I ride her almost every day, she gets like 6 flakes of hay the whole day(that doesn't mean she eats it all about 1and a half of the flakes get trampled on or get eaten by the other horses she is pastured with) and a half scoop of grain for like the whole day. When i ride her i make her gait alot (with some cantering and galloping inbetween) becasue that is a good fat burner. She is lazy so like for example i rode her for like a hour and a half and made her gait and canter for almost the whole time(i let her walk a lil bit of course but she was a lil antsy casue she was away from her herd and WANTED to go fast for a change.)and when we were done she was hot but hardly sweaty! PLEZ!!! I NEED TO GET WEIGHT OFF HER!!!!!!!!
2006-07-19 11:26:00 · 8 answers · asked by Taylor 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Hello thank you al for answering my questions but i want to let u in to some more info that way u can justify ur answers better (not that the answers aren't already good) She has a lil problem and that problem is a fobia of being alone or being riden away from the herd or other horses (expectcily my step moms horse) she has gotten alot better from the time i got her. She is not barn sour but buddy sour and i have been working at that and she has been improving. Also i try to limit her grazing. And I dont ALWAYS give her 6 flakes (at least when I feed her) Sometimes my step mom gives them an extra flake or 2 in the afternoon. Thank you for ur awsome answers and i hope u get more.
2006-07-20 04:33:25 · update #1
ok....have her checked with a vet to make sure nothing is wrong.
here's my thing tho. she is pastured....does she need grain everyday? and how big is the scoop? is it a smaller scoop or a larger scoop? take it down to just a handful or so, if not any grain at all. grain is more for horses who are in stalls all the time and to help in the winter. also...if she is grazing all day...does she really need SIX flakes of hay a day??? it's summertime and there should be plenty of grass in that pasture....back off on that stuff.
as for her being hot but hardly sweaty...that doesn't mean she is lazy...it means she is in good muscle shape. and if she is ansty when you make her walk, don't give in to go faster...it means she is starting to get barn sour and wanting back in the herd. take her out with other horses too and that way she'll get competitive and get more of a workout. also think about taking her on some long long trail rides. all across the country they are starting to put in some really nice horse trails with safe footing to accommodate the growing group of horse riders.
2006-07-19 13:56:59 · answer #1 · answered by beckyg_98 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My horse is the same, problem is here, it's just too hot right now to ride or work him, so he gets fatter! My horse's build is really stalky and he gets fat easily. If cutting back on food is going to help I would cut back on grain. In the summer they need mostly hay and alittle grass. The riding her daily is great, she should be working some of it off. Just keep exercising her and cut back on grain some. This should do it.
2006-07-19 20:56:03 · answer #2 · answered by trainer53 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stop the grain first, and that's a lot of hay if it's good quality...
You might have your vet do a condition check next time she gets shots, or download the condition scoring chart below, that way you can tell if she's overweight or just has a stocky build.
It would be a pity to put her on a diet if she doesn't really need it.
2006-07-19 21:14:39 · answer #3 · answered by ladders_to_fire 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If she's an easy keeper, does she need so much grain? Perhaps just a handful, or perhaps you could modify the type of grain you feed. A good vet check might be in order as well. I hope you get the weight off her - founder may be an issue if it keeps going. Good luck!
2006-07-19 20:19:40 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
if she is chunky and can handle he hard work that she is being given, then she is in good shape. I wish i could say the same about my horses. At one time I did have this same problem. You can have your vet check her to see is having a thyroid problem. Try cutting back on her grain and you can try eliminating grain period. Limit her hours outside and that should take care of your problem.
2006-07-19 19:27:13 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have taken about 100 pounds off my mare by putting her in a grazing muzzle for 12 hours per day and working her every night.
We ride for about 45 minutes to 1 hour and she does a fair amount of trotting and lopeing.
But the grazing muzzle helped alot.
2006-07-19 20:08:14 · answer #6 · answered by tlctreecare 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it may be that she has a husky build. like people, some horses just arent unhealthy being fat. ask your vet to have a BMI done on her, and to see if she iis all fat or all muscle. she may be really strong... also, if she has no problem working, then i would say shes in shape. you could work her harder and harder until she sweats and then tell the vet that, but really the best bet is a BMI and heart rate analysis to see if shes just chunky or if she really is unhealthy. :)
2006-07-19 20:01:42 · answer #7 · answered by jazzmyn_girl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you might want to check and see if she has a thyroid problem. It's an easy blood test and you would just have to put her on thyro-L everyday.
2006-07-19 18:35:07 · answer #8 · answered by Alicia 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋