This may seem an obvious question - feed the horse less and ride him more. However, I am told that Ben is a very good doer and previously has had to wear a muzzle during the summer. I want to avoid this if I can and need to think about my management routine in summer.
He will be out 24/7 on grass. He will be in a field with plenty of grass but it isn't particularly lush. He won’t get any additional hard feed.
I plan to ride him most days and will be doing light/medium work with him. I want to do some long hacks, will jump at least once a week and compete in some dressage competitions. He will do about 6 to 8 hours a week I think. This is about double of what he did in his last home.
Is this workload going to be enough to prevent him from wearing the muzzle and/or getting too fat? How much work does the average fat pony do? I really want to avoid the muzzle and most importantly avoid him getting laminitis (which he has never had). He is a big horse (16hh shire x TB) and will be 8 by the summer.
Any advice/comments appreciated.
He will be out 24/7 on grass. He will be in a field with plenty of grass but it isn't particularly lush. He won’t get any additional hard feed.
I plan to ride him most days and will be doing light/medium work with him. I want to do some long hacks, will jump at least once a week and compete in some dressage competitions. He will do about 6 to 8 hours a week I think. This is about double of what he did in his last home.
Is this workload going to be enough to prevent him from wearing the muzzle and/or getting too fat? How much work does the average fat pony do? I really want to avoid the muzzle and most importantly avoid him getting laminitis (which he has never had). He is a big horse (16hh shire x TB) and will be 8 by the summer.
Any advice/comments appreciated.