Big balloons

[Zingy]

Am currently expecting my pony to float off and pop any minute! He got rather too large for his height over the summer so I've put him on a diet - a small handful of mix twice a day with a vitamin supplement, ad lib hay at night and he's out during the day. I reckoned he needed to lose 20-30 kg before spring and I'm now horrified 'cos I'm having to lengthen the surcingles on his rugs! He's lunged 4 times a week for about 15 mins each time (and usually spends most of that in gallop as slow is so boring). I've found a nice big hill and keep pointing him up that to try and lose some of the blubber, but still the little darling's waistline expands. I've tried to get feed with less value in than hay (eg oat straw), but I can't get any. I need the equine version of celery. Any ideas before I need a bigger stable door?

 

[Sharon H]

What type of pony is he? First of all I'd cut out the hard feed. On that amount of work he doesn't really need anything at all. Also I would restrict his hay at night. It sounds as though the hay is really good quality stuff. This year the grass has kept going for much longer than usual and I think it's caught a lot of people out!

 

[ros]

Well, fatty Midnight's mum Julie is doing extremely well at slimming him down, but she's had to be ruthless and quite determined too!

Mids had a touch of laminitis back in September (too much grass and no exercise - small children on holiday etc.). Julie was frightened to death.

She bought him a muzzle, without which he wasn't allowed out. She exercised him every day come hell or high water, even if it was only up the road and back with one of the kids on top. She bought Hi-fi Lite and fed him on it every morning before he was turned out so he wouldn't be hungry.

The result is that Midnight now has visible withers and is feeling a lot more lively (that's Julie's next problem!) but it's been a long haul.