Why do so many people think its fine to have fat horses?

I find it funny that you’re the worst person in the world if you have a overweight horse but people on this forums have no problem with skinny horse. You won’t go up to a fat person a say you overweight you need to lose weight but people think it’s acceptable to go up to a horse owner a say there horse is overweight and think they have a right to give it to them. A let no talks about people who actually starve there horses just so they can stay at a perfect weight and people let there horses be freezing cold and they wonder why there horses get colic .
 
Ish2020 said:
people who actually starve there horses just so they can stay at a perfect weight
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If the horse is at a perfect weight the carer can't be starving it? Leaving without forage for extended periods is a separate issue (normally ulcers not colic) but it won't be starving.

Maybe if we did be more honest about obesity in people or kids we see it would be less of an issue (in the UK anyway it's a massive health issue for people). If people 'starved' themselves (or their kids) to be a perfect weight the UK's population health would improve beyond recognition.

The virus has had much less of an impact on developing countries (South Africa for example) even though masses of the population don't have access to clean water to wash hands. I wonder how much of that is because obesity, diabetes etc. are all big contributory factors to the virus being more than flu like.
 
Meowy Catkin said:
I was asked if my gelding - who was a growing youngster - was a rescue case on this forum. He'd just had a growth spurt and despite being well covered over his neck, shoulders and hindquarters had ribs visible.
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This is so so common with youngstock. You really don’t want them too well covered, they do go through growth periods where they look ribby. I want to cry when I see the state of some young horses in the show ring.

My current 4yo has been a fat thing through all his life until he started working. Just like his mother, lives of fresh air, work is the only thing that keeps their weight manageable. I was delighted to see a rib on him this summer after 8 weeks of work - it was a milestone ?

I’ve got two yearlings at the moment. One is nicely covered but not fat. The other you can see 5 ribs - this is normal, but the less experienced would probably faint
 
Ish2020 said:
I find it funny that you’re the worst person in the world if you have a overweight horse but people on this forums have no problem with skinny horse. You won’t go up to a fat person a say you overweight you need to lose weight but people think it’s acceptable to go up to a horse owner a say there horse is overweight and think they have a right to give it to them.
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Animal welfare is different to how someone chooses to live their life.
 
When you think about it, if it's a family member or someone you care about and you're worried about their weight - as being overweight carries health issues with it - why shouldn't you be able to have a conversation with them about it? I wish people would just be straight about these things! I'm trying to lose weight desperately and all my friends just say "oh you're not fat, you're beautiful as you are" - well that's not helpful actually, they're trying to not offend me, but they're also invalidating what I'm saying and shutting down the conversation because they deem it too awkward.

Bleurgh I think I'm overthinking things and procrastinating!
 
Ish2020 said:
I find it funny that you’re the worst person in the world if you have a overweight horse but people on this forums have no problem with skinny horse. You won’t go up to a fat person a say you overweight you need to lose weight but people think it’s acceptable to go up to a horse owner a say there horse is overweight and think they have a right to give it to them. A let no talks about people who actually starve there horses just so they can stay at a perfect weight and people let there horses be freezing cold and they wonder why there horses get colic .
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You do know that obesity is a welfare issue just as much as neglect or starvation is don’t you? If a horse is the perfect weight, they can’t be starved.
 
A ribby horse at this time of year would concern me. Leaving horses to shiver concerns me but the grossly overweight obese animals stabled 23/24 with adlib haylage horrifies me there is a far greater welfare issue with obesity than there is with lean horses and it is usually far harder to get weight off than it is to put it on
 
Ish2020 said:
I find it funny that you’re the worst person in the world if you have a overweight horse but people on this forums have no problem with skinny horse. You won’t go up to a fat person a say you overweight you need to lose weight but people think it’s acceptable to go up to a horse owner a say there horse is overweight and think they have a right to give it to them. A let no talks about people who actually starve there horses just so they can stay at a perfect weight and people let there horses be freezing cold and they wonder why there horses get colic .
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You got a fat horse, by any chance?
 
Ish2020 said:
I find it funny that you’re the worst person in the world if you have a overweight horse but people on this forums have no problem with skinny horse. You won’t go up to a fat person a say you overweight you need to lose weight but people think it’s acceptable to go up to a horse owner a say there horse is overweight and think they have a right to give it to them. A let no talks about people who actually starve there horses just so they can stay at a perfect weight and people let there horses be freezing cold and they wonder why there horses get colic .
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If a horse is the correct weight it’s not being starved .
 
Meowy Catkin said:
I was asked if my gelding - who was a growing youngster - was a rescue case on this forum. He'd just had a growth spurt and despite being well covered over his neck, shoulders and hindquarters had ribs visible.
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I bred one who was thin the whole time she just had hollow legs .She got to five growth slowed and then she was prone to be fat .
 
The skinny / fat thing is just the same with humans. People who would not dream of telling someone that they are overweight often have no problem with telling others that they are 'too skinny', even when that person may be within the healthy weight range. And if you are not overweight but refuse cakes / sweets etc everyone looks at you as if you have a problem, they don't seem to consider that some people are like me and are prone to gaining weight easily, so we have to avoid junk and limit portion sizes to stay healthy (and to be able to ride). Dogs too, the vet who operated my dog for 2 hip replacements warned me that if I have a problem with animal welfare I should get him on the phone immediately to confirm that the dog is well cared for and healthy, he said this because he also had a dog with the same deformities as mine and, as I do, he kept weight on the low end of the healthy range to prolong its life and avoid other painful conditions.

Personally I am in the 'live and let live' camp unless it is at a stage that it is a serious welfare issue that the owner is not willing to tackle. My new horse is a bit of a fatty, he is losing it since coming to me, but I would never say that the previous owner was a bad owner - she did what she could in her circumstances, I am just lucky that I am able to give him longer and more intense work. A lot of people work extremely hard to keep their horses at a good weight, and through a combination of circumstances cannot always have them in ideal condition - does not mean that they are neglectful or that the horses are not cared for. I can also say that with 1 'average', 1 good-doer and 1 who is difficult to keep weight on, that the latter is so much easier and more satisfying to manage - feeding an extra couple of meals a day is so much nicer than soaking hay and stuffing it into small holed haynets.
 
To keep blue at a 3.5/5 he has to be schooled hard 6 days a week, and sometimes I can’t do that like if the summer field is wet and slippery so he has a week off.

I try my best, he gets adlib hay in a small holed net in the winter (usually he’ll eat 3.5-4 sections a day) then when he starts dropping weight in winter he gets light chaf and a little speedibeet. We try to keep him on the slimmer end of a 3/5 BBC’s at the end of winter/coming into spring
 
Goldenstar said:
I bred one who was thin the whole time she just had hollow legs .She got to five growth slowed and then she was prone to be fat .
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Our neighbour has had the RSPCA called on him a few times for having underweight horses. They’re not. his horses are all yearlings/2/3 year olds that just look very leggy. They’re not ribby and they get Adlib hay in the winter, there is always a big round bale or 3 in their field.
 
My horses weight is a constant battle. The little eat fresh air, and yes i clip them in winter to shiver weight off. I can't control my grass, it just won't stop growing. Smaller pens cause fights. Splitting them causes panic and fences down and injuries. So the poor things do spend a lot of time stabled in summer then clipped and chucked out in winter to get skinny.

Big man is a constant battle too because he can never seem to find the inbetween. He is either morbidly obese, or anorexic. This year he is skinny and i am having to feed him up but the winter haylage is coming soon so he will pile it all on and ill find myself in Feb going wtf he needs to loose weight before summer comes lol

Its not that people just don't care about a fat horse, its that sometimes they just do strange things and you can't quite keep up no matter how strict you are.
 
Can we please stop equating horses weight with people as it is a massive oversimplification of a very complex multifactorial entity. People do frequently tell compete strangers who are overweight to their face that they need to eat less so let's not pretend please. Let's keep it to horses and maybe dogs.
Polos Mum said:
Maybe if we did be more honest about obesity in people or kids we see it would be less of an issue (in the UK anyway it's a massive health issue for people). If people 'starved' themselves (or their kids) to be a perfect weight the UK's population health would improve beyond recognition.
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This is physiologically entirely false, obese people can starve which is very dangerous crash diets are BAD for your health. Weight loss should be carefully managed. Malnutrition in the obese is a problem that 'just lose weight' not solve. Studies have shown that publicity of obesity and telling people over and over (which is what happens) more often leads to weight gain and poorer physical and mental health outcomes (even when no weight is gained). So please do not go up to strangers and tell them to lose weight.


Rant over.
Back to horses.
 
I'm not sure anyone is suggesting crash diets are the answer to either human or equine weight management. However it is an absolute fact that in the last 50 years, there has been a huge increase in the number of overweight and obese people. I believe numbers were far, far lower in the 40s and before. Childhood obesity is also increasing which is downright dangerous.
This huge increase is not down to a sudden spurt in metabolic disorders. It's down to eating more calories than they are expending, in the majority of cases. One of the effects of this is metabolic issues. They are a symptom not a cause for many though. True also for many horses. I've owned 3 PPIDs and currently have an EMS pony so I'm not just guessing. In her case, too much food = flare up of symptoms.
 
Our three were starting to carry too much weight due to a reduction in riding but when we moved to Linconshire from Essex they dropped weight. I think this is due to the grass not having so much sugars rather than stress of moving as they were very carm from day one.
 
My pony is overweight. I'm fully aware of this. I do my best to get it under control i.e clip in winter and keep rugging to a minimum, soak hay, limit portions and try to slow down eating time. I work full time but ride as often as I can.... and yet the little piggy still remains the size of a bull. Unfortunately he is a VERY good dooer and despite my best efforts remains far too plump for my liking, but I am trying.
I wouldn't take to kindly to someone taking it upon themselves to tell me how awful my pony looked. To be blunt if someone spoke to me the way the OP implied she spoke to someone about their horse's weight, they would be promptly told something which would sound very much like "duck off and mind your own ducking business" ?‍♀️
 
Equine_Dream said:
My pony is overweight. I'm fully aware of this. I do my best to get it under control i.e clip in winter and keep rugging to a minimum, soak hay, limit portions and try to slow down eating time. I work full time but ride as often as I can.... and yet the little piggy still remains the size of a bull. Unfortunately he is a VERY good dooer and despite my best efforts remains far too plump for my liking, but I am trying.
I wouldn't take to kindly to someone taking it upon themselves to tell me how awful my pony looked. To be blunt if someone spoke to me the way the OP implied she spoke to someone about their horse's weight, they would be promptly told something which would sound very much like "duck off and mind your own ducking business" ?‍♀️
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I sympathise with you here.
I must admit that I don't like the use of the word "obese", i think it is over-used and can easily put people's backs up. There doesn't seem to be many phrases used to describe horses that are slightly over-weight, horses are either "fit" or "obese"!
 
Quite timely, I have just seen a post on a FB group of a clearly overweight coloured cob. Owner saying they want to feed it up, as it was tucked up. On a ridiculous amount of feed, haylage and good grass... Thankfully most people saying it was overweight, not underweight, but still people saying the cob looks perfect! Scary that people think it is an acceptable weight, let alone that it needed more feed.
 
This is just constant nowadays - fat is normal for all pets now and it's really sad :(

I saw a facebook post earlier, someone asking if their horse it too thin when the horse wasn't far from super morbidly obese!

I got a new horse who was extremely overweight - he's lost around 80kg already and is feeling super, finally tracking up and has a spark about him and has quite a bit more to go. Previous owners just thought he was a stiff horse that wouldn't track up. The poor horse just needed to lose his big belly!

Another thing around this that gets to me is overrugging big fat horses! EUGH
 
AandK said:
Quite timely, I have just seen a post on a FB group of a clearly overweight coloured cob. Owner saying they want to feed it up, as it was tucked up. On a ridiculous amount of feed, haylage and good grass... Thankfully most people saying it was overweight, not underweight, but still people saying the cob looks perfect! Scary that people think it is an acceptable weight, let alone that it needed more feed.
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Haha this is the one that I saw!!
 
Another nice comment I've had about a sports horse I had a while ago was that he was too thin because you could ever so slightly see his ribs..... a sports horse tb type......... no
 
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