Fat horse

[jadip4]

Vet came out to do shots last week and asked me how long had my mare, Izzy, had a cresty neck .. I noticed it last fall after I took a picture while riding. The phone did one of those 5 second clips and when I watched it, there was a lot of extra movement in her neck that was unsettling. Add to that, growing fat pads in front of her udders, behind her shoulders, and on either side of her tail head. Seems like she's really packed it on in the past year. I mean she's inching toward a body score of 8 despite me backing off her food. However, in the 6 years I've owned her, she's yet to show even a hint of lameness. So, per concern of the vet, we tested for any metabolic issues .. which came back negative. Doc still wants me to treat her as an EMS horse. I'm now on a mission to get her on a low NSC diet and get some weight off.

She's currently on an acre dry lot with my daughter's senior horse. They have 24/7 turn out with free choice coastal bermuda in a slow feed net. Izzy gets daily: 2lbs of Nutrena Safe Choice Original, 1/2 cup flax/rice bran, and a biotin supplement. Plus, she's ulcer prone .. so about 4x a week (before a ride) she gets 1 cup of soaked alfalfa pellets laced with ranitidine.

I'm leaning toward switching her to Nutrena Empower RB with alfalfa cubes, cut out the rice/flax? (still don't know about this one), and keep the biotin. She barely tolerates beet pulp with molasses, so I don't see her eating it straight. Anyone else with a similar experience?? What did you do??

Aforementioned picture:

 

[cassie]

I once had a fat horse. It didn't matter what she was fed, she was, to put it mildly, chubby. Turned out she had a low thyroid. Did the vet check her thyroid function?

 

[jadip4]

Our vet practice is pretty cool about helping us watch our banks accounts. Since it doesn't appear we're in any sort of emergency scenario, she's willing to try the simplest method before inundating us with tests. She wants to see if we can get some weight off with diet/exercise. But to answer your question, no .. she didn't even mention thyroid. I will do some reading and see what doc thinks about it next time I talk to her.

I haven't ever considered Izzy and easy keeper .. more like average. She's 15.1 and was at ~850 .. I need to tape her again . She had been eating 5lbs of feed a day until the past year. Was your horse always overweight, or was it a rapid increase?

 

[Alaskan]

why not feed her only hay? And just one handful of other stuff as a treat?

 

[jadip4]

why not feed her only hay? And just one handful of other stuff as a treat?

Yeah, pretty much .. the hay we get is okay .. this time of year we're lucky to find any at all. She'd get about a pound a day of the ration balancer to even it out.

 

[cassie]

Our vet practice is pretty cool about helping us watch our banks accounts. Since it doesn't appear we're in any sort of emergency scenario, she's willing to try the simplest method before inundating us with tests. She wants to see if we can get some weight off with diet/exercise. But to answer your question, no .. she didn't even mention thyroid. I will do some reading and see what doc thinks about it next time I talk to her.

I haven't ever considered Izzy and easy keeper .. more like average. She's 15.1 and was at ~850 .. I need to tape her again . She had been eating 5lbs of feed a day until the past year. Was your horse always overweight, or was it a rapid increase?

She was always an easy keeper. However, she got fatter with age. Thyroid problems can come on slowly or suddenly.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Rice bran is a fabulous supplement for weight gain. So I'd X that for sure. And ditto on mostly a hay diet, assuming there's no grass in her field. Ration balancer or a handful of grain plus complete vitamin supplement if that's more economical.

 

[Percheron chick]

It's hard when you keep horses together who have different nutritional needs. What shape is the senior in? Any chance she eats the old mate's ration?
You aren't feeding enough SC to meet her needs. I would just switch her over to the Empower and omit everything else. It has RB in it. Test your hay. It might not look like much but it could be high in sugar. Switching to alfalfa will add calories. I question the ulcers if she's got hay in front of her 24/7.
She probably just needs more wet saddle pads.

 

[jadip4]

The senior is in good shape at 26. Starting to lose some muscle tone along her topline, but otherwise she doesn't look her age. We stall mine during feeding to keep her off the old lady's food .. otherwise Izzy would eat it all. Our hay guy has testing done and will give me a copy if I ask .. or should I do my own?

More saddle time is definitely in order.

 

[Percheron chick]

Get a copy of his test. Use it as your starting point. Probably your last bale of last year's hay so not worth reinventing the wheel. Compare it to this years hay (NSC, fiber, RFV, protein are my key values I look for) and start making dietary changes during the summer. I'd rather see a horse on the pudgy side coming out of winter. Easier to take it off than put it on.