worried to heavy

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splashnutti1

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Hi my freind has a 15.3 heavy set irish cob mare, she weighs 15 stone. she is worrying she is to heavy?? her cob is overweight and has gone very lethargic and she thinks this is why? have told her to get some weight of her mare as this is more likely the problem?

my irish cob is 15.2 and carries me fine at 14 stone but is fit so surely her mare should carry her fine??

what do you think?
 
If she is that worried then surely the answer is to lose weight, as well as get the horse fitter/slimmer if it is overweight?
 
she is currently at slimming world so is trying to lose weight herself, she has an illness which doesnt help her weight but is doing her best lol :)

personally i think the prob is the horses weight she would be less lethargic if she lost some and was fitter. She was fine a few months ago when she was slimmer before they moved onto a paddock with rich grass and my freind was heavier then (has lost a stone)

problem is my friend hates the thought of horse going without on a diet ( she is a bit difficult lol) but keep trying to tell her is better for the mare in the long run lol.

my las is restricted and he is fine lol :)
 
splashnutti1 said:
she is currently at slimming world so is trying to lose weight herself, she has an illness which doesnt help her weight but is doing her best lol :)

personally i think the prob is the horses weight she would be less lethargic if she lost some and was fitter. She was fine a few months ago when she was slimmer before they moved onto a paddock with rich grass and my freind was heavier then (has lost a stone)

problem is my friend hates the thought of horse going without on a diet ( she is a bit difficult lol) but keep trying to tell her is better for the mare in the long run lol.

my las is restricted and he is fine lol :)
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15 stone is still quite a lot for any horse to carry. Yes, if the horse is too heavy it won't help, but I would also be encouraging your friend to lose weight for the welfare of the horse.
 
i offered to exercise her nare a bit more for her but she is happy with what she does. also ofeered to put mare with my lad on same routine but agian she said no is happy with her out on field grrrrr
:rolleyes:
is difficult cos she is a lovely person and great friend so dont want to hurt her feelings;)

i want to be hard with her in a nice way:o
 
Mickyjoe said:
15 stone is still quite a lot for any horse to carry. Yes, if the horse is too heavy it won't help, but I would also be encouraging your friend to lose weight for the welfare of the horse.
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mare is a big set heavy cob so when fit carries weight pretty well. Friend is trying to lose weight though lol :)
 
A fit heavyweight cob will carry her weight and more (saddle etc) provided the saddle is well fitted and balanced and she does not ride like a sack of spuds. Her horse will not get fit eating its head off all day and only being infrequently worked. If being nice to to her isn't hitting home then tell her straight for the horses sake!
 
If she thinks that overfeeding and under-exercising are being kind to her horse then show her some images of a laminitic horse and laminitic hooves. The WHW has some good info on keeping a horse at the correct weight and the measures that are needed for an overweight horse. She sounds as if she is a 'feeder', which is no good for man nor beast.
 
In black & white terms, on paper a 15.3 solid cob can carry 15st reasonably easily.
That said, if both are carrying a few extra pounds then a double diet may make the whole riding experience easier for both of them!
 
Bobbly said:
A fit heavyweight cob will carry her weight and more (saddle etc) provided the saddle is well fitted and balanced and she does not ride like a sack of spuds. Her horse will not get fit eating its head off all day and only being infrequently worked. If being nice to to her isn't hitting home then tell her straight for the horses sake!
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Yep saddle is fitted correctly and she is a nice rider balanced and kind hence usually horse is ok. :)

Think i am perhaps going to have to get a bit stern with her explain how much better my lad is for shifting some weight and working more so how good it would be for her mare :)

When we hacked on the weekend her mare kept stopping and having to be sent on especially uphill so obviously struggling with being overweight, ill point this out to her again, ( although didnt help when we trotted her mare suddenly became full of life humping and cantering off) so because of this she thinks she is fine.

time to get tough i feel :(
 
Your friend needs to slim down her horse as a matter of emergency. Even a horse that is not what your would obviously think of as fat, can be carrying the equivalent of two people in extra weight. My own mare a 15.3 hh WB did not look fat, but when laminitis forced me to drastically cut her diet I was able to get 130 kg off her which is more than two of me! She certainly didn't look fat to start off with (probably a 3.5 condition score). Often the first sign of low grade laminitis is lethargy. It was with my mare. She got diagnosed with a virus. But we later found it was laminitis.

So yes, your friend needs to lose some weight, but if the cob was otherwise fit, she should be able to carry her comfortably. The problem comes when the horse is overweight too. She could be carrying the equivalent of three of your friend!
 
touchstone said:
If she thinks that overfeeding and under-exercising are being kind to her horse then show her some images of a laminitic horse and laminitic hooves. The WHW has some good info on keeping a horse at the correct weight and the measures that are needed for an overweight horse. She sounds as if she is a 'feeder', which is no good for man nor beast.
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she is definately a 'feeder'!! keep telling her she will kill her with kindness!!! Is frustrating lol.

may try the pictures route hammer home hard how bad it is for her to be overweight. she does love her and would hate anything to happen to her, she needs a wake up call.
if she was on my yard i wouldnt give her a choice horse would be restricted but yard she is at doesnt care as long as they get paid, infact they are all just as bad all horses are obese, one has a cob on grass and feeds it a bucket of food everyday!! so she has noone there to guider her :(
 
Wagtail said:
Your friend needs to slim down her horse as a matter of emergency. Even a horse that is not what your would obviously think of as fat, can be carrying the equivalent of two people in extra weight. My own mare a 15.3 hh WB did not look fat, but when laminitis forced me to drastically cut her diet I was able to get 130 kg off her which is more than two of me! She certainly didn't look fat to start off with (probably a 3.5 condition score). Often the first sign of low grade laminitis is lethargy. It was with my mare. She got diagnosed with a virus. But we later found it was laminitis.

So yes, your friend needs to lose some weight, but if the cob was otherwise fit, she should be able to carry her comfortably. The problem comes when the horse is overweight too. She could be carrying the equivalent of three of your friend!
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totally agree, my lad also was a tad overweight a few months back, didnt look huge but was obviously to heavy so i slimmed him down, he is much better for it :)

will get tough on my friend x
 
I think your friend may well have some issues around equating food with kindness and care, hence both her own and her horses weight problems. It may be worth her looking at some of the self help stuff around body image (diet clubs just don't cut it IMO as they focus on food!).
 
I wasn't too heavy for my boy as he carried me fine but i do love to panic as he is a bit older now. I started walking him out in hand and lost weight really quickly! Built it up slowly but we both felt alot better! :) even now i still walk half the time to keep the weight off. definatly recommend getting fit together xx
 
Thanks everyone you have all really confirmed what i was thinking i just need to get tough :(

i am going to again suggeat she restricts her mare and exercises her more, will definately suggest walking her out to help both of them.

yorksg- you are correct she does have issues due to personal problems and illness and i try to help and support her as much as poss, i am currently am on a fitness plan myself as i want to lose 2 stone but i am increasing exercise as well as dieting, basically trying to change my lifestyle for the better as i want to shopjump my lad and feel i need to be lighter and fitter, slimmimg clubs were no use to me at all. may suggest she joins me and we do it together?

vixietrix- will suggest she walks her mare out see what she says :)
 
the lethargic horse........................if she has been turned out on rich grass then it is possible it could have early symptoms of laminitus as in bilateral lameness, are the horse feet hot, elevated pulse?
 
hollyandivy123 said:
the lethargic horse........................if she has been turned out on rich grass then it is possible it could have early symptoms of laminitus as in bilateral lameness, are the horse feet hot, elevated pulse?
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That was what I was thinking:( Perhaps a visit from the vet would be a good plan so that the vet can advise on a suitable management routine and whether the horse has laminitis.
 
hollyandivy123 said:
the lethargic horse........................if she has been turned out on rich grass then it is possible it could have early symptoms of laminitus as in bilateral lameness, are the horse feet hot, elevated pulse?
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Has never had lami but i can go down and have a feel of feet and check pulse, if there are signs i will let her know that she simply HAS to do something.

i have had horses 25 years but if im honest never had to deal with lami so isnt something i am completely clued up on, i have always gone down the prevention rather than cure root so never had to deal with it, any suggestions welcome just incase she is showing signs??

should i still encourage more she does more work?
 
could early signs of lami cause more tripping and dragging of feet?? also on the odd occasion, maybe 2 or 3 times a hack the knee to seem to collapse/jar (hard to explain lol) as mare has been doing all these, physio and saddle checked all fine there?

thanks
 
If horse HAS got laminitis then more work could be a death sentence. If you don't know or understand what you are playing with then get the vet who will (should) explain management whist there is an acute problem and ongoing to hopefully prevent future problems.
 
jemima*askin said:
If horse HAS got laminitis then more work could be a death sentence. If you don't know or understand what you are playing with then get the vet who will (should) explain management whist there is an acute problem and ongoing to hopefully prevent future problems.
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as i said above never dealt with it but will go check feet and pulse tonight (yes i do know how to do this correctly) of course if i think she MAY have signs i will tell her owner to contact vet immediatly! This is NOT my horse so i can only advise, would never dream of dealing with it myself as i dont know enough about it having never had to deal with it.

was asking for other signs so i can point them out to owner to back up my word and get my point across as she isnt easy to advise?

thanks
 
splashnutti1 said:
could early signs of lami cause more tripping and dragging of feet?? also on the odd occasion, maybe 2 or 3 times a hack the knee to seem to collapse/jar (hard to explain lol) as mare has been doing all these, physio and saddle checked all fine there?

thanks
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Yes, low grade laminitis will potentially cause all of the above. Also watch for pottery / short striding on hard ground, difficulty turning sharp circles on hard ground, puffy above the eyes and fetlocks, apathetic spaced out attitude, hard crest as well as raised digital pulses.

I hope you are able to prevent this horse getting full blown laminitis, it sounds as if it could be on the way. :(

If it does prove to be LGL I'd get it off grass and feed soaked restricted hay with a good supplement and magnesium oxide until moving comfortably and then start increasing workload while keeping grass to a minimum.
 
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How about suggesting she takes advantage of one of the free yard visits from a feed company, such as Allen & Page? They bring a weigh bridge and condition score your horse and help with feed advice.
 
Just a warning. Not all laminitics have raised pulses. In fact, I would say at least a third don't. My own mare did not have them until she was so bad she would not walk a step. The vet missed it completely. The other horse at our yard that gets it, also never has raised pulses until he can hardly move. Nowadays, my mare does get them even when it is very low grade, but in her first ever (and worst) attack, she didn't. She was checked by two vets and my farrier. None found a pulse, which is mainly why it got missed until she was really bad. Her only symptom was lethargy.
 
touchstone said:
Yes, low grade laminitis will potentially cause all of the above. Also watch for pottery / short striding on hard ground, difficulty turning sharp circles on hard ground, puffy above the eyes and fetlocks, apathetic spaced out attitude, hard crest as well as raised digital pulses.

I hope you are able to prevent this horse getting full blown laminitis, it sounds as if it could be on the way. :(

If it does prove to be LGL I'd get it off grass and feed soaked restricted hay with a good supplement and magnesium oxide until moving comfortably and then start increasing workload while keeping grass to a minimum.
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Hi this is really helpful thankyou. I will do everything in my power to prevent this horse getting full blown lami, going to have stern words with owner later and suggest she gets a vet check (maybe if i cant they can talk some sense into her)

i havent noticed any pottering or difficulty on circles but dont see horse everyday.

what supplement would you reccomend for her? i feed my lad safe and sound and lo-cal but he isnt laminitic or overweight?

Wagtail- ill keep that in mind if pulses arent raised ill check for other signs/symptoms but think vet is the best way forward is just getting the owner to accept that.

fjord -will suggest your idea to may help thanks :)
 
splashnutti1 said:
yorksg- you are correct she does have issues due to personal problems and illness and i try to help and support her as much as poss, i am currently am on a fitness plan myself as i want to lose 2 stone but i am increasing exercise as well as dieting, basically trying to change my lifestyle for the better as i want to shopjump my lad and feel i need to be lighter and fitter, slimmimg clubs were no use to me at all. may suggest she joins me and we do it together?
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This is a great idea. You can join her in it as you want to fitten up yourself, so it's more of a suggestion for something you can do together rather than telling her that she needs to lose weight.
 
I'd probably only bother with a supplement if the horse is only on soaked hay, as it won't be getting enough vits and mins. Mag ox is always useful for overweight lami types though. :)
 
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