obestity?

hay burner · 03-24-2004, 01:22 PM

I have a QH mare that is very very fat!!! But we cant get the weight off her she is in the bottom of the pecking order and only get grass hay and a small amount of oats each morning i cant cut diwn on her oats because there are six other horses in he pasture i cant put her anywhere else because all the calves take up the rest of the pastures and the other mare is foaling soon and can be visious what can I do to keep the wait off!! and whats you opinion of obestity how heavy does your horse have to be to be obese?

CJ · 03-24-2004, 02:25 PM

What most people don't realize is that Fat is not just a cosmetic problem. It can also be used to protect organs, and when there's too much, it can compromise those organs, including the heart. One on my boss' horses died of rampant fat, which ultimately caused a heart attack. Signs of obesity include a huge crest (top of neck) thick neck, lack of throatlatch, spine valleyed between pillows of back fat, indiscernible (at touch) ribs, extremely convex muscles on the rump. Not to be confused with the stereotypical Qtr Horse butt, which can be muscular. If you pat the flesh & it splashes, that's not muscular. As for slimming down your mare, how about swapping quality for quantity; a few oats may supply all the energy she needs, but she may have to work harder to get as much energy out of a low/er protein grain or pellet. It's called a catabolic state- using more energy to process food than the food consumed provides. Talk to your vet about a safe diet plan. And if you don't have a weight tape, get one. They come in handy.

MissBandit · 03-24-2004, 03:45 PM

Are you working this mare? Just knocking her caloric intake won't alone be enough to get the weight off. It will also require AEROBIC exercise, get her to sweat. If this horse has not been worked regularly, then you need to slowly build up her cardio. Use common sense, imagine it were you. You wouldn't just dive into a program of constant running until you were drop dead exhuasted.

Please read this link on how to body score your horse so that you have a better understanding of their actual condition.

Body Scoring

BTW, here is a pic of my old horse when we aquired him.

This is an obese horse...

This is after almost a full year of working it off...

hay burner · 03-24-2004, 04:04 PM

well i dont't think my horse is obese but it is kind of hard to ride her because she is 20 years old and not very well broke! any other ideas? but i am sure she is just fat

MissBandit · 03-24-2004, 06:36 PM

Oh. Well, then what body score is she at? If she's a 5 or 6 then I'd say that for her age, it's not really a bad thing to have a little extra flesh on her. A lot of owners of aging horses have the exact opposit problem, an older horse who can no longer keep weight on. If she's in that body scoring range, then I'd be ok with that. It's harder to put weight on then it is to get weight off of an older horse.

Dawn · 03-25-2004, 07:02 AM

Is she fat? Or does she just not have any muscle tone? An unworked horse of that age is going to be rather "flabby" even if they are actually underweight. You can try doing roundpen work with her to keep her moving. Does she have any joint problems? Can you post a picture of her?

Why can you not stop the oats? I'm afraid that I didn't quite understand that.

hay burner · 03-25-2004, 02:52 PM

i cant stop the oats because it is freezing cold out and it is hard to do becuase all pastures are occupied but the one she is in and that one happens to have six other horses in it that have to have grain because we have cow horses barrel racer and a racehorse

Dawn · 03-25-2004, 04:15 PM

What do oats have to do with the temperature? Why does she have to have oats because the others do?

hay burner · 03-25-2004, 06:00 PM

because she will just end up eating theres or another horse will end up not getting one

Dawn · 03-25-2004, 06:02 PM

So these horses are just allowed to eat their oats without being made to eat just their own? Sorry if that didn't make any sense. In other words, you have no idea if someone is getting one scoop or hogging someone else's as well and getting 2 scoops (just as an example.) Can she not be tied while the others are being fed? Her health is really more important, or at least I would think. How much are you feeding her?

03-24-2004, 01:22 PM	#1
hay burner Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Kamloops Posts: 927	obestity? I have a QH mare that is very very fat!!! But we cant get the weight off her she is in the bottom of the pecking order and only get grass hay and a small amount of oats each morning i cant cut diwn on her oats because there are six other horses in he pasture i cant put her anywhere else because all the calves take up the rest of the pastures and the other mare is foaling soon and can be visious what can I do to keep the wait off!! and whats you opinion of obestity how heavy does your horse have to be to be obese?

03-24-2004, 02:25 PM	#2
CJ Senior Member+ Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: NJ Posts: 5,750 Images: 48	What most people don't realize is that Fat is not just a cosmetic problem. It can also be used to protect organs, and when there's too much, it can compromise those organs, including the heart. One on my boss' horses died of rampant fat, which ultimately caused a heart attack. Signs of obesity include a huge crest (top of neck) thick neck, lack of throatlatch, spine valleyed between pillows of back fat, indiscernible (at touch) ribs, extremely convex muscles on the rump. Not to be confused with the stereotypical Qtr Horse butt, which can be muscular. If you pat the flesh & it splashes, that's not muscular. As for slimming down your mare, how about swapping quality for quantity; a few oats may supply all the energy she needs, but she may have to work harder to get as much energy out of a low/er protein grain or pellet. It's called a catabolic state- using more energy to process food than the food consumed provides. Talk to your vet about a safe diet plan. And if you don't have a weight tape, get one. They come in handy. __________________ One Mare Can Make a Difference Pinky Ribbon

03-24-2004, 03:45 PM	#3
MissBandit Senior Member+ Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 13,218 Images: 300 Blog Entries: 43	Are you working this mare? Just knocking her caloric intake won't alone be enough to get the weight off. It will also require AEROBIC exercise, get her to sweat. If this horse has not been worked regularly, then you need to slowly build up her cardio. Use common sense, imagine it were you. You wouldn't just dive into a program of constant running until you were drop dead exhuasted. Please read this link on how to body score your horse so that you have a better understanding of their actual condition. Body Scoring BTW, here is a pic of my old horse when we aquired him. This is an obese horse... This is after almost a full year of working it off... __________________ Founder is the #2 killer of horses. Learn how to prevent, spot and treat this deadly disease. Emergency Treatment http://www.laminitisclinic.org

03-24-2004, 06:36 PM	#5
MissBandit Senior Member+ Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 13,218 Images: 300 Blog Entries: 43	Oh. Well, then what body score is she at? If she's a 5 or 6 then I'd say that for her age, it's not really a bad thing to have a little extra flesh on her. A lot of owners of aging horses have the exact opposit problem, an older horse who can no longer keep weight on. If she's in that body scoring range, then I'd be ok with that. It's harder to put weight on then it is to get weight off of an older horse. __________________ Founder is the #2 killer of horses. Learn how to prevent, spot and treat this deadly disease. Emergency Treatment http://www.laminitisclinic.org

03-24-2004, 04:04 PM	#4
hay burner Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Kamloops Posts: 927	well i dont't think my horse is obese but it is kind of hard to ride her because she is 20 years old and not very well broke! any other ideas? but i am sure she is just fat

03-25-2004, 07:02 AM	#6
Dawn Senior Member+ Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Tennessee Posts: 31,457 Images: 1390	Is she fat? Or does she just not have any muscle tone? An unworked horse of that age is going to be rather "flabby" even if they are actually underweight. You can try doing roundpen work with her to keep her moving. Does she have any joint problems? Can you post a picture of her? Why can you not stop the oats? I'm afraid that I didn't quite understand that.

03-25-2004, 02:52 PM	#7
hay burner Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Kamloops Posts: 927	i cant stop the oats because it is freezing cold out and it is hard to do becuase all pastures are occupied but the one she is in and that one happens to have six other horses in it that have to have grain because we have cow horses barrel racer and a racehorse

03-25-2004, 04:15 PM	#8
Dawn Senior Member+ Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Tennessee Posts: 31,457 Images: 1390	What do oats have to do with the temperature? Why does she have to have oats because the others do?

03-25-2004, 06:00 PM	#9
hay burner Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Kamloops Posts: 927	because she will just end up eating theres or another horse will end up not getting one

03-25-2004, 06:02 PM	#10
Dawn Senior Member+ Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Tennessee Posts: 31,457 Images: 1390	So these horses are just allowed to eat their oats without being made to eat just their own? Sorry if that didn't make any sense. In other words, you have no idea if someone is getting one scoop or hogging someone else's as well and getting 2 scoops (just as an example.) Can she not be tied while the others are being fed? Her health is really more important, or at least I would think. How much are you feeding her?