Overweight athritic pony

[belle]

My pony has athritis, and although usually I am able to work her, due to her bog spavin, she has not been worked for a couple of months. Even though I have drastically cut down her rations, she is most definetely overweight.

I want to take control of it before she gets any bigger, and as shes such a good doer, I am worried about the risk of laminitus.

Any suggestions?

[skye]

Definately keep a eye out for laminitis,my elderly pony went down with it and he wasn't overweight or particually prone,I was told 2 wks ago he had a 1 in 4 chance of living.So please keep a really close eyeout for it!Don't starve your pony,that will lead to other problems.Feed her hi-fi lite or happy hoof with a good vitamin and mineral supplement.Restrict her grazing,ideally strip graze with electric fencing,or muzzle .Borrowing sheep etc will help keep the grass down so she won't get to much! Soaked hay has less calouries then dried so that could be a option.As she is un rideable at the moment ,would she cope with gentle walks inhand? that will help keep her joints supple and hopefully shift some weight.Do not feed any less than 1.5% of her body weight,ideally 2%.You may risk liver problems other wise.Good luck,you may find once she has lost some weight her lameness from the bog spavin will improve,also use a weigh tape to keep a eye on how much she has lost!