What should I be feeding my fat boy?

G

gentlegiants

New User
Joined
27 November 2010
Messages
8
Location
USA
Visit site
At the minute (16.3hh Percheron x Paint) Kieron is getting
- A scoop of coarse mix
- Ad lib forage (Hay/grass)
- Biotin, as he has poor feet
And is ridden at least 4 times a week, usually including two trial rides and two schooling sessions which are quite hard work for a big guy!

Yet he is still grossly overweight (I know I am too, maybe he thinks he shouldn't have to diet it I won't! ;)) as the picture shows. Am I feeding him wrong, does he need more work? I just don't know what to do anymore!

DSC00450-1.jpg
 
I'd ditch the coarse mix and replace it with a tiny portion of Fast Fibre - just enough to hold his biotin and add a vit/min supplement. Also soak his hay to reduce the calorie content.
 
Sorry - didn't realise you were in the USA! Those High Fibre Cubes are similar calorie level to Fast Fibre, but don't hold a supplement well unless you soak them to a mash first. Alternatively, if you can get Bailey's there, can you get their Lo Cal Balancer because you could use that instead of a vit/min supplement and you won't need Fast Fibre or Cubes then.
 
Can you get any chaff, specifically designed for good-doers or laminitis prone horses? I'd be inclined to just use a handful of this to mix your Biotin and vits/minerals in rather than using any cubes. I have a good doer pony and I feed a handful of happy Hoof chaff into which I mix her vits/minerals supplements and then just feed either soaked hay or High Fibre hay from HorseHage (although not sure whether you can get this in the US it's just an example of what I use.)
 
Well Oil is fattening.... so I'd go for something more simple. Can you get Dengie over there? Hi fi Lite would be good.

As much as ad lib hay is the ideal for a horse, when you've got a fatty I'd suggest weighing out exactly how much he should have, soaking it overnight to take out all the sugars and then giving it to him in 2 haynets one inside the other, so it takes as long as possible for him to eat it.

I have just bought my 1st horse which is a good doer and greedy (15.3hh ISH). She gets 1 scoop Hi fi twice a day and 8 kgs hay. (She then has access to a vit and min lick overnight as she's not on a "balanced" feed) she's not overweight, she's just right. But the sort that would eat everything in front of her if given the chance. To me being overweight and the damage that causes is more important to manage than her standing in her stable not eating for a few hours because she's run out of food.
 
I feel terrible seeing him turned out with the new rescues, like this :o

So, I think I'm going to start bring him in at night, and feeding him specific quantities of soaked hay (I guess I'll have to find out how much he weighs to work out how much to give). I think I'll try him on Bailey's lo cal balancer, with a small hand full of top chop lite plus his biotin.
Sound okay? I normally spend my time trying get horses to gain weight!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top