FAT PONIES & HORSES
It is always a difficult challenge to reduce the weight of a plump pony or horse. Like humans, some animals are prone to gain weight easily. Miniature ponies are typically difficult to keep slim, as are brood mares, and horses on good grazing and not in work.
Sometimes overfeeding is happening, such as grazing on short grass or mown paddocks.
It is easy to think a mown paddock has less nutrition, but in fact the sugars and starches are concentrated in the lowest part of the stem , so grazing on long, even rank grass is better for the overweight horse.
A horse kept out does not need additional feed except a small handful of fibre to mix a mineral supplement with. The grass provides a good natural balance.
Too much condition can affect movement, respiratory stress, joints etc, however, the biggest issue on the horses physiology is the possible onset of metabolic problems from excess blood glucose and insulin: such as insulin resistance, laminitis, endocrine complications such as Cushing’s disease or Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS). The link between all of these is equine obesity.
Keys are recognising the weight gain early, controlling the intake of feed, increasing exercise – even with spelling horses use large paddocks either with very little grass or long old grasses. Success with reducing fat pads ( and crested neck ) in ponies has been established by supplementing with chromium.
To know more about this topic follow the articles on this site:
