Since when does 'diet' mean 'no feed or hay/grass whatsoever'?

AprilBlossom

AprilBlossom

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 May 2010
Messages
2,383
Location
Gloucester
Visit site
I'm going to ride a friends loan horse for a couple of weeks whilst she's recovering from an operation, and he's kept at the owners house. Owner is a teenager with non-horsey parents. Non-horsey parents have a fairly well-connected (to big names in the competition world) woman interested in the yard, and the said horse currently kept on his own there.
She advised he is far too fat (IMO he has a bit of a grass belly but not in any way fat, well muscled and cob-esque as he should be) and has recommended they cut out all hard feed, so they've locked it all away so friend can't feed him on the sly, and to turn him out in the sand school with no hay... Is it just me or is this horrendous bad practice?! Particularly from someone who is so apparently well connected...

The other reason she has advised as so is that the teenage owner is struggling to ride him, finding him a bit too much to handle. Not once has the prospect of lessons been mentioned though, it seems they're going to choose to starve the energy out of the horse until she can handle him. I am shocked and appalled, just wanted to share and get reassurance my outrage is appropriate.
 
He will need forage of some kind surely he is getting hay to keep him going. Being well connected, doesn't mean well educated or indeed having common sense.
 
Last edited:
I suspect you haven't got all the story.

Certainly mine are fed NO hard feed atm, and I turn them out in the school with no hay for two or three hours at a time, in fact I bring them home from the field to do so.
 
I was there whilst it was being advised, and as it's not my horse or really a great deal to do with me I didn't say anything as not my place, but there is no hay on the yard and he was put into sand school at about 5pm last night. I am going to exercise him today (thinking about just giving him a groom though if he's having NOTHING or taking him for an in hand graze) and fully expect to find him still in the school after work this eve when I get there, in a foul mood and probably having injured himself in protest at his boredom and hunger.

But how do I explain to the owners this womans suggestions seem absurd to me, and I think horse should be offered grazing if nothing else!? I don't know how to approach it as she's far more 'qualified', especially in their eyes than I am.
 
This does not actually suprise me...when i used to work at a large feed company - I had a woman (again not horsey - looking after son's horse) who had been advised by her vet to 'not feed him' due to laminitis....now, as a horsey person, you would take this as 'dont feed him HARD FEED' but no, this person literally took it as not to feed him at all....phoned up as the horse was looking a bit down and lifeless in his stable - horse hadnt been fed anything for EIGHT DAYS......I said yes, i think your horse is probably packing up and dying.....so it is possible that people take things literally....personally I would have to intervene....possibly leaving a bit of literature around the place about the importance of fibre in the horse's diet....good luck
 
what is wrong with some people, honestly!!
No feed at all, no hay, no grass nothing?

On the other side of the coin, I knew a woman who read somewhere that horses should have something in their guts 24 hours a day, so she gave their 13.2 pony a bale of hay a day!! She came in to where I worked at the time (a feed shop) and was asking me why she wasn't eating it all, and she was really worried she was going to get colic and die. I explained that she didn't need to eat 24/7 and she argued with me that they did. Not surprisingly the poor thing got laminitis :(

Worryingly she was DC of the Pony Club!
 
I was advised never to turn out in a sand school unsupervised, with or without forage as the horse may try to graze and ingest sand which can lead to colic. Horses are trickle feeders, but 2-3 hours witout food would be ok - most do this at events. Anything more than 6-8 hours and I would be conceerned though.
 
As the owner of a section a 2 yr old who balloned in weight early spring I am going to go against the grain here.

My vet (a senior and well experienced vet who owns ponies himself)recommended that my boy stood in the stable from 6am to 10pm with only water. When I questioned what effect that this would have on his gut I was advised that giving them nothing for that amount of time with limited grazing over night would not cause any harm what so ever.

I would not usually go against veterinary advice, but this the one time that I have. I tried this for 24 hours but it just did not sit right with me. I also thought that in the long run it would have an effect on behaviour & termperament - ie after a couple of weeks how easy would it be to catch said pony at 6am?

So whilst I do not agree with this method of weight loss it should not cause a problem with the pony's gut.

Obviously if weight was at a critical level and needed shifting quickly for the short term I would have not hesitation in doing this.
 
A grazing muzzle would be the answer for this poor horse I would have thought, and I'm not adverse to restricting horses diets (mine is at the moment) but I wouldn't be happy leaving a horse with nothing for long periods of time, they are risking hyperlipaemia if he is overweight.
 
I used to turn out my horse in a sand school for 10 mins - half an hour, he used to graze around the edges, then I read about colic and sand staying in their stomachs, that put a stop to that, I used to take him in there in hand after that, he was only allowed limited excercise at the time, he was on boxrest, not ideal having to hold onto a lame boxrested horse, trying to go loopy and me stopping him and nearly getting killed ! I didn't know about sedalin in those days ! boy I wish I did

To feed nothing at all is wrong, it should have hay at least, limited if need be, triple netted to last longer, but not to feed anything is not right
 
Unfortunately in life their really are people who will do everything they are told without thinking for themselves! Am sure if these people were told to take a long walk off a short cliff they would! I'd explain to them that I think they may have mis-interpreted what the 'expert' said and to check with her that she meant for the horse to be left in the school with no food 24/7??? If she did and the people continue to do so report it, but I think it should get sorted out once explained that the starving wasn't meant 24/7!! They could also look at a grazing muzzle for use in the field this would mean the horse could still have fibre moving through it's guts throughout the day (more natural) but as it can't eat big mouthfulls etc, it eats less, therefore keeps weight down.
 
A horses gut is designed to have food and water to go through it to keep it alive.If the horse is deprived of both of these neccessary nutrients after so many hours(12 I think from what I can recall)the gut starts to die. I certainly would never turn a horse out on sand for hours on end as already mentioned the horse will probably begin to ingest sand and be at a big risk of sand colic. Aside from that how would you feel being stuck in a boring room with nothing to eat or do for hours at a time. Adlib hay will do no horse any harm and fibre is neccessary to keep the gut working properly. Hard feed being totally cut out will not harm the horse and is most likely what was meant by this so called well to do relative.
 
My suggestion was to stick a grazing muzzle on him, so at least he's out in his field still. I didn't know about sand colic though, and am more worried now as if they would have put hay down it would have been on the floor in the sand (he gets piles of hay in field in winter/if required..or used to anyway!)

I shall speak to my friend and let her know what he's like today - if there's any evidence of him having been fed at all etc, and fingers crossed he hasn't damaged himself! Last time he was left in there for 4 or so hours by the teenager he kicked up such a fuss he gouged a hole in his heel!! And friend advised her not to leave him there again like that...but has been overruled now, grr, so annoying!

Think I'll put him in field this eve regardless and claim ignorance if challenged! lol poor pony.
 
Thanks for all the advice, off to see him shortly, just another half hour of work left! I'm really hoping I'm worrying for no reason, but I am normally pretty rational and unflappable, so think it's warranted! Fingers crossed for me (and steed) please!
 
I will say, I have a friend who is dealing with 2 horses, one of which is insulin resistant and the other just diagnosed with Cushing's. Both horses are on a heavily restricted diet which includes lack of grazing and only grass hay in carefully controlled quantities.

While it sounds like these people are just flying by the seat of their pants, I would try to get to the bottom of it to find out if there are any actual health issues (besides chubbiness) going on before going against someone's feeding plan. There may be more to the story than you know.

Just a thought.
 
baymareb said:
I will say, I have a friend who is dealing with 2 horses, one of which is insulin resistant and the other just diagnosed with Cushing's. Both horses are on a heavily restricted diet which includes lack of grazing and only grass hay in carefully controlled quantities.

While it sounds like these people are just flying by the seat of their pants, I would try to get to the bottom of it to find out if there are any actual health issues (besides chubbiness) going on before going against someone's feeding plan. There may be more to the story than you know.

Just a thought.
Click to expand...

My friend is responsible for the horse for the majority of the year as daughter who owns horse is at boarding school, and the only health issue she was made aware of over the past year she's had him was thrush in his feet which was cleared up and he's been super ever since - literally, he is fit as a fiddle, and the problem is, he's too fit for his novice rider - she goes to a show and falls off twice in an hour, friend goes to a show and is placed in three classes... It's not the horse, it's definitely the rider, just a shame the horse is being punished for being on top form!
 
I know. Some people near me have starved their ponies (who are cobby, and not fat/good doers in particular, I know, I used to own one of them) To the point they started eating anything they could get their hands on (including each other's tails :S)
 
So got more of the picture now...
Horse is getting a couple of hours turnout at lunchtime and a couple of hours in evening....and rest of time he's in sand school with no hay...in his head collar as the housekeeper can't put it on him very easily (non horsey). I explained I would not put head collar back on him in school as it's dangerous ESP as there are 3 gateways in there for him to get stuck on, and the housekeeper did seem to accept this as valid, so hopeful that suggestion will be upheld at least! Advised my friend to speak to owners and find out exactly whats going on and discuss her concerns with them. Don't think I can do any more than that, and don't really want to get more involved! Just wanted to get it off my chest!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top