What can I do??

Nickie

Nickie

Happy and Horse Mad
Nov 6, 2001
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Near Waltham Abbey, London, UK
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What can I do? I share a 12 year old 14.2hh welshie 4 nights a week. I am the main person who works with him. If I want to train him, compete etc then I just tell his owner what I want to do and she generally accomodates me - obviously she retains the right to stop me doing stuff if she doesn't agree. Mainly she only uses him for hacking herself, although she has competed him (jumping up to 4"9 with him until he was 8 - when he was gelded and lost his 'enthusiasm')

Well the problem is this. He is overweight. He's on 24 hour turnout in the summer and has 2 sections of hay per day (as the grass is really bad - and there is barely any of it.) If he is excersised he gets 3 quarter scoop of mix and his regular electrolyte supplement (he looses his bodysalts in the summer).

He has plenty of energy and I ride him for generally 1-2 hours of trotting / canter / jumping each time I'm there. I'm really stuck for what to do as he is not loosing any weight. It is not muscle as it is not solid - and his neck and bum feel and look fatty. When you look at him from the back end - you can see the dip where his backbone is but it is only slight.

I am not very knowledgable on feeds and how to put one together. But what can I do to get him to loose some weight? Both me and his owner would like him to loose a little bit, although it is a fairly regular occurance of him putting on weight in the summer and loosing it in the winter. It can just be down to the grass surely?

It hasn't affected his performance at all - but I am worried if he gets fatter that it could.

Any ideas and advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks!

Nicola and Brennin (pony)
 
i'd bin the hard feed, or replace it with chaff, happy hoof or hi-fi lite if you want to keep giving him something in a bucket as a reward for work, or to give supplements in.
very few natives need hard feed in the summer - remember they're designed to be scraping a living from the moors and mountains, and what looks like poor grass to you is probably more than enough nutrients for them.
our foresters are all out on poor grass, as they're prime candidates for laminitis, and get a scoop of happy hoof when they work. they're all in show condition and being worked most days.
a fatty solid crest is one of the early signs of laminitis being a danger, so you need to take action now before it happens. this year's weather has made it e really bad year for it, and it's a truly horrible condition.
 
Hi Es and Speedy,

He gets hay because the other horse who he is out with does (a 3 year old appolosa gelding). We put 2 sections in each of the two piles - his fieldmate is being 'built up' at the mo - having been brought in to be backed.

Not sure what mix he gets - his owner buys it and I never get to see the bags - but it has everything in it and contains molasses if that is any clue?

I'm just a bit worried - because I have heard his stomach making what can only be described as 'rumbling' noises. I feel guilty if I stop his hard feed altogether. I don't want him to be hungry, and I do work him (what I would call) hard. I will try giving him some chaff instead of hard feed tonight with his supplements in. I'll do that for a few weeks and see how it goes - I might even buy a weight tape. Its not perfect but I should be able to get an idea of if he is loosing or gaining.

Nicola
 
Nickie, that stomach rumbling is not a sign of hunger, but perfectly normal digestive processes, whatever Bren tries to make you believe. It's when the rumbling stops that you need to worry - that's when you've got an impacted colic or something worse.

I'd cut out the mix and the hay - or at least reduce the hay by half; if the other horse needs building up, he should be taken out of the field and fed separately. How big is the field? And when you say the grass is poor, how poor do you mean - are there bald patches in the field, or is the grass just very short? Our three are in a field that looks like a well-mown lawan - but it keeps growing, and they keep eating.
 
The Field is on a steep hill, about 2.5 times the size of our meneage (sp?). The side and front of the field are just mud, and quite waterlogged of late as drainage is bad. The top 2 thirds of the field have a short grass covering, with a number of large prickly bushes that Bren won't go near - (Rabbits live under them and jump out with machine guns mum! :D )

I be honest I would judge the grass to be ok, but have been told it is bad. I'd say about 9 of every 10 horses at our yard are being given hay and most of their fields are better than Bren's, hence I had no reason to disagree. Seems I should trust my judgement a bit more.

I brought him in last night when his fieldmate was fed, excersised him and gave him a half a scoop of chaff so he could have his supplement. He didn't look too bothered about it. (So I don't feel so guilty now.) There was a bit of hay left in the field but so little he didn't bother investigating.

I'm off to buy a weight tape at the weekend, fingers crossed I'll get a better idea of how far we have to go then, once I work out how to use it! :eek:

Can anyone suggest any reading material on horses diets and so on. General info on feeding - I've been sharing Bren a year and the only things I haven't known about when they have become an issue are feeding and first aid. I have now decided these are some of the things I should have known about first!!

Thanks for all your help! (and patience!)

Nicola
 
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