Is Your Horse Overweight?
An overweight horse can be very unhealthy. The number of overweight horses is climbing. Obesity has serious health implications so don't let it get out of control.
There are three main reasons why horses put on excess weight and the first of these is genetics. A feral horse will stock up on nutrients during the good times, laying down fat for later when the going gets tough. The genetic make-up of the domestic horse still responds to these feral stimuli but, thanks to the caring owner, the tough times never arrive.
Twelve good months a year often results in obesity, especially for many ponies that just don't know when to stop eating.! This leads us to the second reason, overeating. A feral horse will eat around 2.5 per cent or decreasing this amount according to the season and availability of food. The advent of highly palatable high-calorie molassed feeds and chaffs has not only increased speeds of eating but also intake rates.
What we know as the "feel good factor" kicks in and we are inclined to increase the amount of high-calorie feeds in our horse's diets because we enjoy seeing them "fill up". Despite the best intentions, it is hardly ideal for the horse's waistline. Finally, horses will put weight on as a result of confinement. Feral horses roam for miles daily in search of food, which certainly isn't possible when a horse is confined to just an acre of land.
Obviously, today is not practical for our horses to roam free and regular enforced exercise is, therefore, vitally important for welfare.
Many horses are confined to stables for the convenience of their owners and we feel guilty when the hay has been eaten and the horse is bored. We know the horse is a trickle feeder and requires food little and often for optimum digestion, so we tend to feed hay ad lib. However, insufficient exercise, combined with boredom and this on-tap forage, all as a result of confinement, can quickly lead to an overweight horse.
Horses That Are Prone To Become Overweight
The problem of obesity tends to be most prevalent in horses which:
Have a sluggish metabolism. Native breeds are often more susceptible to this than Thoroughbred types, although all breeds can be affected.
Are given insufficient exercise.Stabled horses are particularly prone. Occasionally, excess weight gain may be due to low
thyroid hormone levels and this can be determined
by a blood test. If your horse puts weight on quickly, then he obviously is a good doer and it will be much easier
to prevent weight gain in the first
place than to put him on a diet later on. The following points need to be taken into consideration.
Horses should always be treated on an indivdual basis. It is all too common for owners of two or more horses to feed them identical diets.
Make sure you take the time to assess each horse's particular digestive and metabolic processes and compensate them accordingly.
It is important to be aware of climatic environments. Your horse's nutritional needs increase during winter and you should
adjust feeding levels as a result. The reverse is true of spring and summer and this is a time when weight problems are particularly
likely to occur. Spring grass will come through earlier in the south and may contain a higher nutritional value.
Check carefully what you are feeding your horse. Some feed ingredients have a higher level of nutrients,
while the time of year hay is cut affects its nutritional value. Hay that is cut late is high in lignin,
an indigestible constituent, while early hay has
good digestible nutritional value.
Working Out a Diet
Problems in calculating the percentages may arise when your horse is grazing, as both the quality and quantity of his grass intake are virtually impossible to assess.
To Make Things Clearer, Look At The Following Example
An overweight 15.2hh TB X horse weights 600kg. Working on a 1.5 per cent bodyweight:
600kg x 1.5% = 9kg (total daily intake)
If feeding 20 per cent concentrates and 80 per cent forage:
9kg x 20% = 1.8kg concentrates
9kg x 80% = 7.2kg forage
The Effects of an Overweight Horse
Studies on other species show that cancer is more common in obese animals. There is a posssibility that this is also true of equines.
Respiratory problems are common as the additional body mass of the horse requires extra levels of oxygen. Due to pressure from this excess body weight, the required oxygen intake is difficult for the horse to achieve.
The fat horse finds it difficult to cool down during work due to the extra insulation of sub-cutaneous fat. He will compensate by sweating excessively which can lead to dehydration and potential tying-up.
Excess body weight causes strain on the joints. This is a particular problem with young, growing show horses and can cause not only irreversible lameness and deformities, but also other problems such as laminitis.
Heart and circulatory problems arise as the demand for blood is increased, making the cardiovascular system work harder.
Lower performance levels. Peak fitness is impossible to achieve in an overweight horse as aerobic activity (work with the use of oxygen) is decreased.
Reduced resistance to infectious disease. The body of an obese horse cannot always produce adequate antibodies to form an effcient resistance against disease.
What Should You Feed Your Horse
When working out your horse's diet, think about those feedstuffs which will put weight on him and those which will help keep him trim and healthy. Follow these guidelines:
Highly molassed products. These are very "moreish" and will encourage your horse to eat to excess.
Products containing oils, such as some high-performance feeds, conditioning feeds and showing products. Oil is highly calorific, and, as it is digested and absorbed well, it will mean your horse puts on weight very quickly.
Early cut hay. This is very digestible and easily absorbed.
Spring and early summer grass.
Mixed feeds. These tend to contain higher levels of molasses than cubes and are more palatable.
Fibre, fibre and more fibre. If possible, replace all concentrates with fibre products, such as high-fibre cubes of chaffs. These are not necessarily low in energy (particularly the alfalfa products) and they take longer to eat than mixes or cubes. This extra time will help to occupy the horse, preventing boredom.
Suitable products for the work level of your horse. If you are feeding a low-energy product and your horse is lazy, do not increase the levels you are feeding. By doing so, you will only encourage weight gain, instead try changing to a higher energy feed and, if necessary, reduce the amount you are giving him.
Products designed specifcally for the overweight horse. These are ideal as they are designed to be fed in small quantities, yet have optimum levels of minerals and vitamins.
Weighing Your Horse
Firstly, invest in a weigh tape, which can be bought from feed merchant stores or feed companies. Most are extremely accurate.
You should critically assess your horse by eye at the same time as weighing. Try to be objective, avoid admiration!.
Working out a condition score on a weekly basis is also essential. Use a hands on approach to feel the areas where fat is more likely to be deposited, for example, the crest, shoulders, ribs and quarters. Give each area a score out of five, in areas where he is fatter, the horse wins higher scores and vise versa. Record the final marks together with his weight.
Many feed companies now own weigh bridges and will come out to a riding club or agistment centre to weigh horses and assess their diets. This is a useful exercise but be aware, although the advice may be independent, any feeding receommendations are likely to be biased towards that particular company!.
Dealing With Spring Grass
Once summer arrives, avoid starving your horse by day and then turning him out at night. You will be in danger of causing digestive upset as he will rest in daytime and eat to excess by night. Instead, take preventative measures as the spring grass comes through and limit the amount available to your horse.
If you know a local livestock farmer, ask him whether you can borrow sheep or cattle to eat off the excess grass in your paddocks.
Use a starvation patch or strip your paddock with the help of an electric fence. If you do this, remember to tie plastic strips to the fencing to keep it visible, or use fencing tape.
As the grass is eaten down, gradually move the fence posts outwards.
Remove droppings daily to prevent souring of the grass and also to avoid a potential worm burden.
If you opt for one of the above methods, remember that the grass is still growing and even if the ground looks sparse, your horse will still be gaining a good level of nutrition.
In severe cases, you could try using a bucket muzzle, which has holes at the base to allow the horse to drink and to nibble at grass. Take advice on fitting one as they can be removed by other ponies, or lost on gate posts, unless properly fitted.
If you do use a bucket muzzle, you will need to stable the horse for a period of time with limited hay, as it is not recommended to leave one on for 24 hours at a time. This will restrict his intake significantly.
Having said that, you should restrict your horse to the stable or yard for a stretch of 24 hours only as a last resort.
A stabled horse cannot exercise and boredom will set in, possibly leading to sterotypic behaviour. If you do stable him, buy or make stable toys to help keep him stimulated and feed hay in a small holed haynet to help it last.
As longer days and more pleasant weather begins to set in, you can give your horse more exercise. Remember, you will need to work up to these new increased levels as imposing a strict exercise regime on an unfit horse will do more harm than good.
Finally, ask yourself whether it is really necessary to feed your four-legged friend any concentrate at all, as most horses will work perfectly well on a low-energy fibre diet, and the horse has only limited access to grass, a mineral and vitamin supplement will then be a necessary top-up requirement.
