# overweight horse advice



## sokeldachshunds (Jun 8, 2008)

Even though i have had horses all my life I have never had to deal with an Obese horse before,when I say obese I am not joking she is Horrendously fat !
She is not my horse yet but I am considering taking her on from a neighbouring farm who is totaly neglecting her.
They have done nothing with her for the last 2 yrs that I know of and have told us they dont want her.
She just stands in the field all winter eating silage thats out for the sheep and during the summer has 10 acres of lush grass to munch on.
I was looking for another horse to drive anyway as my mare is ride only and getting on a bit.
Can anyone advise me on how the best way would be to keep her and work on getting some weight off her?


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## Fade to Grey (Nov 10, 2007)

sokeldachshunds said:


> Even though i have had horses all my life I have never had to deal with an Obese horse before,when I say obese I am not joking she is Horrendously fat !
> She is not my horse yet but I am considering taking her on from a neighbouring farm who is totaly neglecting her.
> They have done nothing with her for the last 2 yrs that I know of and have told us they dont want her.
> She just stands in the field all winter eating silage thats out for the sheep and during the summer has 10 acres of lush grass to munch on.
> ...


as with any animal you'll have to watch what she eats and start of steady with exercising and then build it up as she begins to get healthier. It'll be a fairly long process depending on how overweight she it. I don't really know much, sorry. hopefully someone else will be able to give you better advise. good luck


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## jackson (May 22, 2008)

Turnout is best really, as she will be moving around and burnign calories instea dof stood still in a box. Use a grazing muzzle like the Greenguard for her, which restricts grass intake by 70%. She can wear it 24/7. If her grazing is restricted long term it might be an idea to give her a balancer such as Top Spec Anti Lam. She will get all the vits/minerals she needs but with very few calories. You can feed it alone in a bucket, no need to add any feed. 

Start with light exercise in walk only for at least 4 weeks, gradually building up the time, then add some periods of trotting, for another 4-6 weeks, again, increasing the periods of trot, then when she is coping well with that, add some canter work.


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## sokeldachshunds (Jun 8, 2008)

Thanks thats a great help,she would only have turn out during the day anyway as we always bring my other mare in onvernight.If its dry she gets 14hrs out and 10hrs in


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## bullbreeds (Jan 14, 2008)

I would exercise her regularly and definately limit her grass intake.

Ive had to do this with mine before as come summer they blow up like balloons!

I found the best way was keeping them in during the day and out at night.


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## jackson (May 22, 2008)

I think it's 6 and 2 3's really. If you keep them in during the day, they will probably be out for more hours, but if you do turn them out at night, there is less sugar in the grasss, so less likely to be a danger. Obviously in during the day has the added bonus of gettign them out of the hot sun/flies etc. 

Definitely muzzle her whenever turned out, even if she is in for part of the day. You don't say how big she is, but obviously restrict her hay intake when she is stabled. Depending on size, 1 or two slices a night, and if you put it in one haylege (small holed) net inside another one (so in two nets effectively) it'll take her longer ot eat. If you also soak it for an hour or so it'll help remove some of the goodness.

Can you tell I am used to dealing with big fat bloaters?!


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## sokeldachshunds (Jun 8, 2008)

Thanks for the great advice,she is a 15.2 heavy weight cob,I wish she was just bloated but she has rolls of fat between her back legs and a crest.
when she comes I think she is going to have to be on limited grazing for short periods and then let her wander around the yard where she cant get grass during the rest of the day.
We dont like the horses out at night,especialy at the moment as we have horse thieves in the area,they are going around in a van taking pics and stealing to order


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## Guest (Jul 1, 2008)

When you start working her only do 10min walk to start with and gradually build it up to half hour by the end of the first week. You need to take things much slower than you would do normally because she's been out of work for such a long time. Also, carrying all the extra weight will put a strain on her heart, lungs and legs so don't be in a hurry to get her fit. Gradually push the work up to 1 1/2 hrs walking over 4-6wks then cut the time down to 1hr but start trotting, only really short, slow trots to start with. When she's used to doing a bit of trot work you can start gentle schooling and hillwork. Again build the workload up gradually before you think about cantering. 

Remember the lungs and heart will adapt to work quicker than the tendons and ligaments, so don't increase her work just because she's stopped blowing, give her legs a chance to "catch up" for a couple of weeks. Avoid too much trotting on the roads while she's so heavy, the concussion of trotting on hard ground, made worse by her weight, could give her laminitis. 

Aim for a slow steady weight loss. Whatever you do don't starve her, that will only cause more problems. One or two slices of hay for a 15.2hh overnight won't be enough, even if its in two nets so takes longer to eat. If she comes in at, say, 7pm she'll still run out way before midnight. You don't want to leave her without food for longer than 3hrs or it's bad for her gut health. Have the hay analysed so you can be sure you're not using hay with a high sugar content. If necessary soak the hay for 24hrs to remove most of the nutrients, although it comes out of the bucket smelling vile. I'd try to get hold of poor nutritional quality (not dusty or mouldy) hay first, so you don't have to soak it for so long. Definitely make sure she's gettin enough minerals/vitamins the body doesn't function as well without them. Try a supplement in a handfull of low calorie chaff or a feed balancer. If you use a balancer make sure it's not one designed to put on weight. x


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## jackson (May 22, 2008)

ceryhorse said:


> Aim for a slow steady weight loss. Whatever you do don't starve her, that will only cause more problems. One or two slices of hay for a 15.2hh overnight won't be enough, even if its in two nets so takes longer to eat. If she comes in at, say, 7pm she'll still run out way before midnight. You don't want to leave her without food for longer than 3hrs or it's bad for her gut health.


I agree with not starving her, and slow weight loss, but 1-2 slices is more Than enough hay for weight loss of a 15.2hh horse. Feeding for weight loss is at 1% of bodyweight, and 2 slices of hay would weight approx 5-6KG, which is more than enough for a 5-600KG horse (can't see many horses of 15.2hh weighing over 600KG, no matter how fat) that is also getting grass during the day.

I have had fat horses on 2 slices of hay in two haylege nets still have some left in the morning, and my 15.2hh woudl still have some of two slices left if I fed it to him on the floor.

I appreciate the colic risk, but laid back cobby types are less likely to get colic, and it is a case of weighing up the risk compared to weight loss.


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## sokeldachshunds (Jun 8, 2008)

I have no intentions of starving her,she will get so lomg in the field and then the rest of the time she will be in the yard and drive so she will not be on thick lush grass but will have grazing


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## Guest (Jul 3, 2008)

Jackson, you must have huge bales of hay! Or else your idea of a slice is bigger than mine. Anyway, whatever works for you. Any of my horses/ponies would eat a slice of hay in aprox 3/4 hr in nets, 1/2hr if it was loose on the floor. 

As for the weight, my 15hh middleweight cob weighs 550kg now, will weigh aprox 580kg by the end of the summer and even then he won't be obese, just overweight, so I can see how a 15.2hh heavyweight could easily weigh over 600kg, esp if it's obese. 

It's not colic I'm concerned about if there's no food left overnight, but the development of stomach ulcers. Horses are designed to digest food pretty much all the time and their stomachs produce acid all the time, which will eat away at whatever is in there, so if there's no food, that's the lining of the stomach. That's why I don't like to see them left without food for more than a few hours, which is what the vet would recommend too. x


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## Suzie Q (Aug 10, 2008)

HIYA,

Give 2 waffers of hay before turning her out then put her a muzzle on this stops them from wanting to pig out as soon as they get out as they are semi full it is an instinct that horse that come in over night have the need to pig out silly but true my vet told me this has worked for us hope it helps 

Suzie Q


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## pollyb (Sep 30, 2008)

You could try 'strip grazing' the feild, partitioning off a strip with electric fencing and only moving it when she's short of grass.

Theres some really good feeding advice from Badmintons top groom on a site called Horsehero. i'm sure it'll come up if you google it. There a videos too, hopefully that can help you as well!


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## mal (Nov 28, 2008)

We have show cobs and as with all heavy horses weight can be and is a problem. We use the rise and fall of the fructins in the grass to help reduce their intake of sugar. ..Before turning out we also give a measured feed so that are not hungry. It generally slows down the amount and speed that they eat at.. Worth a try...mal


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