Hogan now on serious diet!

[chunky monkey]

Funny enough ive felt a couple of chunkys ribs this last couple of weeks. Can see them, but he does actually look like hes lost weight too.

Billy still looks pregnant and has a dropped belly so hes got a way to go.

Ive turned both out on the new track this evening so theyll probably pile back on the pounds with the rain forecast over the next week.

 

[Huggy]

Yes, I'm concerned that we'll go from nothing to foot high lush grass, now the rains taken hold. Luckily, we have a little paddock with a tiny bit of grass, and mostly gorse and nettles. I'll put him on that if the grass goes mad.

 

[Huggy]

Still on the right track, though still can't find a rib without serious pressure!

 

[domane]

Ditto Gracie.... I have to prod but I'm starting to feel her ribs. She's is now out with the mares because I think it's easy better for her mindset than being in the little paddock next to them. She's still slowly losing weight.... down to 530 on the weight tape, but visually looking good. I have to remember that she's "chunky but funky" and will never be a Connemara But she has plenty of energy and stamina when ridden.

 

[Huggy]

Hogans down to 449 from 539. Like you, I have to remember he's the solid type.

 

[Kite_Rider]

Hogans down to 449 from 539. Like you, I have to remember he's the solid type.

That’s a good drop in weight, well done!
Belle seems to be holding a steady 438 kg now, happy with that.

 

[Huggy]

Now the grass is coming through, he's huge again! They go on a strip of new grass 10am til 5pm, then into the paddock overnight. The paddock is almost bare. I've decided to move him in there from about 2pm so he only gets 4 hrs grass instead of 7.

 

[Huggy]

When i put him in the paddock, he turned his back and refused to look at me. The last pic shows how mahoosive he's got

 

[chunky monkey]

Yep my two have put weight on again in the last two weeks. I struggled tonight to get the girth onto the first holes. Was up to 3 and 3 a couple of months ago.
I had to widen the track this week to get the grass grazed off it for safety, as we will be driving up and down it this week hay making. So yesterday they were confined to the two acre paddock and just part of the track. Once the hay is done, they are going to be restricted.
I was looking at it yesterday and think i can do it fairly easily. I am going to fence off in there two acre paddock so they just get the bottom bit which grows rough grass and a strip up through the gate. That way they should only be grazing 1.5 acres, not the 3 acres there currently browsing.

 

[Lollykay]

Oh @Huggy ! I am sorry but he needs to seriously get at least 100# off. He looks just like my Joker did when his insulin shot up to 303, Cornell marveled he was still alive, and he foundered so bad I thought I’d lose him.

Is he boarded or at home where you can monitor him?

In the U.S. we have a couple of things to put a horse on to help them lose weight. Thyro-L Is the typical go to but my lameness vet will also take the herbal route if the owner is favorable to that. I was, so he put Joker on the herbal compound Hot Hoof I.

Joker also went out to pasture wearing a muzzle that he fought for three weeks. I would have to bring him into the barn every afternoon so he could eat measured hay, drink water and eat salt. I was about to give in with the muzzle and I finally saw him eating & drinking with it.

He wore the muzzle for daily turnout seasonally. I took it off when he came in at night but I weighed his hay that I had sent out to be tested for NSC value.

The weight came off slow which was good. We fought IR for three years. He has been in remission since 2015, hasn’t worn a muzzle since 2015, and self regulates his grass & hay intake like he should.

His hooves are shot from the seroisn of the founder (he rotated almost down theu his sole on the LF), but I have a therapeutic farrier who does a bang-up job keeping him sound as is possible.

I hope you can get the weight off your horse before his Insulin goes way out of control.

 

[Jessey]

It’s so hard, Dan has suddenly put it all back on again and they’re on a mostly dirt track, but he’s the one who trims under all the fence lines, which of course look bare but only because he’s been eating it! one of the sections I took them off about 6 weeks ago already has knee height grass so I know he’s been eating a lot.

 

[domane]

Gracie is holding. She's muzzled, which I hate doing but it's the compromise as she's still much happier in the big field with the herd and I have to take into consideration the fact that stress may bring back her ulcers. We've done quite a few energetic fun rides recently, as well as normal work and she still has plenty of energy, which I'm attributing to her weight loss. Now I need to muzzle myself too

 

[Huggy]

I used to muzzle Ramsey, Hogan I can't get near with it. I've tried treats, and not even food can get me near him. He and B accepted the separation yesterday, so we'll try it for a few days.

 

[MrC]

If Faran wasn’t over 15hh now and still growing I would be concerned at his weight (490.5kg on vets weigh bridge) but as he goes chubby then shoots up or lengthwise I’m not getting too bothered at the moment. He will change balancers after this winter from a youngstock one to a lite one as that’s all he’s getting at the minute with some hifi lite and water

 

[Huggy]

Well, moved him at 1 today, and the two of them were quite happy over the fence to each other. There is literally nothing in the paddock now, so that will help - 21 hours on scrub and 3 on grass. He dejectedly wandered under the trees in the shade as soon as I put him in - no point in trying to eat something that's not there!

 

[Kite_Rider]

I think it’s quite interesting how different horses behave, Belle would cover 20 bare acres to sniff out one blade of grass, head down meticulously searching. Others like my friends horse will just stand in a corner looking dejected unless the pickings are easy. To be fair Belle is looking fabulous and her ‘track’ set up seems to be working really well. Is there anyway you could make something similar for Hogan? Not always possible though I know.

 

[Huggy]

We have the age old problem of a seriously good do-er, and a 30 year old cobXtb who is now ribby all the time. The bare paddock is my best bet atm, and its ideal when the fence is moved to allow more grass - old boy can binge, and Hogan can root around for what little there is in the paddock. To be fair, that last pic is awful - he doesn't look that bad, I just caught a terrible angle! BUT - he still needs a lot off.

 

[Huggy]

Paranoid about that AWFUL photo. This one was same day, same angle. Still waaay too fat, but a bit less horrific!

 

[Huggy]

Very pleased. He's lost 20kg in less than a week. I'll keep up the present regime until the grass is eaten down by field mate.

 

[Huggy]

Another 10kg off. He's going into the eaten down field section today, and back into the paddock when we move the fence for old B.