Losing Weight

Question
Hi Corlena, I have an 18 year old Quarter Pony mare that I'm looking to sell. The problem is, she is pretty overweight and I have been trying to get some off. She has heaves so it's difficult to work her daily. I know trotting can help with weight loss, but my horse can't trot too much without having a coughing fit. Every night she gets a little bit of Senior grain along with our older gelding (trying to put weight on him)
So my question really is, should I look into trying a different grain, or should I stop with grain all together? And do you have any other tips on how to get her to loose weight?
Thank you :)

Answer
Hi Maddison,

Thank you for your question.  Getting weight off horses is harder to do than it would seem.  You should stop feeding your mare grain as it is contributing to the weight issue you are having with her.  Exercise will help her lose weight but that will be difficult given her issue with breathing.  You can't restrict dry matter intake too much as it will disrupt her digestive system.  If your mare is dry hay, it may help to try and find a first cut hay that has good physical quality but is a little bit more mature and therefore less energy dense.  If on dry hay, you can try the new small hole hay nets that limits how much hay your horse gets with each bite and makes the horse work a bit harder for their feed.  If your mare is on pasture you could try using a grazing muzzle on her for at least part of the day, as it too will limit how much she eat while grazing.

I hope that helps.

Thanks, Corlena