weight loss and water retention

[kayjayhorses]

Well I have always struggled to keep my Mares weight down its unfortunate that it seems to go on very easy, a 3 day rest and her belly is very round.

My vet came to see her who said its water rentention and this is caused by grass and hay, so he suggested that I cut down her hay but increase her Alfa A so she gets the correct amount of bulk still.

You reduce hay by 1kg and increase the Alfa A by 800g.

It has now been 5 days and she has pee'd for England (suppose all that water had to go somewhere) and she is looking so much better, just need to keep an eye on her now especially as we're going into winter so that she doesn't lose too much.

[Jessey]

Thats really interesting, but how does hay effect the water retention, do you feed it really soaked or something?

Jx

[kayjayhorses]

Apparently that's what hay and grass does, they hold onto water within the body.
Bulk feed takes longer to break down, its in the system for a longer period of time and as its holding onto water for that duration so making the belly bloated.
Alfa A seems not to hold onto the water, must be a scientific reason (of which i'm not aware of)

This has only affected 1 of my 3 horses, it must be in her 'make-up' that makes her prone to retaining water.

No I steam my hay, its not soaked so its not the water from being soaked that causing the problem, steamed hay is damp but not drenched with water like soaking.