Those with fatty horses/ponies

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RachelB

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I realise this is going to be very subjective and incredibly inaccurate, but how much grass do you give your horse and how often? My example - my horse has been given (not on my advice...) a 15ft by 4ft approx. section of grass tonight, in terms of "lushness" (I told you this would be really subjective!) it's probably a 9 out of 10, and she had about half this amount last night too. She is sharing it with another horse but she's putting on weight really quickly - she's strip-grazed and the rest of her field is bare. She's at least 50kg overweight at the moment.
I don't want to seperate her from her friend, but TBH I think it's going to have to be done - the other owner has different ideas to me about what is fat and about what is hard work (she took her overweight horse out for a 2 hour hack this afternoon, hence all the grass - she doesn't want to starve him apparently). My horse is VERY fat and in walking-in-hand-5-mins-a-day work
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I am a bit upset about it TBH because I've been trying to stay on everyone's good books, but this just isn't working any more because I refuse to put my horse at risk of getting laminitis
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Hence the question - those of you who strip-graze your fatties, how much do they get?
 
We give ours a fresh 4ft x 15ft strip every 4 to 5 days and they are still having too much, so we are only letting them out from lunch time until about 7 in the evening.
 
This was what I feared - Berlin's owner is still keen on them getting grass every day but in strips, whereas I am TERRIFIED my horse will end up laminitic and think she should be having a TINY bit of extra grass once a week
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Oh well, she will just have to lump being a loner until winter
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I don't exactly strip graze but I do restrict grazing. I have two natives on a field which is an acre and a half (it's their spring/summer field). The field is divided into four sections. I put them on the field before the grass had really grown so it was fairly bare when they went on it. They move sections every day so no one section ever gets a chance to grow lush at all; each section is also at rest for three days out of every four. I do give them some timothy grass haylage to keep their innards working as there really isn't much grass for them, just nibbling amounts really.
Both are in light work and are thriving on this, not fat, not thin. And so far not a sign of laminitis.
 
The fatty ponys at the yard have 4ft x 7ft bare paddock each and every other week we extend that by 1ft into the luch grass while taking 1ft off the bare grass - if that makes sense.
Their sh!tlands though and have no respect for eletric fencing so that is what is supposed to happen when really they just have the whole field.
 
I wouldnt give any fresh grass at all as she's that over-weight. Let her nibble what she can on the grazed patch
 
I have my two good doers on about 1/2 an acre, which is very sparse indeed now. When they start pointedly eating the long lush grass on their way up to their bald patch, I move the electric fence posts a bit, giving them roughly 1 foot of "nice" grass. About every 2 weeks if they're lucky. They're out for a max 11 hours a day, in at night on shavings with 2kg hay and a gesture feed consisting of a handful of chaff and a handful of nuts. They are maintaining/losing a little rather than gaining any weight on this regime.
 
Hmmmm I was keeping my Haffie fattie on the grazed paddock and moving the electric posts but sadly shes decided that the long grass the other side is worth the zap and has been limboing through the fence (havent seen her do it, just keep finding her the wrong side). So now shes on 2 hrs turnout a day for a couple of days until the grazing muzzle haha arrives. She will not like that !!!
 
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I wouldnt give any fresh grass at all as she's that over-weight. Let her nibble what she can on the grazed patch

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Ditto, and maybe a slab of well soaked hay just to make sure she gets enough roughage
 
Could you not up the exercise for your fatty from 5 minutes a day that would help with weight loss.

My native is on a very bare paddock with 5 others and I still struggle with his weight the only way to keep it off is he is ridden 6 days a week hacking, schooling and jumping. This way he gets to live out which he loves and not turn into a ball of lard.
 
SO1 - I can't exercise her any more, she's (previously) injured.
Boss et al - we've had to let them graze a patch down as all we had a couple of months ago was lush grass with no bare patches, so she's been maintaining weight since she moved in at the beginning of May. There have been previous weight issues with all the other horses who have lived there, they seem to like them fat
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I have been keeping them on very minimal amounts of grass for a while and they've both started losing weight because I've been the only one doing them while Berlin's owner has been ill. Now she's back we are having issues again and my horse has certainly put on weight. I'd rather have her on a bare patch but someone else thinks it's cruel
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Much nicer to see them knee deep and laminitic, obviously...
The only way forward then seems to be separating them. Hopefully I may be able to wangle it that Maiden can go in with the fat little Shetland companion we have acquired; at least then she'd have some company of the same lives-off-fresh-air variety!!
 
MY two natives are on a bare paddock of about 40 x 12 and are stripped grazed into a lush one of the same size; I move the fence twice a day by a foot. The've usually eaten is in an hour! They are both about the right weight, although like yours my sec d has been injured and now back to walking an hour a day, so might be able to shift some wieght!
 
If the grass in each strip is lush, put a grazing muzzle on her. That way she can stay with her fieldmate and socialise still.
 
Your horse does not need any new fresh grass at all. Just keep it in the same fenced off area until Mid October. You want to keep it's weight down so that you can clearly see its ribs and haunches.

Also give your horse plenty of gentle excercise such as a gentle daily 4 hour hack.
 
Very few people have time to take there horse on a four hour hack.
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Plus the OP horse is recovering from an injury.
Both mine are muzzled and it has kept their weight down (My 13.2hh has lost 35 kg and my 14.3hh cob has lost 70kg in a year) however it didn't stop my pony getting laminitis.
 
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Your horse does not need any new fresh grass at all. Just keep it in the same fenced off area until Mid October. You want to keep it's weight down so that you can clearly see its ribs and haunches.
Also give your horse plenty of gentle excercise such as a gentle daily 4 hour hack.

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You think I wouldn't have done that if I could?
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I am trying to reduce the grass but as I said, the other owner is being a pain. I am trying to increase her workload but vet won't let me do more than 10 mins a day for the next week (we are increasing from 5 to 10 mins tonight if she's still sound)
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I also couldn't take her for a 4 hour hack even if I wanted; sadly I need to work to keep my horse!
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Whoever suggested the grazing muzzle - you are a genius!! I hadn't thought of that, she can have it on whenever Berlin has new grass
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You may have just solved my problems!!
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