My mare, April, is on a major diet, no grass, anything really, but she won't she a pound. I don't have the time to spend working with her to excercise(sp?) her, and people have suggested turning her out in a muzzle. What do you think? I'm really frustrated, and don't understand why she won't slender down! Thank you for any help.

Marie

Have you ever seen pictures of starving children? They have potbellies. If you've heard the phrase "gets fat on air" you have more than likely heard someone talking about a animal or person in poor nutrition. While this is not always the case as some animals are easy keepers and truly do need only enough food to provide their bodies with the proper nutrition, many of those "fat" horses will actually "slim" down when their diet is changed to include all of the nutrients they are lacking by not eating.

I would NEVER, EVER take my horse off of it's feed or hay without first consulting a vet or nutritionist.

I've fed her all her nutrients. The vet says she is WAY to fat. She was close to founder a month ago! I don't get how to get her to lose weight. She has a huge lump on her crest, and rolls of fat on her shoulders, and stuff. She's not in any way too skinny.

How old is she? Other than being obese, is she healthy? No Cushings or anything? Have you talked to your vet about her diet? Is she stalled on straw or anything she could eat? Does she steal other horses' grain in the pasture?

I really don't know much about getting weight off of a horse, since I have a typical TB (just trying to keep weight on him!), but I have heard that if you turn a horse out for anytime at all without a muzzle they will make up for what they didn't eat earlier. For example I knew someone who decided that to slim down their horse they would only turn it out at night. The only thing they got was a fat, grumpy horse (because there was a lot of activity around during the day and he ate all night - the horse never slept - very, very grumpy).
But with that said, if they don't move around then they won't be burning many calories. Horses acctually walk quite a lot while grazing.
My best friend put a grazing muzzle on her FAT Arab one summer (because my friend was pregnant and couldn't ride and work the fat off of the horse) and was very pleased with the result. **Remember that you will need a break away or leather halter to attach the muzzle to. Sorry I couldn't be more help! Good luck.

Some suggestions...maybe something will work for you.

Dry lot her and feed her straw for her fiber along with mineral and vitimin supplements.

Do a blood test to check for thyroid levels.

I have a client who was told the same thing from her vet. She is using a grazing muzzle and having good luck with it but she is the only one I know of who it has worked for. She removes it for a few hours a day so the horse can get to salt and water but not grass at that time.

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Do a blood test to check for thyroid levels.

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I second that! My dads mare was over weight. Back in april/may she foundered. now she has to be on Thyro-L to control her problem.

I Strongly suggest her geting more exercise. If you can find someone to ride her(or lunge) even 3 times a week it's better then nothing.

Put her on a hay only diet but suplement all her vitamins and minerals in. Try to put her on a lower calorie hay instead of alfalfa(which if she's that over weight may push her to a foundering point) Put her on somthing like timothy.

as f2all said hay in a dry paddock very small feed once a day with minerals but add magnesium oxide into it as this will get rid of the fatty deposits, cresty neck etc it will soften first then over a period of months depending just how fat horse is the crests and deposits will disappear completely

mag ox
one heaped teaspoon a day for pony - half a cup of apple cider vineagar
one heaped tablespoon a day for horse - one cup of apple cider vineagar


IF the mag ox dosent work go the thyroid tests.

goodluck
Liesl

I second what most have said about feed cause even though she is fat does not mean she is getting her nutrition, there are equine nutritionist out there, see if you cant talk to one. I would do the thyroid test and then if you dont have time to work her, if she is good enough for someone else to work see if a highschool student would work her to get experience with horses for you, even if its only once or twice a week, in the article I was reading about founder and grass and all that it says that exercise is very important.

Thank you! I will get her a thyroid test. She doesn't get to go on pasture, so that's not the problem, and she isn't around other horses to steal grain from. She is 11, and not health problems that I know of.

Thyroid came first to my mind -- and also Cushings (It's not just an "old horse" problem).

Test for the Thyroid, and I'd also test for the possibility of Cushings.

ok. Will do. Thank you!!!