what would you do? dangerously fat pony

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Cathey

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my horses feild companion is a little 12hh mare who lives out all year. She is now dangerously fat, even the farrier said that its a wonder she hasnt gone off her feet and i know shes not my responsibility but i cant just watch as she gets fatter and fatter.

Her owners house overlooks the feild shes in so its not as if they cant see how fats shes getting. She was brought as a present for their little girl who can only just about ride and lost her confidence with the pony when she tried to run before she could walk as it were. Shes started having riding lessons for an hour once a week but even these are hit and miss as to wether she actually rides or not. Ponys gettin no exercise, is barly handled and i really feel for it. Its a really nice thing, just needs to be put in its place occasionally but its still only 5 and tbh has a lt of potential as a kids pony. YO has spoken to owners that they need to buy a mussle or electric fence a patch or at least RIDE the bloomin thing!! but it seems to go in one ear and out of the other!

Now i would just lunge it everyday as its no hassle for me but i dont want them to think im interfeering, especially as i would be lunging their pony outside their house! do i just put a mask on it and ask for the money for it? electric fencing a patch wouldnt really work now as theres so much grass at the moment. If only i could ride it as id like the project and she really is too good to be sat in a feild!!

Just dont know what to do! her owners are the kind of nice people that you cant get angry with without feeling bad lol.....hmmmmmmm
 
Could you not offer to help them with its schooling on the idea that its only young and the girl has lost confidence? Then explain about lunging and you could even introduce long reining.

I don't think you should lunge it or do anything else without their permission - I would be major p*ssed of if somebody did that to my ponies.
 
Can't see why fencing a patch off wont work, that's what we did. I mean at the moment there's lots of grass and a whole field to eat, when a patch is fenced once it's eaten that there is no more until the fence is moved a few inches a day.

Then you can talk to them about whether you can exercise it for them. Are they having lessons on that pony - if so talk to their instructor and get the instructor to spend a lesson showing them how to fence a corner off, poo pckc and move the fence an appropriate amount each day.
 
If they are novicey they could truely not understand the danger they are putting their pony under. I would speak to them in a friendly manner, maybe print off some lami info for them and suggest that you are more than happy to buy a muzzle for the pony and lunge it for them to keep it healthy - you can but try!

If that doesn't work point out that under the new Animal Welfare act they are liable for prosecution unless something is done ASAP!
 
I'd avoid lungeing really, as if it's unfit and obese the strain on the joints might be a bit much. Speak to them and offer to fence off a section; within a few days it'll be eaten down and she'll then start losing weight. They may just not understand the problem, but you need to find a way to motivate them to want her to lose weight - for some people the danger to the horse's health would do it, for others it may be vanity (not wanting to have a fat horse) or the threat of having to spend a large amount of money on vet bills, or the threat of prosecution as Weezy said.
 
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