Diet advice please.

[Me&myboy]

I would like to pick the brains of anyone will to give me some advice !!
I have on loan with a view to buy a lovely Cobx TB.
He is 14.2, just 7 Gelding. He has little Milage but has done a little Xcountry, Dressage and SJ.
His owner was feeding him Chaff and nuts and he was out in the field all day and in by night with a hay net.
When i got him i started him on a diet as he was fat from all the grass and very littly work.
He is currently on about a handful of LowCal nuts soaked in water to make a mash and two handfuls of HiFi Lite. I have just started him on Naf Slimline he is having 3 little scoops with each meal. He is fed this twice a day. He is on restriced grazing for a few hours a day nearly every day.( i put him in a paddock of well grazed grass) He then has a haynet by day and one for night.

I ride him 4-5 times a week, this varied from a gentle hack up the lane to an hour dressage or a long "harder" hack with lots of hill work.
He is very gentle and calm so i dont want to feed him up and liven him up.

He has lost some weight and has deffinatley toned up a little but i was just wondering if he is getting enough to ensure he is getting a good supply of vits and mins. Should i also give him a supplemet for his joints, as i want to help protect them for later life?
Its a mine field out there !! Some say feed Cod liver oil some say Linseed some advise SureFlex ect ect ect.

Has anyone any advice or tips or has any one had a similar chubby cobby who they have thinned down without reducing their vit and Min intake.

(I appologise if this thread has been covered before ! )
Thank you in advance - it is really appreciated

 

[Tracy1]

I use a balancer the Top spec comprehensive which covers, joint, vitamin and hoof supplements, shes on half rations atm, because she is a good doer and overweight BUT like you I worried about the is she receiving the adequte vitamins, this way I know she is, I have cut the Hi fi lite out, shes at grass from 8 in the morning till about 3 or 4pm, I ride then shes stabled for the night with a haynet and her balancer, winter time will be different though, but shes losing the weight, and is definetly toning up and becoming fitter, my mare is arab x connemara who hadnt been in work for ages until I bought her 4 months ago
Hope that helps a bit
Tracy x

 

[Me&myboy]

Thank you Tracy x

 

[Fleabitten]

Hi! My mare is also weight watching, it's always a challenge to manage her weight over summer so know where you're coming from!

Once a day, she has naf slimline (at the recommended rate) in half a handful of hi-fi lite. No other hard feed.

She is turned out overnight on ok grazing with a grazing muzzle on. During the day she is stabled with soaked hay.

I feed the Slimline because it is a broad spectrum multi vit & I want to make sure she is getting all the nutrients she needs, due to the limited grazing.

If you want to stick with the slimline, I would consider feeding this just once a day in as little hi-fi as you can get away with! As long as you feed the slimline at the recommended rate, he'll be getting the right amount of vits & mins. I would lose the nuts as IMO these are calories he doesn't need.

Does he have any joint problems? If not, as he is only 7, I wouldn't worry about adding feeding any oil, as this is really high in calories that he doesn't need.

Finally, could you soak his hay to reduce the sugar/calorie content? (Just started another thread on this following on from yours ) Or turn him out more with a grazing muzzle? That way he's getting more exercise wandering around the field, without all of the grass intake.

Good luck! Hope you enjoy your loan time with him

 

[BenjiandAnge]

It sounds like you are doing things perfectly as far as I'm concerned
If you are feeding the right amount of Low Cal, you don't need to feed anything else.
Exercise is by far the best way to shift weight.
I had a 14.1hh cob that was very very very fat when I got him; it took four years to slim him down, losing around 200kilos ( yes he was obese!)
Don't be in a rush, keep up the good work

 

[Me&myboy]

Thank you ladies !
With ref to the joint sup, i just wanted to protect his joints for the future. Not that i am planning on doing any heavy work with him but just for general wear an tear, so in his latter years he maybe more comfitable.

I have read that oils and oil sup do pile on the pounds and him being already overweight isnt doing his joints any good anyway !!