Vet coming Friday... will he shoot me!!!

merlinsquest

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Is he really really fat?????

Now I know he doesnt need feeding up but is he really really bad....

He has one dodgy fetlock and should not be terribly overweight, but isnt a slim horse naturally. Doesnt help that he is out 24/7 and stabling not too good an idea as he gets stressed and stiff. Could section off a bit of the 10 acre field he shares with 2 others.... But he would be saaad
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But better that than ill
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Taken about three days ago... I think he looks obese
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Arse shot!! Bit of a gutter I suppose
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Taken today... Dont think he looks so bad...

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Cant have lost weight so fast so is the first one just a bad pic or the last one a good one
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He's certainly well built, but I wouldn't say he looks obese. He looks fighting fit!! Know what you mean about vets though, we used to get it every time we took our dog (and I certainly didn't think he looked that bad) The vet ended up enroling Harvey in the 'tubby club' (not good for doggy street cred!!)
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Just checked the camera.... first pics taken yesterday so cant have lost weight so quickly....

From the lack of relpies I can only conclude that I should get my blindfold out!!!
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Please let me have your opinions
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He's certainly not obese, but yes, I think he would be better carrying a little less weight for this time of year.

10 acres is a lot of land for 3 horses - what sort of condition are the others in? Could you split the field and let them eat a smaller area down?

He looks really healthy btw, and has a great coat
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Thats what worries me most really.... the field is lush and although he has been in here for a year and then for two years before that (one year away from yard) with no ill effects.... you cant be complacent!!

I have split the field in two.... but it has been opened up again because the two horses he shares with are elderly and need the good grass
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so I cant really win unless I keep him in a much smaller part on his own. I think he would be ok, but not extatic about being alone.

Suppose I will just have to ride him twice as much and maybe keep him in for a few hours a day..... not sure he wont just eat faster when he goes out though!!!

In some lights he looks gross, in others he looks fine. He isnt struggling to go for a 1 1/2 hour hack either, in a good fast walk the whole way, with some trot and canter work. And as Lozz says in the post above, she rode him on sunday and he was fine!!
 
Is he testing the leccy fencing with his poll in the first pic?
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He looks absolutely fabulous in the last picture after his bath
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You must be sooooooooooooo careful of the grass and the dreaded Laminitis, as it is a horrid condition, that no owner wants to see
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I dont think he's fat, he looks great in the last piccy

Im sticking up for all gutter bums out there
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My boy has one and Im always getting stick for him being fat. He is well built, ok a tidge overweight but I can feel his ribs, just and he has always had a peachy bum. I have pics of him as a lean yearling and he has one then. He is TB x SHire x ID.
Do you think some horses are just built like this?
 
He He..... just testing if it was high enough to get under..... this is a little bit we have fenced off for the older horses to be fed in (strangely enough for merlins safety as they are a bit dominant with food )
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.... and I had him in there trying to take pictures
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I dont think he was as close as he looks..... but when I went to get him he span round and thundered back to the main gate coz he though I wanted to catch him again
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I thought he looked good in the last one too..... surely not a bath!!!! I thought he was just super shiney!!!!
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Just show what a difference it can make..... perhaps he shrunk.... maybe if I bath him tomorrow and thurs, I wont get roasted!!
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I thought he looked good in the last one too..... surely not a bath!!!! I thought he was just super shiney!!!!



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So sorry I thought he had had a bath as he is as shiny as a pin
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Sorry,.... I was pulling your leg...... he had just had a bath!!!!! Otherwise this would be a 'how bloody shiney is my horse' post!!!!!
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Few more baths might shrink him further!!! And at least if he isnt caked in mud the vet might think that I care!!!!
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Gutter Bums United, then?
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My boy has what's called an Apfelarsch (apple 'bottom'!
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), and when he's top fit, it's really quite prominent. He's driven a lot, which builds these muscles, and the gutter holds the crupper quite nicely. The cold blood breeds here are marked down if the gutter is not really well defined. So yes, some horses are bred like this and some are just born this way....Either way, I love 'em like this.
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Sorry,.... I was pulling your leg...... he had just had a bath!!!!! Otherwise this would be a 'how bloody shiney is my horse' post!!!!!


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PMSLOL
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Can you wrap him up tightly in cling film for 6 hours before the vet comes? - apparently its great for weight loss!!
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Failing that, if you keep him in during the day and turn him out at night, apparently (or so it says in Rider magazine today) that the grass doesn't have such a high sugar content during the night.

Actually I don't think he looks too bad but I would just be a bit worried about how much extra he gains from now on - I find it a nightmare to keep the weight off mine in the summer. They have been out for just two days now and already they have blown up and showing a grass belly!
 
Was thinking I may have to keep him in for a bit during the day....... maybe bring him in at nine.... ride him from ten till twelve??? and then turn out at three/four when I get the kids from school.

Might be an idea.

I will see how the vet reacts too, he has seen him regularly for the last 2 years
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so will be able to tell me if he thinks he is a blubber guts or not!!!

Cling film sounds like a viable idea too!!!
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Unless he has ballooned since our hack last week, then it is O.K.!!!! One thing though, was he stand square for the bum shot??? Coz his right hip looks much higher, than his left (but if he wasn't stood square that would explain it)!!!!
 
I don't think the vet will shoot you - he's not really fat - he's about the same as my mare at the moment - same build... and same three white socks too! But I think you might have to change his grazing arrangments or something so he doesn't get any plumper as the grass gets better. I'm determined mine doesn't get any bigger - she is the world's greatest good doer and only just coming back into work after injury so can't do more exercise yet but is finally getting the hang of a grazing muzzle. Good luck!
 
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It just goes to show how misleading photos can be, doesn't it! In the first photo he looks fat, in the last photo he look fabulous!!
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Thanks for all the comments..... especially the nice ones
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PiebaldSparkle..... he was wandering round the field eating at the time of the pic, so in no way was square, though for all I can see he could be lop sided
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........ He rests a leg constantly (either one) so is really hard to get to stand square.... and hopefully he hasnt ballooned, but then again, he does look big
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2K85 and thistle..... whispers, he has four whites but one hidden by wet tail
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Muzzle not an option really... he would hate it and wont even keep a fly mask on
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Tia..... I know what you mean.... the pics were taken 24 hours apart... .I went back and checked the dates (could not remember.... der)!!! Maybe coz he was wet he looked thinner, he still has some fluff to lose off his tum for some reason?? Thanks for saying he looks fab too
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