Should they be fat?

[caitlin95uk]

Well recently i put a photo on asking how well cassey is looking atm.
I got positive replies, and you all seemed to say she was the right shape,
so i recently met up with an old friend
and she said cassey is skinny and needs to put on weight, when i replied but she is perfect atm, i got in reply:
well in the summer horses have to be a bit plumper, like halfway between over weight and perfect as it makes them digest grass better?!
now is this just a "yard-know-it-all"? or is she being serious or should they be the same weight all year round?
I thought cassey was perfect and i had just done very well and keeping her condition well if you would like any new pics id be happy to post them!

 

[Mavis Cluttergusset]

sounds like a load of rubbish!

 

[rhino]

In the WILD horses will get really fat through the summer and then lose it in the winter. They have evolved to do this as during a hard winter they need all the fat reserves they can get.

For horses which aren't wild, it's much healthier to stay at the same weight all year round, even putting on a small amount of weight can adversely affect their health (and the fit of their tack).

Learn to condition score your horse, ask your vet or instructor if you are not sure, but by the sounds of it you are absolutely right!

 

[Shay]

Total rubbish!

In 100% feral grass management you would ideally like them to come into winter slightly plump so they can go all the way through winter and end up in spring skinny.

But that never happens in real life. In real life we put extra hay out. Increase feed. Clip. Rug. Etc etc. They do not over winter naturally.

It can be hard to keep a good do-er's weight down in the early autumn because no-one told the horse's metabolism - which has evolved over thousands of years - that these days winter isn't going to be the hard thing it was a millenia ago. So they do tend to hold weight a bit come the last grass flush in september / october. But this is July.

Cassie is fine as you have her. If you allow for the seasonal weight gain (which shouldn't happen for another couple of months anyway) and then manage the horse during the winter you are setting them up for insulin resistance.

From one yard know it all to another.... Stick to your guns!

 

[MissSBird]

Probably a rubbish excuse she can use to kid herself her own horse doesn't need to loose weight (yard know-it-alls horses are always the perfect weight).

If she's a poor doer and tends to lose dramatically in the winter, I would be allowing her to become just a little bit overweight towards the end of the summer/autumn to see her through the winter. I did this for my old tb who, despite my best efforts, always turned into a toaster rack come the end of winter.

But very very few horses in modern day need this type of care. Much better for a consistant perfect weight all year round!