Restrictwd diet for good doers

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Daisy2

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I have two good doers, I am keeping their weight stable by allowing them about 4/5 hrs free range on good grass, then in on a strip with minimal grass coverage and just for roughage/fill they get a couple of slices of hay and a small feed for vits/mins. Do you think it is enough? How do you maintain a stable weight.
We have been on this regime for a month. I am also waiting for grazing muzzles to arrive in the post so they can stay out longer to be able to move around freely. They are hacked out about 4 times a week. I just think they possibly need moer roughage but without the calories. It would be great to hear your ideas.
 
You don't say how big they are?! That makes a big difference to what you need to feed them! What is in the small feed you give them? What condition score are they now?
 
My friend manages her Welshie by turning him out for around 3/4 hours, in a strip paddock, in the afternoon after the dew and everything has gone from the grass. And when he's in he gets steamed hay. She rides him around 3-4 times a week max, often long reining him and hacking, with a little bit of jumping in her field to keep him entertained. She gives him Blue Chip lami lite (sp?) so that he gets all the vitamins and nutrients he needs. You could always steam or soak your hay to remove a few calories, so you could give more? xx

ETA that she does as much trotting as possible because apparently that burns the most calories, without making them tired to quickly. xx
 
Well, it depends what you have available.
For my fatties I have a 3/4 acre paddock with no grass - it was arable and we haven't seeded that bit with grass, so there is just some weedy roughage and the hedge to nibble on. They go out for about 8 hours in there, nibbling at what they can. In their stables they get ad lib late cut hay - useless in calorific sense. They do get bucket feeds twice a day, consisting of unmollased chaff, Pegasus Nuts and a cupfull of unmollased sugar beet to dampen. They also get general purpose supplement.
They go on the walker for 30 minutes 5 times a week, hack out twice a week (one being fast work) and get schooled twice or three times a week.
 
TGM said:
You don't say how big they are?! That makes a big difference to what you need to feed them! What is in the small feed you give them? What condition score are they now?
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Quite right, Yes they have a condition score of a round 4, 5 being obese. I am actually happy with their weight now with a view to them losing more slowly over the next few months, they have come out of winter very good and thats with no rugs and no hay but huge field, I would have liked them to lose more but we are getting there. They are hairy cobs 15.2 and 16hh and hacked out 4 times a week for around 2hrs. Oh and the feed is unmollased sugarbeet about 4tbls, dab of chaff and benevit vits.
 
MrsMozart said:
Due to the nature of the new forum, your post had ended up a few pages back where not everyone goes, so I 'bumped' it up back to the front page, with the hope that someone would see and be able to answer you :)
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oh cheers, I thought it mean I should ride more :)
 
well it sounds like you are doing more or less the same as I am with my connie x tb 15.2hh mare. She is on 3/4 acre very short cropped pasture 24/7 plus 2 slabs of hay plus a handful of happy hoof, farriers formula and 1/2 scoop of runny speedibeet to wet it all down. She is however ridden only twice a week. So far her weight has stopped going up (really noticing that she was putting it on with the spring grass so changed her to this regime 2 weeks ago) and I think that she is losing weight a little.

Sounds like if you are going to muzzle them on the lush grass that will help and also soaking the hay will help. Remember that they do need some fibre so feeding hay will be important.
 
to be honest at this time of year with the grass is growing rapidly and your horses already obese, i reckon they are getting too much. My very good doer is currently condition score 3.5 and in medium work. he is a 'restricted' paddock all the time, but I'm going to have to start bringing him in as it is still too much for him! In spring/summer/autumn horses will still get a lot off most restriction paddocks.

If i were you i would keep them on restricted all the time, and if it really is very barren just give a very small amount of hay for fibre. otherwise you'll never get the weight down. there's no point in putting them out 'for a few hours' on good grazing, as most greedy horses will make up for lost time by eating their own bodyweight in grass, and then the effort of restricting their intake for the rest of the day is wasted. If the need to go in the other field for whatever reason, then use grazing muzzles like you mentioned.
 
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thanks for your replies and helpfful hints, it also is helpful to know what others are doing, so sounds like I am not far off doing the right thing. Just need to be sure I am getting the fibre intake right, so yes soaking the hay I suppose is a good idea as it apparently leaches out the sugars.

I will try and put some pics on maybe tomorrow for comments on condition.
 
Can I ask why you are feeding overweight horses sugar beet? I'm not trying to pick a fight but I can't understand the need to give overweight horses sugar beet. Every yard I've ever been on has given sugar beet to the skinny horses to put weight on, or the hunters during the season.

If they were mine, I would cut out all hard feed, they just don't need it (I know some people say they need the vits/mins but my IDxTB is a VERY good doer and he doesn't get a vit supplement, yet has a beautifully shiny coat and feels wonderful). I would have them on restricted grazing all of the time they are out, and I'd have them in during the day with soaked hay. Soak your hay overnight, drain and then rinse well before you hang the net for them.

I'd also increase the work you're doing with them both. My good doer works 6 times per week plus 3 walker sessions and he's still rounder than I'd like.
 
chestnut cob said:
Can I ask why you are feeding overweight horses sugar beet?

I understand why you ask, the sugat beet is unmollased and its only a little but they do need there vits/vit e and selenium but also for salt intake because Marley needs electrolytes due to a muscle problem he has which does help him, he has a tendancy to tie up. I dont have access to a stable or dry lot. You are right though I am always struggling with their weight, but they are looking a whole lot better than last year, it does take time to work it out to get the balance right. Again I just worry they are not getting enough bulk but I have just been reading about soaking hay to remove the suagrs and starch so perhaps thats the way to go for us.
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I have an IDxTB who is an incredibly good doer - I struggle with his weight more than I ever did with my Welsh cob. ATM he's getting about twice as much work than my Welshy ever needed and he's still fat! In your situation and without a stable, I'd leave mine out on the poor grazing and maybe give them a bit of soaked hay so they have some longer fibre going through their gut. I'd also cut out all of the hard feed. However, if you don't want to cut it out entirely then you can feed those supplements in just a handful of low calorie chaff. I don't see the need for sugar beet at all - molassed or not.
 
I use a track system around the perimeter of the field with electric fencing. There usually isn't enough grass to maintain them so I put out hay. If food is at one end and water/shelter at the other this encourages movement. I've done this successfully for a number of years now.

I have recently changed paddocks onto one that has fairly rich grazing and have had to do the track system in stages. I'm also bringing at night and have borrowed some sheep to keep the grass down. I add a few high fibre nuts soaked to get supplements in and that is it.

I managed to get most weight off when I fed hay only, grass is the thing that piles on the pounds!

Exercise wise brisk walking is said to burn the most calories. WHW have useful advice on their website for overweight horses. :)
 
My good doer is out 8-5 with a muzzle on - I think he is better off moving round the field with restricted but constant intake than stood in a stable. On a night he is stabled and gets hay that has been soaked for 24 hours in a doubled up haynet. He only gets a token handfull of chaff when hes comes in whilst the others are fed. Seems to be working!
 
My boy is out for about 5-6 hours a day. I turn him out in the morning and my YO brings him in after lunch. He then gets a small haynet (2kg) in the afternoon. I arrive after work and work him. He gets a slightly larger haynet overnight (4kg). He has tea consisiting of 2 handfuls of HIfi Lite, Equivite Vits and mins and garlic with water and has a handful of pony nuts in a nut ball overnight too to try and keep him amused. I did originally give him the nut ball to play with in the afternoon as I was worried about him being in for the afternoon but he didn't touch it, my YO said he comes in, nibbles his hay and snoozes (and deflates after eating grass), he does move his nut ball around at night though - I think he's worked out how to use it now!

I'm upping his exercise slowly but he was only backed a month ago so not rushing it too much. I'm hoping he will be able to go out for longer or overnight when his exercise is more and the grass has calmed down and been grazed down a bit.
 
My 3 are all fatties, all are out 24/7 this time of year I put electric fence up & only let them have 1 acre of the 4 acre field, they get a feed suitable for laminitics at the moment Chestnut Lite, not molly chaff as its full of sugar & molasses. My 15.3hh has a handful of oats as she works quite hard.
I then strip graze the field very slowly through to October time but I won't move the electric fence untill I really think they need more & they are really looking for something else.
To bulk fill them I soak hay for 12hours this removes almost all nutrients, Perfect belly filler with hardly any calories. Because they are out all the time they tend to diet themselves very often sleeping all day in the shelter & picking at night. I find them better on a consistent level of grass rather than swapping & changing them from good grazing to poor as this will encourage them to stuff themselves for the short time they are on the good grazing.

Sorry bit long!!
 
To be honest I would also use something different to get their supps in. Scrap the sugar beet, even unmolassed. In summer my TB doesnt usually get a feed, I make a little paste out of his supps & he licks it straight off my hand!
If you really feel you need to feed them something to get their supps in, why not just a chaff like happy hoof or hi fi lite - something designed for fatties/laminitics.
And of course grazing muzzles will make things much easier. :)
 
My girl is a very good doer, she's a 14.2 welsh D, she's never going to be thin and she will always have a appley bottom but I try my bloody best to keep it down and I think if I didn't she would be the size of a house! She is out all day in quite a bare paddock, has a handfull of happy hoof twice a day, and has a couple of soaked sections of hay overnight and is worked 5 days per week.
 
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