Overweight Horse

oreilloj

Hi all,
I have a 15hh cobish horse. He is quite overweight, he lives out all year. I was wondering if any of you have any tips on getting horses to lose weight. He hates being stabled so restricting food that way is out. He is excercised approx 4 times a week, and is restricted to a small area of grazing. But he just doesnt seem to be shifting much weight at all. He is'nt given anything else other than the grass he's on!
Any advice would be appreciated!

Bellemz

Is he fat or does he just have a grass belly? A grass belly won't shift without exercise and isn't a huge problem. If he's actually fat, eg big thick neck and thick fat cover then a grazing muzzle might be an option. Make sure he still has enough grass to have a balanced healthy diet as starving an overweight horse is dangerous.

oreilloj

Dont worry I would NEVER starve him! Thanks, I think Ill try the grazing muzzle and yes, he has got the thick neck and outline. If it was just the grass belly it would be easy but he just puts on weight so easily! Thanks

convert

How much grazing is on the paddock he's in? We had a pony years ago who seemed to put on weight by just looking at grass. We restricted him to a relatively bare paddock where he had to 'work' in order to get his food - i.e. he had to walk around the field quite a bit to get all the grass he wanted - so it helped him drop weight. It isn't an instant cure, but it does help.

Sometimes a bigger paddock is better than a smaller one because the horse has to walk more.

oreilloj

You just described my lad to a T, he seems to actually inhale grass and add about 4 stone by doing so. He's in a 3 acre field but I have cornered into about a quarter of this only moving him when its pretty much threadbare, he has lost weight but I know hes still got a way to go. Thanks for the suggestions!:)
I'll definitely try getting him moving every day!

Censorsh!t

My pony was like one of those bulls you see at auctions she was so fat:p

We got a grazing muzzle for her, which did a lot of good for her, and she did lose a bit.
Then she got a drop, and the weather was disgusting so we put her into stabling, even though she absolutely hated it. However, after a week she got used to it. And it really helped with her diet, and she looks normal sized again now.

Theponylady

Have a "sacrifice area" in your field. One that is grazed down to nothing, to where you can keep him off the grass except for a few hours a day.

If he is truly obese, and the weight doesn't come off by cutting down his grass time(either via a sacrifice area, or by using a grazing muzzle), laminitis is of course a great danger. You also may want to talk to a vet. Your horse could be hypothyroid, and/or have cushings disease. Both can be life threatening if not caught and treated.

oreilloj

No he doesnt have laminitis, and not cushings, he is regularly checked by my vet, and as I said before he has lost a considerable amount but his outline is still quite large. I will definitley try all of your suggestions. The only problem is that when I restrict his intake, I worry that he's going hungry because he has been so used to more food...
I should explain that he was like this when I got him, so since I got him I've been trying to get his weight down, his previous owner just let him to his own devices really!

Censorsh!t

I'd say as long as he has a few hours of grazing spread out over the day he'll be okay!
As they say, sometimes you must be cruel to be kind. He may be somewhat hungry because of being used to eating so much, but it has to be done:)

Alibear

Personally, I would put him on a 'starvation paddock' full-time. A grazing muzzle will most likely not stay on - Most ponies seem to find a way out of them eventually!

As an alternative to grass, I would feed hay which has been soaked for a couple of hours to get rid of as much sugar in it as possible. I would also give him some Bailey's 'Lo-Cal' balancer so he's not missing any essential nutrients; it doesn't contain many calories either.

Remember it can be a slow process - Losing weight quickly is not a good thing

xBadWolfx

Bellemz wrote: »

Is he fat or does he just have a grass belly? A grass belly won't shift without exercise and isn't a huge problem. If he's actually fat, eg big thick neck and thick fat cover then a grazing muzzle might be an option. Make sure he still has enough grass to have a balanced healthy diet as starving an overweight horse is dangerous.

Does a grass belly not count as overweight? Our horses have normall faces, legs, necks and backsides but the have grass bellies - its really annoying

Bellemz

It's when a horse gets fat 'all over' - thick neck is a warning sign - that they become high risk for laminitis etc. A grass belly is just a 'full gut' from being out grazing on good grass all day