Weightwatchers. Need help??

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Anna_Briggy

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I weighed my little man today after 3months of being out of action :( he ways a shocking 520kg :O I know he's majorly overweight my YO reckons he needs to lose about 100kg which is fine I know it'll take time but has anyone got any ways to make him lose weight, He's comming back into work after 3 months off I'm starting slowly by lunging he has about half a section of hay a day a handful if feed which has his supplements in and then he's turned out for about 6hours a day on restricted grazing.

anyone got any ideas ? any help in much appreciated people :)

x
 
keep up the excersise - plenty of longreining if he's not ridden yet and once ridden lots of active walking, especially uphill if your'e in a hilly area!!
 
Slow changes, just like a human.

Gradual and life changing, not sudden and half hearted. If he gets enough fibre and his diet is balanced, do you need anything else?

A long time ago a vet told me, that sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. I was overfeeding a dartmoor pony (i was a child) and that by reducing slowly and doing more exercise (within reason would help)

I just wish I could turn this on my self with sucess!!! If only.................

Best of luck, its actually easier to sort your animal than yourself, i'm sure??? but then?
 
You don't say how big your pony is but half a section of hay day might not be enough if he is on restricted grazing. As strange as it sounds if you don't feed them enough fibre they will actually hold onto the weight as their metabolisms slow down. I would probably increase to 2-3 slices of hay a day but soak it for 12 hours first to make sure that alll the calories have been removed and its just fibre.

I'd also recommend NAF Slimline. Its a general purpose vitamin and mineral supplement but with a few added bits to speed up their metabolism and help them lose weight faster.
 
dwi said:
I would probably increase to 2-3 slices of hay a day but soak it for 12 hours first to make sure that alll the calories have been removed and its just fibre.
Click to expand...

I just want to clarify this statement in case anyone gets the wrong idea. Soaking hay will not remove ALL the calories. Soaking MAY remove a lot of the sugars (and hence some of the calories), but new research indicates that soaking may not be as effective as previously thought:

http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2009/07/047.shtml

Even if the soaking procedure is successful and removes most of the sugars, there will still be calories left in the hay because horses, unlike humans, can digest fibre and obtain calories from it.

So soaking hay is a useful tool for slimming the overweight horse, but please don't think that soaked hay is a zero calorie food.
 
Half a wedge of hay isn't enough tbh, for a horse that size, if he's only out for 6 hrs a day and in for the rest.
Can you get hold of some late cut hay and soak that.
Can he stay out on the restricted grazing (if it is suitable). At least he is moving about and not just stood in.
I have my fatties on a track round the outside of my paddock. It is worn to not alot and I spread the hay along the track so they have to move about to eat it. They get through a bale a day for a 13.3hh, a 13.1 and a shettie and are a good weight.
 
I had a similar problem with my old pony when I 1st got him. When I went to see him he was in a starvation paddock, but weighed 400kg and he is only 12.2hh. When I got him home I placed him in a small paddock, but he was so depressed being on his own (he was on his own previously, and was depressed then as well). So against all advice I was given I turned him out in my 2 acre paddock with my TB, and that did the trick. He is such a buzzy pony he marched up and down the field all day long, from grazing at the top to doing his droppings at the other end, in 6 months he had walked off all the weight he needed to lose.

However I am not advising you do this, not all ponies are like my boy, but am just suggesting that sometimes do something a little different does work.

Good Luck xxx
 
i weighed him again today and on the tape he was between 503 and 496 :) slow changes and we'll get there thanks for all the comments guys

AnnaMariee

xx
 
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