obese pony

[joop]

My pony is very fat, if I was honest he is obese. I dont think he has laminitis but he is beginning to stand a bit funny. Should I call the vet to have him looked at? I have taken him off my field which has a lot of lush grass and put him on my friends stripped grazzed area of her field. He is still finding a lot of grass though. What do you think I should do? Do you think I should bring him into his stable? Thanks for your help.

[Bebe]

You can't be too careful with laminitis. I'd take the pony off all grazing for the time being, feed lots of well soaked hay and call the vet.

[eventerbabe]

off grass and into a deep bed of shavings with limited hay. worst thing you can do is let them pig out on hay when in. laminitis starts in the gut and lots of food ontop of a malfunctioning gut is not good. and get the vet asap.

[joop]

Thanks - I wanted to call the vet but was worried I might be wasting there time but you think its ok to do so.

[chev]

Never feel you're wasting a vet's time. After all, even if there's no cause for concern, they still get paid for it!

Hope your pony isn't starting with laminitis - but echo the others about getting him in and feeding hay.

Soaking the hay removes much of the nutrition from it, so it's no longer such a problem feeding lots of it. You can also mix it with straw to keep the fibre intake up without having to worry about it being rich. It's important that you keep food in the gut - starving laminitics can be just as bad as allowing them food ad-lib. Soak his hay for 24 hours, and feed just enough that he doesn't spend long periods of time without food.

Fingers crossed for you.