you shut her in during the day? I've got my two fatties slimmer over the winter on oat straw chop. I'd also suggest magnesium oxide and turmeric, both of these are anti inflammatory (plus the turmeric disguises the horrible magnesium taste). I mix them with warm water in a watering can and water the oat chop with it.

If you can't shut her away you'll need to persevere with the muzzle as a hard cresty neck is a laminitis indicator, sadly. It sounds like she's insulin resistant/ems.

Good luck with her, laminitis is horrible to deal with (got the t shirt and don't ever want to go through it again).

Hope you can get something sorted out. At least you're on it before the grass really gets going.