Very fat quarter horse..

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hannahlow

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I have just brought a very fat quarter horse for a project, has anyone had any experience with quarter horses? I have been told they are pot bellied with no back end? His bum litterly is on a diagonal, there is no muscle anywhere!
 
There used to be a lady down the road from me who had quarter horses (pretty champagne ones too) and they all had very large derrieres, even the foals were born with ample behinds. Yes, they had a sloping croup and low set tail compared to my arabs, but they were well muscled.

amberchampagnecolt.jpg
 
A quarter horse usually has a very strong hind quarter often with excessive muscle, they are known for their ability to cover short distances at speed so the hindquarters are generally powerful.
They can suffer from some genetic issues, of which I have no experience but it may be worth looking into it before you start trying to improve his condition in case you have to manage him rather carefully, although the pot belly could just be worms or too much grass.

http://www.equinews.com/article/common-genetic-diseases-quarter-horses
 
I have a fair bit of experience with QHs - is he from a reining line or pleasure? I am used to the reining type with big wide chests and hugs backends! Never seen one pot bellied that didn't have another problem such as worms/lack of muscle. Can't understand anyone who would say they had no bottom! They are famous for that huge a**! But saying that the pleasure horses I've seen look weedy compared the the reiners. I love QHs, have fun with him :)
 
Test it for epsm. It's rife in quarter horses and cause lack of muscle. The DNA test is fifty quid from a company in Manchester. You just send some hair. Then put him on the diet anyway in case he has the non testable version to account for his total lack of bum muscle, which is VERY wrong for a quarter horse!. 10 grams of alcar (ebay 38 a kilo) 5 grams of vitamin e and selenium (ebay from progressive earth) It's made an incredible difference to my epsm symptom horse (who tests negative).

You can use a very high oil diet instead of alcar, but you don't want to do that with a fat horse, and in any case I've found the alcar far more effective.
 
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As a QH owner, I would say that once you have wormed, some pink powder will settle his insides and then, work him hard - though building up slowly of course. They are real workhorses who need a lot of exercise to shift that fat. I love 'em.

Edited to say: they really don't need hard feed. Mine lives on HiFi lite, linseed and hay. Nothing else ever, makes him v cheap to run!
 
He's been used for English riding, I think he's just generally unfit and lacking a lot of muscle and tlc! hopefully he will start to look better after some boot camp! thanks for your help :)
 
TTK said:
As a QH owner, I would say that once you have wormed, some pink powder will settle his insides and then, work him hard - though building up slowly of course. They are real workhorses who need a lot of exercise to shift that fat. I love 'em.

Edited to say: they really don't need hard feed. Mine lives on HiFi lite, linseed and hay. Nothing else ever, makes him v cheap to run!
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Best thing you ever want to hear is a horse being cheap to run lol! I will post some before and after photos. thanks for all your help :)
 
My sister's partner has a quarter horse. He's quite fine in build, but he has a mahoosive bottom... and as others have said, they seem to live on fresh air. I think he just has a token hard feed of chaff and carrots in the winter, with plenty of hay and in the summer he just has grazing with no hard feed.
 
hannahlow said:
I have been told they are pot bellied with no back end? QUOTE]

Whoever told you that obviously doesn't know anything about QH's :D

If you are new to the breed, I suggest some reading and look at pictures, lots of pictures, of non-halter bred horses to get an idea of what they should look like.
QH's are like Tb's and Arabians etc, they come in different shapes and sizes depending on their breeding.

You have had wise words and good advice that I would only be echoing.

My Quarter Horses and Paints are generally very easy keepers, the North American version of British natives keep wise. Keep them away from lush grass if they are not doing the work to warrant it.
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