Tips on managing over weight Welsh A

[Perfectpony07]

Hi,
We have had a Welsh A since August.
The grass is very rich where we are, he has slowly got fatter but I noticed today his crest is really hard. No hot hoofs or anything.
Currently he lives in 3 nights a week, to try help with grass intake, I would keep him in every night but i honestly don’t have time to muck out and turn out each morning due to working long hours & having 4 kids. He stays in the nights I don’t have work the next morning.

He isn’t muzzled, the grass although rich is very very short and eaten down by him & the other pony, I’m honestly in shock he’s managed to get so fat from it tbh. He doesn’t have any Hay out in the field, only when he comes in & a little while being groomed. He’s not on hard feed.

I’ve had Welshies before but they were mine which I worked hard and never struggled with this. But this pony is a lead rein pony for my kids, although ridden 4 times a week & lunged twice, his ridden work is only walking & trotting.

The farm doesn’t allow us to section the fields to make them restricted. I’ve clipped him to an Irish clip currently unrugged.

Please any tips?
I’ve had mixed opinions on the yard, one suggesting I should fully clip him and not rug him at all over winter, to make him loose weight but this seems cruel to me, especially when stabled as he can’t move around to keep warm.


Thanks in advance

 

[Pearlsasinger]

What do you give him to eat on the nights when he is stabled? I would give him plain oat straw chaff, with very little, if any hay. I would also consider a muzzle when he is out. Because the weather has been so warm the grass has been growing much later in the year than normal, which has probably taken you by surprise.

 

[Perfectpony07]

What do you give him to eat on the nights when he is stabled? I would give him plain oat straw chaff, with very little, if any hay. I would also consider a muzzle when he is out. Because the weather has been so warm the grass has been growing much later in the year than normal, which has probably taken you by surprise.

He currently has a greedy hay net full of hay.
I don’t weight or soak it at present. But I think I should probably start. Do you think it’s ok to muzzle him now even though the grass is so short. I’m getting such mixed opinions where I am, saying I shouldn’t muzzle him because the grass isn’t long enough. It’s getting abit draining all the conflicting advice tbh x

 

[Patterdale]

How large an area is he on?

The bottom line is that he is getting too much grass. If you can’t section off the field then he will just get fatter. Bringing him in 3 nights a week won’t make any difference.

Can you move to anywhere where you can restrict grazing more? Could the farmer be talked round?

 

[P.forpony]

Make life easier on yourself, keep him out out, the more he moves around the better.
Also don't feel bad about clipping him. If he's fat he's warm!
I fully clipped my podgy shetty last year then worried I was being mean.
He was utterly unbothered! He spent all winter turned out on 4 acres of good grass and ad lib hay with the tb, still managed to loose the podge and came into spring lean.
If you're really worried you can pop a no fill on him if it's wet to keep the rain off.
But I'd rather see them a bit chilly than laminitic.

It's also been so mild the Irish won't have made much difference. Its supposed to finally be getting colder next week so hopefully that will help.

 

[Perfectpony07]

E

 

[Perfectpony07]

How large an area is he on?

The bottom line is that he is getting too much grass. If you can’t section off the field then he will just get fatter. Bringing him in 3 nights a week won’t make any difference.

Can you move to anywhere where you can restrict grazing more? Could the farmer be talked round?

You can see his field behind, this was in August when we got him, grass isn’t this lush now. It is gravel from the tractor onwards & comes straight from the fence to the left.

Honestly farmer won’t budge, they lost two horses due to laminitis here last year and he still won’t allow it. All the tiny paddocks are taken. We are on the waiting list at a different yard but no luck so far.

 

[P.forpony]

Oh he's gorgeous
looks just like my first sec A I had as a child!

Honestly I think tiny paddocks are overrated. Same problem with stabling. They just don't move around.

I'd use the time spent mucking out to exercise him. My shetty trots beside a bike to make it easier

 

[Perfectpony07]

Make life easier on yourself, keep him out out, the more he moves around the better.
Also don't feel bad about clipping him. If he's fat he's warm!
I fully clipped my podgy shetty last year then worried I was being mean.
He was utterly unbothered! He spent all winter turned out on 4 acres of good grass and ad lib hay with the tb, still managed to loose the podge and came into spring lean.
If you're really worried you can pop a no fill on him if it's wet to keep the rain off.
But I'd rather see them a bit chilly than laminitic.

It's also been so mild the Irish won't have made much difference. Its supposed to finally be getting colder next week so hopefully that will help.

Thanks did you leave him unrugged all winter? Would you recommend I see how it goes with the colder weather or just take it all off now x

 

[P.forpony]

Yep he was naked the whole time.
I bought a lightweight for him that I put on a few times to start with, but I stopped using it when I realised it was more for me, he really didn't care!

He's only a youngster so I didn't want to restrict his feed too much, and he's supposed to be a companion for the skinny TB so separating them would rather defeat the purpose.

I'd say it depends how fat yours is and how worried you are about it.
You could always go middle ground and do a high blanket, then see how he does when the weather turns.
But if you take it all off, just keep an eye on him and have a lightweight turnout handy for peace of mind.
They won't usually be bothered by dry cold. It's only cold and rain that you might need it for.

And remember they're hairy little natives, the regrowth is quick, so whatever you clip now he'll have a fair bit of regrowth in a few weeks and you can decide if you want to clip again to keep him using calories or leave it so he has a bit more weatherproofing.

I think I did mine start of October and December last year then left him to regrow because he'd lost what he needed to.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

We fully clipped my sister's section A one winter intending to rug him but first night out he tore the rug beyond repair so spent the rest of the winter naked. He was eventually put down at 30 with cushings so it didn't do him any harm and he wasn't overweight when we clipped him. Only did it because we we hunting in those days.

 

[I'm Dun]

I've never found clipping makes any difference at all. hard work or restricting intake, ideally both is the way to go. Muzzle the pony and leave him out, if he can come in to have a small net of soaked hay one a day that would be ideal.He doesnt have to stay in, just have it while hes being groomed etc.

 

[scats]

I have a Carneddau pony (little section a type) and she is out on a bareish field now (was strip grazed to get it bare) from 8-5 and then in with 2kg of soaked meadow hay and some chopped oat straw in a bucket.
She is learning to wear a muzzle in readiness for field changes and spring/summer.
She doesn’t work, her job is a companion and general cuddle machine for me.