Overweight mare?

[J]

I might have posted this question before but I'll ask it again. I have a mare that is a very easy keeper. In fact she is overweight prety bad. She is on pasture grass only. I plan on the next few weeks and months to get her back into riding shape and start using her again. I know starting and increasing at a slow rate is very important. I was wondering if anyone had any exercises or routines I should use to help get the weight off and her endurance back up. Lots of walking is what I have planned for now.

:?:

 

[msscamp]

I believe I would start catching her and penning her for certain periods of the day (perhaps a couple of hours in the morning, and then a couple more in early evening) to reduce her feed intake, then couple that with short bouts, either in the round pen or riding, alternating walking with short periods at a easy trot to build her stamina and get her back in shape. I hope this helps!

 

[Pooog1]

I used to long trot 2 miles each day followed by various other training and some pasture checking and such. This really builds endurance and stamina. My mare was in top shape. She had no gut/belly what so ever. I also had to feed quite a bit to keep her in top shape when she was getting used so much.

 

[msscamp]

I used to long trot 2 miles each day followed by various other training and some pasture checking and such. This really builds endurance and stamina. My mare was in top shape. She had no gut/belly what so ever. I also had to feed quite a bit to keep her in top shape when she was getting used so much.

Key words here being "my mare was in top shape". To do this with an overweight, out of shape mare would be tantamount to an engraved invitation for a myriad of problems.

 

[Pooog1]

I used to long trot 2 miles each day followed by various other training and some pasture checking and such. This really builds endurance and stamina. My mare was in top shape. She had no gut/belly what so ever. I also had to feed quite a bit to keep her in top shape when she was getting used so much.

Key words here being "my mare was in top shape". To do this with an overweight, out of shape mare would be tantamount to an engraved invitation for a myriad of problems.

Of course I didnt do this overnight either. Up here we don't ride in the winter, so each spring I would start this as a gradual workout and stop increasing when we reached this peak and only maintain!

 

[Alan]

I would start her out on some lunge work either round pen or line. Start her at a walk, let her warm up and then move to a trot, then up to a canter. Do this until she breaks a decent sweat or is breathing very hard. This may only take ten minutes to get to this point. Then make sure you walk her out to cool her off. While working her if her nose drops to the ground for an extended period of time and she starts to stumble alot, you have gone too far... walk her out so she doesn't tie up. You can (or it will) take more time to work her as she gets in better shape. Increase her high end feed intake as she is working (grain or/and good hay).

Watch her legs, wouldn't hurt to wrap them or put some boots on. Fat horses and weak legs are an easy wreck waiting to happen.

Good luck,
Alan

 

[Scotty]

Only thing I can add is be sure to watch for colic. Fat horses can colic easier.

 

[mid-tn country boy]

Try looking on the purnia feeds' website, they have a feed just made for overweight horses and a type that is safe to feed with less chance of colic.

 

[mid-tn country boy]

the website for purnia feeds is nutrenaworld.com, they have a lite balance for overweight horses

 

[peg4x4]

?? lite feed for horses?? Feed less,watch the vitimins and minerals..

 

[rk]

It's Lite Balance....Nutrena, not Purina. It's balanced to deliver fewer calories while maintaining a balanced intake of the correct levels of vitamins and minerals.

 

[sjr725]

I have a half draft gelding the same way! We have irrigated grass pasture for the horses from about mid April through September - the other horses do fine - but this guy, I have to stall him at night - if he's out 24 hrs a day/ he's eating 24hrs a day - when all of the other horses stop eating for hours during the day or night - he just keeps on munching! The first summer we had him he got sooo fat - After I started bringing him in at night he slimmed down to just mildly chubby and now that he is used to the routine he walks into his stall every evening when I go to the barn - he gets ONE hay cube as a treat to keep him coming in at night - I give him the cube and close the stall door - he thinks he's special!

 

[Bez>]

Try looking on the purnia feeds' website, they have a feed just made for overweight horses and a type that is safe to feed with less chance of colic.

Good Lord - now we have diet food for horses?

Learn something new every day.

Whatever will they think of next?

Put this animal in a pen and let it out for 30 minutes to eat. Or pen it and feed it a subsistence diet in the pen until it has lost weight.

Or, put it with a bunch of youngsters - they will wear it off in no time.

Or put it in a dirt lot and throw it some hay once in a while.

I call these guys hay pigs. If they are not being used they become a very expensive hobby - have not had one like this for many years - he got shipped.

Good luck,

Bez>

 

[sjr725]

We have a pair of Paint/Percheron cross geldings that are used primarily in the winter for pulling the hay sled, in the summer they are just on grass pasture - both fat as ticks - I put them in a dry corral every night. If they are out 24 hours, they are eating 24 hours! I pen them up every night all summer and that does a nice job controlling their weight. It amazes me that they will come all the way in to the barn from the pasture for a treat - 1 alfalfa cube! When they know they are going to get locked up for the night - but it's a treat so they come!

 

[DrumRunner728]

I would start her out on some lunge work either round pen or line. Start her at a walk, let her warm up and then move to a trot, then up to a canter. Do this until she breaks a decent sweat or is breathing very hard. This may only take ten minutes to get to this point. Then make sure you walk her out to cool her off. While working her if her nose drops to the ground for an extended period of time and she starts to stumble alot, you have gone too far... walk her out so she doesn't tie up. You can (or it will) take more time to work her as she gets in better shape. Increase her high end feed intake as she is working (grain or/and good hay).

Watch her legs, wouldn't hurt to wrap them or put some boots on. Fat horses and weak legs are an easy wreck waiting to happen.

Good luck,
Alan

Exactly. Excellent advice, Alan.