Weight problem .........

[saldec]

Hi All,

My horse Perrie is a 15.1hh chestnut TB mare.
I have taken her off feed & she is on grass only.
My worry is that she is putting a lot of weight on.
Her last owner put her in a starvation paddock every other week to stop her putting so much weight on, but as i am not at a livery & got my own land it can't do this.
Have any of you guys got any suggestions on what i can do.
Depending on what the weather is like up in Northern Scotland as we have a lot of rain she gets hacked out 3 - 4 times a week less if it is raining.

All suggestions welcome.

Thanx

[blueequestrian]

I would suggest getting a grazing muzzle maybe. Even if you did have the facilities to put her a dry lot every other week, that can be very bad for them. Just like switching their grain all the time, can cause colic, founder (when you put them back on grass) and major stress to their body, due to the sudden change, often, if their diet. You need to be consistent with what she is eating, so with a grazing muzzle she could always eat grass, but would be limited to how much. Hope I could help, good luck.

[Showjumper]

I have fenced off a patch of field with electric fence for Dolly as she's been gaining weight ridiculously fast on just grass. This limits the amount she can eat, and when it gets bare, I can just move it out slightly to allow her access to more nice grass.