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  Discussion on Fat horse
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Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Monday, Jan 10, 2005 - 8:55 pm:

Dr. O,
On the Heinecke measurements given in the article my girl is fleshy to fat...I was always told to keep an older horse more on the thin side. True?

She is 22. I posted pics of her from the hurricane she was getting fat then... (or i could post another) But, she is becoming an oinker. and i really haven't changed her feed regime. Just more hay at times, like midday i DrOp hay or when its cold...

Without excercising her will she DrOp weight by just cutting back on hay?

thanks,
joj
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 11, 2005 - 6:19 am:

Not neccesarily joj I think older horses that are moderate to moderately fleshy look good. Are you feeding any concentrate? She is more likely to lose weight with exercise.
DrO
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 11, 2005 - 10:54 am:

i feed equine senior 3/4 scoop in am and pm. Source, and wormer. (those typical green scoopers, sorry don't know the weight). I have been feeding her the same amount for years.

We are both on the lazy side. She was alway fit and trim without ever needing excercise, except actual weekend rides, etc. And now that we are on our own she is getting fat. Same regimen when she was stabled and she was much thinner. (unless she was a more nervous horse then). I haven't done things that much different.

Dr. O i see fat pockets near the rib. and her crest is hard and fat. so i just figure that maybe age (like humans) just make them keep on more weight. And then also harder to get rid of it. and not as good on the joints and frame.

Is it possible to feed too much hay? Or switch during the midday feeding to something less nutritious, like coastal? I want to keep feeding her small amounts of hay throughout the day, but don't want to create any undue weight gain. The article i was reading stated the hay (lbs. per bale) per pounds of the horse. I think i am well within that. But of course the bigger the horse gets the more hay you should give her on that equation... LOL..
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 11, 2005 - 11:03 am:

Oh, not to be paranoid i have read up on cushinoid disease, and her blood was taken 6months ago without the vet saying anything was amiss for her age. She also doesn't fit the criteria. since she is gaining weight, not losing it. But is drinking a bunch more water. so, i don't know if i should get them out again for a blood test.

Outside of that article is there any other info on geriatric horses? I should have posted this in there, i guess.
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 11, 2005 - 11:52 am:

do you consider this fat? She is 1049 on tape. And 15' 2"...
Member:
Warwick

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 11, 2005 - 12:06 pm:

Joj, for what it's worth my retired broodmare - who is also 22 - is in identical shape to your mare weightwise. I think they both look good.
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 11, 2005 - 12:44 pm:

thanks sue... pictures are worth a... so i figured maybe i am thinking she is fat, when really she is fine... has your mare lost her topline and started to sag. That is what i dread....

jojo
Member:
Warwick

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 11, 2005 - 2:57 pm:

Oh boy, talk about sagging! She was last ridden when she was 12 and has been a broodmare since. All all those babies sure took a toll on her silhouette! I know 22 isn't "old" and she roars around like a 2 year old but I swear if you didn't know her history, you'd think she was in her 30s! Luckily she's healthy, happy and the barn doesn't have mirrors...
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 12, 2005 - 9:37 am:

She does have obvious fat along the neck and just a touch of bulge on the croup but can you not feel the ribs at all? Is there a prominent crease down the back?
DrO
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 12, 2005 - 11:13 am:

No i can't feel the ribs... and yes there is a crease, I can't say if its prominent, except that i could put a pencil there and it stays...

But, i know her and she is bulging for how i normally keep her. (whether or not i kept her on the thin side i guess is the question) This kinda snuck up on me. I think the hurricanes didn't help. I would throw hay down to keep her out of the muck areas.

I have started to cut back on grain but, not hay. That is what keeps her busy all day. and happy. or should it be the other way around?

Thanks Dr. O for the input. i know this is a simple post considering all the other important ones you are dealing with..

joj

Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jan 13, 2005 - 6:28 am:

Can't feel the ribs at all bumps her over to fat to obese and a definate sign it is time to loose a bit. The good news is your feed bill is about to go down.
DrO
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Monday, Jan 17, 2005 - 11:36 pm:

It's frustrating. 2 days ago it was in the 80's and tonight its going down into the 30's... see this is where i would give her a bit more grain, and make sure she has plenty of hay throughout the night.

I guess one benefit is a fatter horse would stay warmer...

jo
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 18, 2005 - 7:30 am:

I think you are more worried about the temp that your horse will be joj.
DrO
Member:
Ajudson1

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 19, 2005 - 12:41 pm:

A fat horse doesn't always stay warmer. My oldest mare who is now a pasture pet..(see the post under "Bowed Knee) still gets cold when it's wet and windy, or bad windchills like we have been having for the last week(s). She is a Chestnut colored Arab and on the fat side now cuz she can't run around comfortably due to her bad knee. But she is still the only one that shivers when the weather is nasty. Her and my next oldest mare will not be having hay in front of them 24/7 if the temp is even in the 20's, like today. I've been letting them in the pasture to paw thru the snow for something to do, there's hardly any grass under it but it cuts down on the boredom factor. If you live where there's no snow, (probably not with 80*) try throwing a log with bark on it for her to chew on.....of course make sure the tree isn't something toxic to horses!!

Btw, she looks like a really nice good ol' girl.
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 19, 2005 - 4:41 pm:

Thank you! i love her. She is my pasture pet. But i can still get on her and go....and she loves that part too. Right now she is sleeping under the window while i am writing. next to the house. like the dogs... She really is amazing...

Yes, Dr. O... its only 40 these last two nights... freezing for me. But, great for them.
Board Administrator
Username: Admin

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 19, 2005 - 8:08 pm:

Angie, there are many things that effect a horses ability to stay warm: size, hair coat, health, types of feed available, age, metabolic rate, and probably dozens of other factors. However when you look at an individual the fatter it is the warmer it will stay. For more on this subject see Care for Horses » Particular Situations & Procedures » Weight, Condition, and Eventual Height Estimation.
DrO
Member:
Shirl

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 19, 2005 - 8:44 pm:

j0j, What a sweet, beautiful horse! Her weight looks a lot my Sierra's did, some little fatty pads here and there, but my she doesn't look 22 either. If she were a red bay, I'd say she was a "Sierra Twin". Best of luck. Shirl
Member:
Goolsby

Posted on Thursday, Jan 20, 2005 - 12:56 pm:

joj
ONLY 40 degrees! That sounds like a heat wave. We have been low teens and single digits at night. She is a beauty! I guess mine are fat too, because they look like yours.
Colleen
Member:
Maggienm

Posted on Friday, Jan 21, 2005 - 8:28 am:

We have had a touch of the 4o degree weather also, minus 40! I would think a horse with slightly less weight would be better able to regulate their temp in the extemes you have mentioned. In the winter I give the horses some good quality straw for bedding in the corral. They also munch on it, hmmm eat yor bedding, same idea as the log Angie mentioned.
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Friday, Jan 21, 2005 - 9:45 am:

Florida weather. 30 at night and 80 in the day...its kinda frustrating. Either one or the other, but up and down is harsh. i have aviary birds coming In and out of the house. Dogs. goats in the garage. turtles.. Its not so much the weather its the drastic changes that can cause harm...

she is chewing on a tree i found it strange. and just hay is enough to keep her ok. I do let her decide if she wants a blanket. and she doesn't right now. I have in the past seen her pull it off the fenceline, and drag it meaning "put that damn thing on me would ya?" but thats a windy, rainy, 30 degrees...

Oh i am glad i posted the pic.. Cause i really thought she was obese...I will make her lose a bit though. and get her down to just fat... I know her saddle isn't fitting right. I need to find one with a wide gullet now.

It's funny at 10 when i got her she looked like a filly, and now at 22 she looks like a young horse. I wish i could age like that..grin...

thanks everyone for the kind words to brandy. i will pass them along via carrots and apples....oooh are they fattening? LOL
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