Why don't people let their horses drop off in winter?

Mine like a full English breakfast in the morning to get them going, and they like pizza and chips mostly for tea!

Seriously though, good year management is better than having to 'starve' then 'fatten up' when needed? Difficult for those with underlying issues I know, but we have 6 horses and out of all the horses we had over the years, never had the dreaded L.

We must be doing something right by regulating weight throughout the year..
 
It depends ...... so my old, very retired mare, who is a fatty, difenately puts it on in the warmer months, and while she might loose a bit over the winter, she easily gets thru the winter on her reserves without needing a cover.

I purchased a new horse in April (our autumn), she was 18 month old at the time and while she wasn't thin, she certainly wasn't carrying enough weight for a horse that age going into winter and while my preference would have been to leave her uncovered, it couldn't happen.

My two riding horses - one is doing endurance so is turned out during the winter, but covered as she is usually clipped for the late season rides and my other one works all the way thru.

My horses live out 24/7, but I do hard feed all year around and during the winter provide ad lib hay, but they all do it differently. My gelding hates the rain for example, and if we get several days of it, will just park up under the hedge and he drops weight thru just being miserable I think.
 
I agree with the poster. Too many happy hacker people I know with cobby types/natives don't winter to their advantage to allow their horses to naturally drop some condition. Coming out of winter with a well rounded animal then leads them to a summer of restricted grazing, muzzles, laminitis worries etc. My retired TB is out 24/7, rugged with ad lib hay and a daily feed of chaff, sugarbeet, and pasture mix. He always looks a bit poor come Apr but then has a lovely summer of unrestricted grazing in big fields with plenty of grass so that he's nice and rounded by Oct ready for another winter. My other ISH who is on unexpected hols at mo (I broke ankle out hunting!) is usually in plenty of work so I never need worry about him getting fat and he will get fed as appropriate to maintain condition.
 
emmah1979 said:
I agree with the poster. Too many happy hacker people I know with cobby types/natives don't winter to their advantage to allow their horses to naturally drop some condition. Coming out of winter with a well rounded animal then leads them to a summer of restricted grazing, muzzles, laminitis worries etc. My retired TB is out 24/7, rugged with ad lib hay and a daily feed of chaff, sugarbeet, and pasture mix. He always looks a bit poor come Apr but then has a lovely summer of unrestricted grazing in big fields with plenty of grass so that he's nice and rounded by Oct ready for another winter. My other ISH who is on unexpected hols at mo (I broke ankle out hunting!) is usually in plenty of work so I never need worry about him getting fat and he will get fed as appropriate to maintain condition.
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Very sensible post.

P
 
amymay said:
No. I aim to maintain a consistent weight throughout the year.
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This^^^

NellRosk said:
But isn't it the natural way of things to put on weight in summer then lose it in winter?
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I believe that with this method people can become complacent, they sometime care less when their horse is carrying too much weight going into winter and instead of actually doing something about it they let it go and rely on the winter to do the work. Such fluctuations are not all that healthy, maintaining a consistent and healthy weight is better for the horse.
 
NellRosk said:
I see so many threads in feeding about how to maintain weight in winter. I'm completely the opposite, got 2 fatties so I'm perfectly happy to let them lose a bit over winter. Makes my job of keeping them trim in summer a lot easier. Obviously I'm not talking about oldies or poor doers, but people with natives or good doers... Do any of you let your horses naturally lose weight in winter? Surely this is what they do in the wild? (Just to add mine get ad lib haylage but I do not/ will not give them masses of hard feed to maintain weight).
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Maybe what you do is correct as that is what would happen in the wild. Having said that, I wouldn't like them to go out competing if they were thin though.
 
My pony had subacute laminitis this summer. We got him late spring, He had come out of winter very poor and despite limiting his grazing and feeding soaked hay to build him up gently and not overload him he still got very mild signs. We managed it with a narrow track system and in hand walk exercise and it never developed. We have been careful with his weight as he does polarity on almost overnight and my vet has specifically advised he is allowed to drop off over winter to come into spring slightly under as this simulates the natural cycle and lessens the risk of lami. He is very very into EMS and lami and has done a lot of work on it, hence him being so sharp on picking up very subtle signs in my pony
 
NinjaPony said:
Personally I think that we should strive to maintain a healthy weight all year round. That's easier said than done if you have really good grazing but I don't believe in letting my horses' weight fall off over winter simply to make my life easier.
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Can't say I find managing natives on anything other than their native terrain is easy (or inexpensive!) - and it's not about 'letting the weight fall off', it's about taking an awful lot of care about their diet, exercise and general care, which will NOT be the same all year round.

The advice from my vets is that good-doer types should be condition score 3 about now (and they mean condition score 3, not 3 and a few 'wobbly bits'!!!), allowed to drop to the lean side of 3 by the end of the winter so there is a buffer if the spring grass comes through quickly. It is certainly not about starving them or keeping them hungry - more about learning the nutrient values of the actual grub you are offering them and ensuring that they have what they need but not what they don't.

It's certainly not a money-saving exercise either if done properly by the time you've got in a top-class mineral supplement to suit your grazing and good clean forage with low sugar/starch levels.
 
I have a native x veteran that does occasional gentle happy hacking, he lives out and is allowed to drop a bit off in the winter months, if I didn't do this I'd be battling lami by april. I think I'm doing something right as he's never had lami and I've owned him since he was 2yo. When he was stabled at night and doing more work I maintained his weight more or less constant throughout the year.
I really can't understand those who feed loads of expensive food all winter and then watch in dismay when laminitis strikes every single spring...
 
My mare has to only 'think' she has heard the hunt and she has halved in size. I don't work her in winter, and she lives out. She also won't eat up well, and will only eat pony nuts. I struggle and worry a bit, but it is what she is, and I guess it is natural. Glad I don't work her though!!
In an ordinary horse/pony, I agree with OP, they should be able to loose a bit of weight - and still look good and well, thenn pick up slowly when grass comes through.
 
Depends...Bruce is a fatty by nature, hardy and un clipped and retired: we do aim to have him drop off over winter so he's slim going in to spring. Then he is muzzled and strip grazed over the grass flush and looks just nice, Instead of the obese he would be if he came out of winter round!

The two competing horses are clipped and fit and fed to put on weight during the slightly quieter winter as they can run up light when competing regularly in the spring.
 
as with everything i do what i find is best for my individual horses rather than what other people think i should do. mine are not in work at the moment as i can't ride and went into winter well covered, i won't panic if they drop a LITTLE over winter, not enough to have people phoning the RSPCA but a few kg's won't hurt.
 
Winter is a great time to shift some excess weight off my 11.2 hh Sec A. It is so difficult to give these tiny ponies adequate exercise to counteract summer weight gain so she winters out in a well grazed field with hay throughout the day. She usually comes through a nice comfortable size in the spring.
 
MerrySherryRider said:
In the wild, horses may drop weight because forage is scarce and winter becomes a time of survival. No need for owners to replicate conditions in the wild- because we can't. No point.
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There is a point it is thought that horses produce more insulin as the summer and spring flush of grass comes through and their insulin levels are very low during winter so mimicking the natural levels of sugar and feed during the year and allowing the horses weight to fluctuate as it would in the wild would reduce the cases of insulin related laminitis and all linked conditions. The belief is that keeping horses weight consistent year round is creating lots and lots of health issues for horses.
 
No, keeping horses FAT all year round is creating health issues for horses. Maintaining a consistent healthy weight is good husbandry, for all animals (including ourselves).
 
Cortez said:
No, keeping horses FAT all year round is creating health issues for horses. Maintaining a consistent healthy weight is good husbandry, for all animals (including ourselves).
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This. If you want to get technical, HUMANS are designed to lose and gain weight - get fat in summer and lean over winter. However fluctuating weight is something we are advised against by our doctors - maintaining a healthy weight is advised.

There are people who do the 5:2 diet to mimic our 'natural' metabolism, however long term weight fluctuations between overweight and underweight aren't recommended. I would argue the same of horses.
 
NellRosk said:
I see so many threads in feeding about how to maintain weight in winter. I'm completely the opposite, got 2 fatties so I'm perfectly happy to let them lose a bit over winter. Makes my job of keeping them trim in summer a lot easier. Obviously I'm not talking about oldies or poor doers, but people with natives or good doers... Do any of you let your horses naturally lose weight in winter? Surely this is what they do in the wild? (Just to add mine get ad lib haylage but I do not/ will not give them masses of hard feed to maintain weight).
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No, I keep them at a constantly ideal weight throughout the year. But I don't feed lots of hard feed. On the contrary, just one small feed a day for their vits and mins and ad lib haylage for the poor doers, or weighed haylage for the good doers.
 
I don't believe all the people saying they feed ad lib haylage and the horses drop weight. IME if I feed ad lib haylage, they get fat! Except for the really poor doers who maintain weight.
 
I feed my horses add lib high quality haylage I restrict intake by using different nets if horses are greedy and not working hard , but they have it all the time they are stabled they stay in the field three or four hours a day this time of year .
Tatts ATM is slim and hard fit I am just upping the bucket food as he's got a lot of work coming up and has had some long hunting days .
Tatts is I would say a 2.5 /3 ATM but he's really fit and having long days so I am happy he's not lugging anything extra around as soon as he works less he will gain wieght back .
My horses eat about a small bale a day each a couple of them eat more than bale a day.
Work is the key if they work hard they can eat unlimited haylage and get slimmer and slimmer
My hunters are getting oats speedibeet Alfafa and micronised linseed on top .
I have ever owned a horse that I can't get looking well I can only assume they are like cattle if they are relaxed and content they do well .
That's what's the issue with these threads someone says I feed add lib haylage and my horses are slim that's true in my case but they are working their socks off ATM
If you have horses on add lib and they are fat look at ways of having the haylage there but reducing intake by making it more work to eat it..
 
Cortez said:
No, keeping horses FAT all year round is creating health issues for horses. Maintaining a consistent healthy weight is good husbandry, for all animals (including ourselves).
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Are you sure? There appears to be very strong scientific evidence that eating only one 500 calorie meal on two days a week carries very significant health benefits for humans.
 
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