I have a 15 yr old gelding that is overweight. He has 24 hr access to his hay and he does not get fed grain. He is kept in a large pasture. I ride him a couple times a week and i worm him regularly. No matter how hard i try to get him to lose weight it just never seems to happen, He even looks like he is getting fatter. What can i do to get him to lose weight?
2006-11-12 13:54:04 · 11 answers · asked by Barrel_Racing_Cowgirl 3 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Some Geldings tend to be easy keepers. I would step up to riding 4-5 times a week and make sure he is breaking a very good sweat. His workout routine may not be vigorious enough. I dont' know what seat you ride, but maybe you could put some cavalleti down if you don't normally use them.
You can also lunge him if you don't have time to ride. If you continue to be concerned call the vet.
Godo luck!
2006-11-12 14:00:10 · answer #1 · answered by The OTHER Boelyn Chic 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I know I horse that was ridden every day for half of the summer. Ridden for one hour at least. She gets no grain, some hay and a couple of treats. She has not lost weight in that time period. She is what I call THE EXTREME easy keeper. This mare could not be any fatter. Her ribs are invisible and untouchable. My advice to you is maybe sneek to the barn where you keep your horse and on the days you don't ride longe him for 10 minutes or so, just be sure to make him go both ways!!! If that doesn't work then try less hay for him. Is he the dominate horse in the pasture? He could be stealing Joe Shmoe's hay. See if that is the case.
2006-11-13 20:34:49 · answer #2 · answered by georgiegal05 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
wha kind of hay are you feeding? if alfalfa switch to a 50/50 alf grass hay mix for a while then to all grass. limit how much he gets daily. only a flake in the am and 1 at night. even if you can't ride him daily, try lungeing him on the days you don't ride. the other thing that you may want to consider is have the vet out and do some blood work on him, since he is an older gelding he could have a thyroid problem like cushings disease, which they gain weight and never blow or shed their winter coats. so that is something else to think about. good luck and hope this helps.
2006-11-12 22:03:59 · answer #3 · answered by cattledog_vinnie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i had a horse with the same problem. the main reasons for this problem are often mineral deficiencies or too much sugar (insuline resistant). the mineral deficiency can be caused by dental problems, digestive issues, or lack of minerals in grass. obviously this horse is having problems, so worming regularly is probably not a good idea. wormers are very hard on their systems, and can stress a horse out. get a fecal count (ask your vets for more information) to find out if he has worms. only worm him when there are worms.
what kind of hay does he have? somewhere he is getting too much sugar in his diet. this can come from really green hay or alfalfa, sweet feed, or short grass in the pasture. some horses are out of a good mineral balance and can't handle sugars. take him off all sweet feed, alfalfa, and treats.
check out www.dynamiteonline.com for a good mineral supplement. dynamite marketing has the leading feed experts in the industry and they have top quality feeds. it's really hard to find a distributor that can sell you some, but if you're interested contact monicastapleton@ccbullrun.org.
2006-11-13 22:09:39 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As he gets older, his metabolism slows down and if he's given the same amount of food as when he was younger, he will gain weight. He sounds like an easy keeper. Start slowly taking some of the hay away until you see him lose weight, also, ride more!
Blood work from your vet would be good too.
Happy trails and God bless!
2006-11-12 22:02:12 · answer #5 · answered by wildmedicsue 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well,my horse is a little fat too,but I think as long as they are active it is better if they are a little plump,especially in the winter,helps them stay warmer. If you have access to a walker you could use that ,they use walkers alot for race horses to keep them fit. Also, I feed my horse a mixture of grass hay, all she can eat,it has less fat than alfalfa,and is more filling for them.Also make sure you have a trace mineral block,sometimes a horse will eat more than needed to fill a vitamin defenciency.
2006-11-12 22:31:09 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ration his feed. Rather than having him on a bale 24/7, invest in a pitch fork and park you bale outside the fence, then feed him 2 or 3 times a day. In addition to that, regular excercise would be beneficial. If he is active in his pasture, that will help, and not having a bale to bury his face in may contribute to athleticism, especially if it is cold, he will run around to keep himself warm, and paw in the snow looking for something to munch on. I am not sure if you are even in a snowy area, but that's how it works here. Good luck,
jouLe
2006-11-12 21:58:29 · answer #7 · answered by JouLe 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He should not have a 24 hour access to food. That's the first thing I would fix.
2006-11-12 23:03:18 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Ration his food intake.
Talk to your vet and get his/her opinion about this, he'll be able to say how much/how often you should feed.
Also try riding him daily for at least an hour
2006-11-12 23:57:30 · answer #9 · answered by Rina 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sounds like he needs more exercise. also, what kind of hay are you feeding him? coastal or alfalfa? does he have access to grass also?
2006-11-12 22:00:20 · answer #10 · answered by BringBackBubbles 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋