winter weight loss! managing expectation

[Horsekaren]

I've never been in the situation before where i am relying on winter for the boy to shed some weight.
He is 12 YO 15'2 - chunky cob - retired with wobblers

ive always found managing his weight quiet easy as he is a good doer but he can actually eat an awful lot.

He has retired to 15 acres with 4 other horses (5 in total) he has gained quiet a bit of weight over summer as it has just been an unusually wet summer so the grass never really dried up. i think the plan for winter is for them to hold off with hay until it is absolutely necessary if at all... they may possibly get a breakfast but again this may or may not happen as they all need to shed some pounds.

With a horse having access to this amount of grazing land, out 24/7 unrugged and with it being winter and the sugars being lower if you had to guess how much weight would you expect them to shed? or have you experience of this with your own. He isnt a fine breed so i dont expect him to suddenly drop but im trying to gather a realistic expectation in my head.

I cant restrict the grazing or anything like that as he is living his best life in his retired home, he is never going to get better so it is a case of him having the best happiest retirement not put him in a dusty paddock for another 20 years. I dont want to move him as 24/7 turn out is very hard to find and where he is at the moment is quiet simply magical!

 

[Shilasdair]

It's impossible to say.
I suggest you take a measure of his heart girth with a weigh tape every week which will give you some idea of his weight loss (or gain! ) then you can adjust hay rations accordingly.

 

[Horsekaren]

ooo i know its pretty impossible question lol I'm looking for reasurance that horses do shed weight in winter and it isn't a myth lol
may the weekly weigh ins commence

 

[Burnttoast]

In mild winters my New Forest (17, retired, but no health issues that impact on his weight) would shed none if I didn't take other measures. He has access to foggage or at the least a good thick sward from November and he and his mate have eaten it off by mid-Jan usually. I take them off the majority of the winter grazing before they trash it and they spend the last part of the winter on a sacrifice field/yard with rationed soaked hay. He also has a fairly serious clip - I take off about a third of his hair and don't expect to have to rug him. He never loses quite as much as I'd like but his mate is no longer such a good doer and they have to stay together so I have to strike a balance for the moment.

 

[windand rain]

I restrict access to too much foggage grazing etc they are fed daily for supplements but no hay at all unless poo drops low which is rare they poo for England. Mostt of the fatties lose between 50 and 100 kgs and come into summer able to graze Spring grass in restricted chunks on a track even the laminitic is no longer hangry as he has food all the time all be it he has to move to find it. Couldn't do it if they didn't live out 24/7 on short but green grass

 

[MotherOfChickens]

ime they lose the most in the new year-up here Jan to April give or take (depends on winter/spring, this year grass wasn't through until end of may, year before it was end of feb). Right now our grass is starting to yellow but there's still plenty of it, when its mostly gone and not yet through is when they'll drop off. And I feed hay year round, even just a little bit, as an EGS preventative measure.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Our three would probably put on weight

 

[I'm Dun]

I kept horses on a similar sort of set up, but probably only 12 acres and lots of it very very rough grazing. They only got hay if snow was on the ground thick enough to cover the grass. If Id fed hay daily they wouldnt have lost anything. You have to be very tough with good doers out 24/7 on a large acreage.

 

[pistolpete]

Thanks for this thread I’m in a similar situation. Five ponies on seven acres. Retired highland looking very ‘well’! Really hope the others hold off with hay as once someone decides to hay they all have to be.

 

[Goldenstar]

I have four out on about six acres the three in work are getting a token feed they are hunting and two are doing proper dressage training as well .
The ones in work look very very well I can’t see than I will have to feed forage in any quantity for some time .
My retired one would probably go into spring with no supplementary food if we get no prolonged snow or frozen weather .
It’s hard work good doers .

 

[Lady Jane]

Doesn't really answer your question but Itoo have a retired horse living the best life. My view is let them live the best life and what will be, will be. He isn't on super lush grazing (actually 2 horses on about 1.5 acres) but somehow ends up massive in the summer. I'm sure the huge field shelter stops too much winter weight loss but he is very content. I won't shut him on a patch of bare mud/field to make him live longer but accept the risks of what I am doing. He was retired at 13, now 17. When he was in work my approach was different - but he still ended up looking a bit too 'well'!

 

[Goldenstar]

Doesn't really answer your question but Itoo have a retired horse living the best life. My view is let them live the best life and what will be, will be. He isn't on super lush grazing (actually 2 horses on about 1.5 acres) but somehow ends up massive in the summer. I'm sure the huge field shelter stops too much winter weight loss but he is very content. I won't shut him on a patch of bare mud/field to make him live longer but accept the risks of what I am doing. He was retired at 13, now 17. When he was in work my approach was different - but he still ended up looking a bit too 'well'!

This is what I am doing with Fatty no more separation on bare bits ever if he gets sore feet he will go onwards to the paddock in the Sky .

 

[Lady Jane]

Just to add, the only time he lost loads of weight in the winter was when he had to come in for 6 weeks as he had a foot abcess. He was on as lib hay but was cleraly very stessed. He was able to go on the horse walker twice a day after about 2 weeks so wasn't shut in the whole time. He should have got even fatter

 

[myheartinahoofbeat]

Your cob sounds like he is living his best life and so he should. Probably don't want to hear this but I had a TB who was in a lovely retirement herd, no rugs, no hard feed(seemed harsh, i know!) just hay and he didn't lose much weight over the winters at all.

 

[Surbie]

I've found partial clipping and not rugging helps start the weight loss with mine. I'm not suggesting whacking it all off, but even bib & belly can be quite useful while leaving enough hairy cover on to withstand the worst of the weather.

 

[Nudibranch]

I have two on 9 acres so reasonably similar stocking density. Now I have natives, they get no hay at all in winter unless there's snow covering the ground. Even then it's limited as they do well grazing under trees and hedges where the snow is thinner.
They come out of winter still covered, no ribs in sight but less fat than summer. Normally I would clip, lightly rug and work one of them but we've had human injury, house selling and now horse injury to deal with so it's been a quiet few months.
In short, if you can stay off the hay you have a reasonable chance of weight loss, especially in a small herd with lots of room to move.

 

[SEL]

I found when mine were just on grass and no hay the big boy lost too much - but my mare still came out of winter with me hunting for ribs?

 

[Muddy unicorn]

Our retired boy is in a massive field with six others and so far this autumn he’s put on weight - he looks like he’s swallowed another horse .. he’s unclipped, unrugged, no feed, no hay, there’s not a huge amount of grass left, he’s moving around a lot on undulating ground. All the other horses are either just right or need extra feed but he really does seem to survive on fresh air