Thoughts on obesity and how to prevent it...

[BeachBreaker]

Not uproar no, but it was interesting to hear how many people would advice feeding a veteran '2 scoops of veteran mix and alfa a' for example, when there was no issue with his weight. I don't believe in feeding for feeding's sake, I had said he was on a balancer + handful of chaff.

This is one of the pics - for a horse in his 20s who had been out of work for 3 or 4 months and was therefore lacking muscle (snow! )

Obesity is a very emotive subject for a lot of people though, and I think farriers and vets would find it extremely difficult to broach the subject with them.

wow, doesn't he look great for his age! Your point about it being an emotive subject is very true...I can imagine some owners becoming extremely defensive if approached by a vet/farrier or even a friend. I suppose there is only so much you can say to somebody if they're not willing to take it on board!

 

[xRobyn]

Apologies for the lots of photos but hopefully they help to illustrate a struggle with a good doer!

My geldings obesity was all my fault. He lived on 20+ acres (never rotaed/strip grazed) with about 15 other horses 24/7/365. He was 'worked' occasionally (aka lunged or ridden for maybe 15-20 minutes a few times a week). He wasn't fed or rugged through winter, it was simply a lack of exercise and too much grass. The Spring grass tipped him over the edge and he came in on the weigh tape at 700kg

He was then on an exercise plan and had a grazing muzzle. Managed to lose about 100kg, came through winter looking like this:

I had to return to uni and despite having a muzzle on, he managed to gain back a lot of weight, so for the summer of 2010 he looked like this (not bad, but still carrying too much):

I have to credit shifting the last 60 odd kilos to a member on here who had him from April - June 2011. We both agreed that despite being on a small bald paddock, with a muzzle and without food he could still put on weight if he wasn't worked regularly! Nightmare Luckily, summer 2011 he looked like this (excuse the position ) thanks to his grazing muzzle, a quite bald (but big) field and being worked 5-6 times a week.

It's been tough this winter, he could have easily piled on the weight with box rest, but I've kept him erring on the side of a little too lean (you can see his ribs despite him having a winter coat).

My grazing muzzle is a god send. I've not tried a paddock paradise system so can't say if that would help, but I'd like to try it. Occasionally he'll have a few days stabled in summer if he starts to gain a little, with soaked hay. I just have to keep the work up to keep his weight stabilised!

ETA, he was put on the weigh bridge by spillers around the same time as the last photo and came in at 556kg, scored a perfect 3 condition score (was 510kg on the weigh tape). He is currently 480kg on the tape (lost a lot of muscle because he's been out of work for 5 months).

 

[Sophstar]

I have 2 ponies who literally live on fresh air.

1 cob who when I started full loaning him from his clueless owners was over 600kg He was just one massive blob with a little head attached. Lives out 24/7 and despite the spring grass not even popping up (just yet) he is currently being reintroduced back into his muzzle, currently in it up to 7 hours through the day to make a dent in his eating but not starving him so he gorges when he is unmuzzled. It goes on 24/7 as soon as the grass appears. Diagnosed with arthritis in his hinds and has respiratory allergies so keeping him slim is VITAL for comfort. He is currently around 528kg but once I can get back on riding without being drowned, I can get him down to 500kg mark for most of the summer. He gets 2 small feeds a day of his linseed, breathing supplements and a pinch of nuts.

1 welsh brat who is a nightmare for weight as he can escape from anywhere and always finds the greenest, lushest hay field to gorge in. Diagnosed with cushings last October so now even more paranoid. Currently comes in for 8 hours a day with small soaked haynet and then back out. Again when the grass is slightly longer he goes out in a muzzle 24/7.

Biggest problem, well on my yard is the 'my pony has the same feelings as me'...anthromorphism. We are all guilty to an extent but when it comes to food, people forget its an animal. People 'pity' my ponies because they are muzzled 24/7 through summer and continually tell me 'he looks so sad in his muzzle', call me mean because I keep their rugs off till it truly is cold to give their metabolisms a good workout and feel the necessity to give them extra hay when I have purposefully given them 1 slice of hay each on a winter night as there was plenty of grass to keep nibbling at. The other ponies in with my boys, all but 1 are overweight. One to the extent that in the light you can see a rippling of fat lumps. The owner feels cruel putting a muzzle on her and considers a 10 min half hearted trot on the lunge a good workout because she sweats up. Serious lack of education across a lot of owners.

 

[Littlelegs]

I think maybe in the case of very novice owners it should be covered more in stable management courses. Usually they're held by riding schools or colleges where its less of an issue due to work levels so could be covered more at that level.
But I do agree with rhino, over the last few years I've had the odd comment about feeding my two good doers more when in actual fact they are an ideal weight. Case in point is a family we know. Both parents & kids are pretty overweight, the little girl is the same age & height as mine & twice the width, & constantly eating. Not suprising her pony matches. It's fed ad lib haylage year round, half a bucket of feed 2x a day & is obese. Last summer at a show more than one person told the mother, in all seriousness that the child shouldn't be riding such a heavily in foal mare. She just finds it funny. By comparison, people tend to think 'mine aren't as fat as x, therefore must be ok'.
And don't realise theirs are actually quite fat too.

 

[HazyXmas]

Why no help? Unwilling to talk extensively and devise a plan or information was just not up to par?

Ok. First vet i spoke to was not about this mare but another much older (19 then) gelding, again he was coming back after injury!!!! (oh dear, there seems to be a bit of a recurring theme ) she suggested a truly tiny amount of soaked hay, from memory she said 4kg & that was to be weighed once soaked. I asked about him getting ulcers & was told that 'yes' he might get them but that they wouldn't kill him! I hasn't to add that this chap was not very overweight but he did lack muscle after box rest & his belly had dropped like a broodmare. He has never had laminitis & is still going strong now at 21.

The second time i talked to vet about the mare when she was scanned six weeks ago, i said i realised that she was carrying too much weight but she just brushed it off & didn't give any advice at all.

To be honest in both these situations maybe suggesting the track system with some advice about that or even something as simple as mixing straw with the hay, might have been helpful?

 

[amandap]

I think vets and farriers should broach it myself. I wonder if the feeding thing has a lot to do with many owners being women and the nurturing instinct?

It has taken me a long,long time to get over yarding my horses is somehow depriving them or being cruel not letting them graze to their hearts content. Fields are generally very limited in the variety of species and browse anyway. Allowing them to get fat is much more dangerous and will affect them mentally much more than restricting is my view now. However I do make every effort to provide plenty of space, shelter and variety in their lives.

ps. I really wish liveries would take limited grass turnout on board and provide more options for owners...

Now there's a subject. lol

Also a huge well done to all those posting great photo success stories.

 

[tiga71]

So I'm curious...he's your first horse...have you had much horsey/animal obesity experience previously or was this the first time you have had to manage it? If it's novice/first time owners who are unaware of this issue and how to handle it then how did you manage to combat it so well? Did you have any guidance from vets or friends or was it a management program you devised yourself?

Thanks.It still amazes me how fat he was when I look at old photos.

I had no experience with animal obesity although have always had dogs and kept them fit. I just did quite a lot of reading and I don't think understanding the problem is that difficult. I know what makes me fat and really just applied the same principle - making sure he was using more calories than he was taking in.

I have a good RI and YO who helped me when I needed it. But basically I just worked him hard and was determined to get him fit. I know he is a very good doer and at risk from lami so it is very important for him. We do a couple of 3-4 hour hacks a week, 2 lessons and a few shorter (2 hr) hacks a week. I find it easier to do plenty of work and then I don't have to worry about weighing his haylage or stressing about spring grass. He loves doing stuff so that is easy. We are also at the foot of the South Downs so we do a lot of hill work.

I don't think it is just novice/ first time owners who have this problem. Izzy came from a rescue centre and was obese. I know quite a few people on the yard who have more than 20 years experience and think Izzy works too hard but then they also wonder why their horses are fat! I think people underestimate what their horse can do - 30 mins pootling around the school is not a workout! Doing that 2 or 3 days a week and a 1 hour hack is fine to do but then you need to feed accordingly.

I also think it takes time to get them fit. Lots of people don't have the time to ride or exercise every day. I am lucky that I can as I work for myself.

 

[Jesstickle]

I know quite a few people on the yard who have more than 20 years experience and think Izzy works too hard but then they also wonder why their horses are fat! I think people underestimate what their horse can do - 30 mins pootling around the school is not a workout! Doing that 2 or 3 days a week and a 1 hour hack is fine to do but then you need to feed accordingly.

I think I love you

 

[JFTDWS]

As an owner of a couple of natives and a cob, I fully understand the difficulties in keeping weight down - especially since the cob is partially retired and one of the highlands is unbroken (due to age!). However, since I agree that equine obesity is one of the biggest welfare concerns in the UK at the moment, I do manage to maintain mine within the 2-3 "healthy" bracket as much as possible. The older highland did creep up to 3.5 whilst on box rest last year, but that was pretty unavoidable - he's now down at a solid 3.

The downside is that I regularly get told that my cob is underweight and I should be ashamed of him - especially if we venture into the show ring. He really isn't He's about a 2.5. I'd rather have him leaner at his age to minimise strain on his joints. Sadly my farrier is one who commented on him being skinny. My farrier is great with feet, but I'm not convinced he's qualified to comment on condition - he was there within a week of the vet who said he was fine!

I think that a lot of owners are oblivious to obesity - there are so many obese animals used in advertising (feed bag covers etc) and in magazines, not to mention show reports, that some genuinely don't know what a fit horse looks like. On livery yards there is a great stigma attached to a fellow livery finding your horse without forage. Whilst ad lib haylage is desirable, it's just not practical for some animals, who would do better with trickle feeding - small nets ever few hours - but that's impractical (sometimes impossible) on livery yards. Then there's the response you get on yards if you admit to feeding your horse straw instead of hay or haylage Owners also tend to like to see their horses out on lush grassy pastures, which isn't necessarily good for the beast either. Certain demographics of horse owner tend to find it very difficult to be the "bad" person who restricts their animal's feed intake and worry that their horse will not love them because of it. In those cases, I do think that education plays a big part in it - most owners do want the best for their horses, unsurprisingly! It's amazing how many vets don't mention it to owners though. I had to specifically ask the young vet who did mine's vaccs what she thought. The head vet at that practice will happily comment unprovoked though

Imho, horses don't get worked enough any more either. (Mine certainly aren't in this weather )


btw, Tiga, that transformation is excellent, well done!

 

[3BayGeldings]

People seem to forget about excercise - they cut out all the feed, leave the horse in a bare paddock, muzzle it etc etc - but don't actually ride it.

 

[JFTDWS]

People seem to forget about excercise - they cut out all the feed, leave the horse in a bare paddock, muzzle it etc etc - but don't actually ride it.

Someone near me retired their horse because it was slightly arthritic (and very overweight, against vets advice). Now it's grossly obese and crippled

 

[amandap]

People seem to forget about excercise - they cut out all the feed, leave the horse in a bare paddock, muzzle it etc etc - but don't actually ride it.

Exercize is vital imo. It helps keep the metabolic rate up.
This is where a track system is so helpful where horses can't be exercized enough.

 

[BeachBreaker]

Thank you so much for all your thoughts everybody. I can't tell you how helpful it is and now feel I can have a proper good rant in my essay! Please keep posting as I am reading them all but I really think I should go and start writing it now

 

[Black_Horse_White]

Yes I think the owner was aware of it, but had little knowledge or experience to deal with it. She came to see him after me having him for 3 weeks and was amazed at how much he had already lost, and that was with turnout and regular exercise. I've owned good doers before but none as good as this one. He is really hanging on to his weight. It's early days but my determination will get him their.

 

[BurntontheoutsideTurkey]

I think that a lot of owners are oblivious to obesity - there are so many obese animals used in advertising (feed bag covers etc) and in magazines, not to mention show reports, that some genuinely don't know what a fit horse looks like. On livery yards there is a great stigma attached to a fellow livery finding your horse without forage. Whilst ad lib haylage is desirable, it's just not practical for some animals, who would do better with trickle feeding - small nets ever few hours - but that's impractical (sometimes impossible) on livery yards. Then there's the response you get on yards if you admit to feeding your horse straw instead of hay or haylage Owners also tend to like to see their horses out on lush grassy pastures, which isn't necessarily good for the beast either. Certain demographics of horse owner tend to find it very difficult to be the "bad" person who restricts their animal's feed intake and worry that their horse will not love them because of it. In those cases, I do think that education plays a big part in it - most owners do want the best for their horses, unsurprisingly! It's amazing how many vets don't mention it to owners though. I had to specifically ask the young vet who did mine's vaccs what she thought. The head vet at that practice will happily comment unprovoked though

Imho, horses don't get worked enough any more either. (Mine certainly aren't in this weather )


btw, Tiga, that transformation is excellent, well done!

All of this ^^^

An acquaintance of mine worked hard last summer and got 40kg off her little Welshie, so he was lean and bouncing - a combination of nighttime turnout in muzzle, soaked & weighed hay, tiny feed of FF as carrier for supplements, and as much work as she could with her own terrible work schedule - only to be effectively accused of cruelty by the owner of the obese horses a few boxes down the yard... She was extremely upset, but fortunately not put off, by those comments. Other gems from the same source include 'hat-rack' (said of an OTTB at a score of about 2.5 and lacking some topline muscle) and 'she was due an attack' (said of a lami-prone shetland, when crippled with pain). When these attitudes persist among supposedly intelligent people, you've got to wonder what the future is for some horses

 

[L&M]

Sorry if this has already been said as haven't read through the whole post.

I think three main contributors to equine obesity are:

1. Less and less livery yards that offer good periods of turnout, meaning horses are getting a lot less natural excercise than they were designed for.

2. Owners lifestyles - many people work full time and have huge pressures at work, especially in the curent economic climate, and more often than not do not actually have enough time or energy to adequately excercise their horses.

3. Ad lib hay/haylage. I weigh my horses forage according to their condition and excercise regime. However tempting, and more natural it is for them to be munching all the time, if they are not getting the turnout or excercise required, this contributes to weight problems.

 

[The_snoopster]

This is my mare coming out of winter this year, and at the grand old age of 23+ I think she did a bit too well (think this was taken mid march). She started summer rations the same day as this was taken, when I first bought her over 7 years ago she was very very obese and in the first year of me owning her the saddle was adjusted 3 times to accomodate a new slimmer frame.

 

[suestowford]

I also think that a number of owners of obese animals are deluding themselves into believing they are not obese

I was one of those. My littly got terrifically fat and I was blind to it until my farrier had a go at me about it. He was right to tell me off, and I have done something about it.
It's very easy to ignore how fat they get, especially if you see your pony every day. I was glad of the wake up call, now I keep a pic of the slimline version pinned up in his shelter so I can compare it to the real thing. I don't want to get complacent again.

 

[tiga71]

I think I love you

Haha. And they say H&H is scary.

 

[tiga71]

Exercize is vital imo. It helps keep the metabolic rate up.

One of the things that I have noticed since getting my boy fit is that his weight is so much easier to manage and fluctuates less. Last year when he went on the spring grass he bloated for a week or so and had a bit of a grass belly for a couple of weeks but didn't actually put any weight on.

His metabolism is up and helps keep his weight stable. Makes it nicer for both of us as I can be more relaxed about him having treats after work and doing things like carrot stretches.

 

[zaminda]

I've had to deal with it a few times when my pony has been out on loan, and he has coome back. The last people made me really quite cross. He returned to me with fat pockets everywhere and they thought he looked good. Mind you there (qualified) instructors horse was also grossly overweight so I shouldn't be surprised.
Mine live on 15 acres, and he got chucked back in with the herd. They roam all day, and have several 'equine paths' which they follow each other on. They also like to play a lot. He started losing weight straight away.
My vet reackons 80% of lameness cases they see at the clinic are caused by obesity, and if you look through the dressage pages of H&H let alone the showing ones, you will see many overweight horses.
The problems? well people over estimate what level of work there horse is in, so many people think their horses are in medium to hard work, and feed accordingly, whereas in reality they are in light work. They keep them stabled too much, and turn out on small paddocks on their own where horses can't play, and don't because they have no company.
People don't work horses hard enough, they think as soon as they get a bit hot they have done enough.
They also over rug (I do too, but mine are slim children) and pander too much, they are horses.
But then so many of the owners are overweight too!
Feed companies have a lot to answer for too, but sometimes they are in a difficult situation, as people think the horse is doing more than it is.
We have an elderly TB/Shire who is very portly, she is also not that sound due to long term issues, she looks slim next to a lot on my friends livery yard, and she doesn't get fed, just a handful to keep her quiet.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

My lami has always been on the bigger side, he was ridden every day and have limited hay and turn out but when the snow came his exersize dropped and he got it for the first time ever.....we had bloods done after explaining to my vet that he has always had fatty patches and put weight on easliy and it was hard to come off and alot of my horsey friends had known him before we brought him as his perivous owner had him since he was weaned and kept him o the yard we brought him from...we then found out he is IR and since being on the metformin he lost loads of weight had has gain energy.

My wb put weight on when she was on regumate so had to take her off as she was getting obese and she lost 45kg in just over 5 months and is now sporting a stunning body, we did that by limited hay intake, soaking when not frosty and double netting when had to have it dry and limited grazing and upping work.

My welsh mare looks as grass and puts on a stone so with her its the same as the wb but it can be abit harder with her as she had djd in her hocks so upping work depended on how sore she was but i can honestly say that this year is the first year going into summer i am happy with her weight, i am normally limiting turnout to 4 hours a day for april, may and half of june for her which didnt help her hocks but nither did the weight gain.

Hope that helps.

Xxx