Weighed my mare...horrified

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eventer28

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She is a wide/chunky 16.2h TB x WB x CB, 9yo, 9" bone and has been having foals for the last 3 years. I used the weigh tape and was horrified to read she was 912kg. She came to me obese and have been walking her for a month on long hacks and feeding her small nets of hay (1 x 6kg of hay at night with two small feeds of hifi lite + vits/mins supp and out on poor grazing for 9h), she has lost lots of weight (shame i didnt put the weight tape on her when she arrived). She was ridden every day for first month and now i ride every other day. I Have started trotting her now (on the advice of the vet) and she is coping well. How much hay should i feed her? What would you suggest an ideal weight to be for her?
 
Don't really put a lot of faith in weight tapes (altho I may have used it wrong lol) but the other month we weight taped one of the shires and one of the hackneys and the hackney came up as weighing more which she clearly doesn't. Maybe I had it back to front or upside down lol
 
Weigh tapes are not very accurate, and do not take into account fat distribution. A mare who has been a broodmare for the last 3 years will most likely have a disproportionately big belly. Just because the weight tape says so doesn't mean she's actually 912 kgs!

However, you say she is overweight, and it sounds like you are doing the right things to get it off. If she is losing it at a steady rate then just keep doing what you're doing. One other thing to be aware of (shouldn't be much of a problem at this time of year but worth noting fro spring and autumn) is that grazing which looks poor can be providing more nutrients than you might think.

Condition score and use the weigh tape to monitor her, and make sure that she actually is getting slimmer. The important thing isn't the number on the tape, but that it is a smaller number each time.
 
The weight tape didn't even fit around my ISH mare. She's had foals for 2 years chunky ID type so I wouldn't worry too much. That said my mare IS obese - not something I'm pround of but I don't feed her concentrate and she's feeding a foal and its a foot and a half of snow. Like owner like horse I suppose!
 
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Does this work? Excuse the forced outline, obviously not me riding. From before until after it is 5 weeks..
 
pretty lady, shes got a bit of a foal tummy going on and what looks like quite a crest, but pics are hard to judge from.

my 16.2 MW IDXTB gelding is around 570kg on the tape and hes retired, took a 52" girth.
 
A friend uses her weigh tape religiously for her cob.

She went to horse camp and used the weigh bridge there and was pleased to find her weigh tape was spot on.
 
I do not rate weight tapes at all. They are completely useless IME. I have seen far more obese horses than your mare and you have made quite a difference already.

I would advise calling round local yards / equine colleges to find a weighbridge and ask if you can transport your mare there to use it. That way you have an accurate reading of her weight and can make it a monthly trip to keep an eye on it??

I know its an expensive way to do things.

Once this snow sods off and I get a spare min a work I will weigh tape a horse and then stick them on the weighbridge and let you know the difference!!
 
Don't take the weigh tape as gospel. They aren't very accurate, really only useful for seeing if there is any weight loss/gain around the girth area so you can keep an eye on it. Also weigh tapes, depending on where they are bought from...can vary greatly.

If you cannot get access to a weigh bridge then the next best thing is to use a weight calculation:

Weight(kg) = (Girth(squared) x length) then divide this all by 11,877).


http://www.effem-equine.com/Waltham - Horse/nutritional_aspects/weighing_your_horse.html#2

Use this along with condition scoring and you should be ok :)
http://www.saracen-horse-feeds.co.uk/feedcheck/condition_scoring/

Looks like mainly has a foal belly, keep up with the exercise :) She looks a hell of a lot better in the after pictures, well done!! I have always had trouble trying to get rid of my mares foal belly.
 
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I think the best measure of a horses weight is to take these before and after photos like you have done, I take mine every month or so just so i can see whether mine have gained/lost condition.

IMHO she looks a damn sight better now than when you got her, don't let the weight tape worry you.
 
Well done to you for keeping an eye on her weigh, in particular if she had an issue with it before. Perhaps get someone experienced with condition scoring to take a look?

I think she's not disasterously obese or anything, but if she tends to gain a lot when spring grass comes out it may be easier if she is a bit leaner over winter.
 
Slightly off topic (and not referring to OP) but - This is the second time in two days I've read that you should use a weighbridge to weigh your horse! - hardly realistic and completely meaningless in any case. So you know how much the horse weighs but this doesn't tell you if its overweight, the right weight or underweight because it has to be in relation to the height, type and build of horse and whether its muscle or fat.

I think condition scoring is the only way to really assess whether a horse is overweight and just like us some carry it in one place more than another so it has to be assessed over the whole body. I think photos can be good as a comparison but probably noting down the details every couple of weeks might be more accurate as photos can look deceiving.

I think she looks OK in the second photo bearing in mind the stage of work you are at and a lot of the tubby tummy look will go when her back muscles up.
 
I find weigh tapes for broodmares (or ex) are completely useless, it is the front and the bum which will tell u how well they're holding their weight. If u find it difficult to judge condition, then maybe use the tape to measure the widest points if her bum around to her stifles it something might help give a better idea.

In the pictures she looks a little overweight, but not obese, and if she were mine then I wouldn't go out of my way to fix that until February or so, as its going to be a long hard winter and she'll likely lose it by then anyway, especially if she's in work
 
If this helps my horse went to a veterinary hospital to have an op in June and was put on a weigh bridge. I was shocked as it was very different to what the weigh tape said. I asked the vet what her views were on weigh tapes and she said they are not reliable as they dont give a true reading if used alone. Her example was "a horse with large rib cage (TB) may appear to weigh more on a weigh tape than its actual weight". I personally think they give a good indication to see whether the horse has put on/lost weight, but I dont think they are accurate.
 
all ours were weighed with a weigh tape amnd then one of them went to milton keynes 3 day and went on the weigh bridge and was much more than the weigh tape. looking at your mare i would say for you the weigh tape would be very inacurate, she is very deep in the girth, has she had a few foals? she has abit of a foal belly particularly in the first. mine has a foal belly so she is never going to be streamlined.
 
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