Question
,my pony splash
hi,
I have recently bought a 14.2hh gelding,we are not quite sure of his breeding but he has feathers on his feet and is big-boned and "cobby" he lives out 24/7 but is brought in when the weather is really bad. He is being exersised up to 5 times a week but no less than 3! Right now we are hacking to get him used to traffic but with the very occasional show or hunt! Im not too sure of his body weight right now but i read an artical on weight issiues and i checked to see if i could feel his ribs and i cant! And his bottom is very apple shaped and his spine is only an indentation down his back!Im sure he cant be comfortable expecially out hunting and such but its hard to get him to sweat and he is on no hard feed at all!! he has so much potiental but i cant bring it out as he is just too fat!
please help!
AnswerDear Cherifa,
What a cute pony! Yes he sounds like the typical "good doer" that gets fat on air. He is also likely a candidate for insulin resistance which is pretty common in the pony breeds. They are able to get fat on next to nothing and cutting their feed often does little to get them to loose weight. You need to be careful because such ponies are very prone to laminitis. Keep an eye on his crest. If the fat in his crest gets hard that is an indicators that he may be on the edge of having a bought of laminitis. As for getting him to loose weight. can you strip graze him using an electric fence. Allow him to have access to only a small patch of new grass each day by moving a couple of the fence stakes back to reveal ungrazed grass. This way you can restrict his grazing intake without taking him off pasture. If he really doesn't sweat he may have a condition called anhydrosis.
This is a hard one to manage but if you can increase the length he is ridden and do lots of long slow trotting plus restrict grazing you should get there.
Best of luck,
Clair Thunes PhD,
Independent Equine Nutritionist.
Equilibrate Equine Consulting
www.equilibrateequine.com
clair@equilibrateequine.com
fully conditioned
Question
fully conditioned
hello maam. is this h
Feeding
Question
Cisco
I have a 17.2 Dutch warmblood who
sehima nervosum hay for our horses - free choice
Question
sehima sehima 1
hi maam. present
stables inside my pasture
Question
stables inside my past
hello maam, can i set l
this hay
Question
this hay
hello, what type of hay can this be?
