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nikki
Platinum Member
 Wales
4384 Posts |
 Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 10:33:01 AM
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I know it depends on height. But what is the correct weight for an arab horse, and yearlings(mine very fat at the mo-her new name is Porka, she has big poo's too)
Do you think horses are generally alot fatter these days? Is it a good or bad thing(depending on how fat)
i always worry about my lot getting too fat, joints etc.
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pagey |
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arabic
Platinum Member
England
4562 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 10:47:39 AM
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Hi nikki,
I struggle with Freddie too. He becomes a porker at the drop of a hat and I find the weight watching a bit of a trial. Still I suppose we should be grateful we dont have such hefty food bills. Will be reading your replies with great interest!
Sandie |
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traceyjoanne
Silver Member
England
496 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 11:02:13 AM
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My mare is a fattie gets nothing re feed handful of leisure mix to keep her quiet as have 2 youngsters to feed and my mare very very vocal
she gets haylage net at night and in the morning and if she goes out in the field she has a bucket on, although last time she managed to get it off somehow and totally pigged out
i need a nice bare field for her but we dont have one the grass is well and truly coming through so she is on very limited grazing with bucket!! |
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Kazzy
Platinum Member
England
3335 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 11:07:05 AM
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I think my mare was about 450 kilo's or near enough she was 14.1hh.
Obese horses are not a laughing matter, open to laminitis and that
is not funny.
Someone I know let her mare get that fat it was cruel, how she didnt
get laminitis I dont know, her reply when I saw her was to laugh and
say she was suppose to be fat she was a Welsh Sec D
I replied, *You wont be bl*** laughing when she comes down with Laminitis, your life and your horses life will never be the same again, and then when you want to sell her, forget it*
Janet |
     
Sunny Cheshire |
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sazzlepants71
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
3536 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 11:36:52 AM
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hmm, you do see a lot of ridden show horses that are a bit too conditioned still ,i remember big article few yrs back in h & h about 'obese show horses' i am saying all breeds not just arabs - fat horses instead of fit mistaking this for condtion it is worrying trend that is still around .
surely a fit show horse should have no problem on going on a 10 mile hack for example without puffing and straining ?
i dont know perhaps i'm waffling! |
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nikki
Platinum Member
Wales
4384 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 11:51:04 AM
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The Porka, has been fed the same as my other filly, but she just seems to have put on weight so quickly, i think it must be due to the grass thats started coming through.
I'll try keeping her in at day out at night-see if it makes a difference-she's a growing girl, and i don't want to keep her in much more than that.
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pagey |
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Silvern_Scepris
Gold Member
England
1084 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 11:53:02 AM
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My gelding is rather rotund at the mo, he has ballooned since the spring grass has been growing!! I have cut his feed to half a scoop of hi-fi light with a lo-cal balancer and he is being lunged for forty mins every other day (as well as being ridden) to get the belly off before the shows. |
  
London/Essex Border |
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nikki
Platinum Member
Wales
4384 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 11:53:49 AM
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Yes not just arabs, lots of fat horses or all breeds.
You know an arab should have a well defined wither, do you think arabs would have more wither if less fat?
Then there wouldn't be such a problem fitting saddles? |
pagey |
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Eeyore
Gold Member
1181 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 12:15:31 PM
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Nimah, my arab is always fatter than I would like. It worries me so much I have sleepless nights.
My other horse, who is TB, has never had a weight issue and it is bliss. To be honest, it's the only thing that would put me off having a purebred arab again. If they are all such good doers I'd rather have a TB!
Nimah is stabled every night to reduce grazing time, has her hay soaked for hours to reduce the sugar and has a token feed of HiFi Lite and High Fibre Cubes with her supplements and carrot. There is not much grass on her field at the moment either. She has never had laminitis and touch wood she will be okay but it is a constant worry for me.
So, are all arabs such good doers |
Heléna
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Pasha
Platinum Member
England
3622 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 12:53:40 PM
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Pasha is like me, only has to sniff a bit of grass (choc for me) and he puts on weight! It's a really tough trying to keep the weight to a manageable level but we find drastically reducing the hardfeed (he gets a token handful with lots of carrots and apples) and haylage seems to keep the weight ok! I tend to llok at the top of his bum as an indicator... when it starts to look applely we reduce the feed a bit more.
He is also ridden every day barring one day off.
On the weight side, we know he weights 455Kg (as he has been on a weigh bridge) and he is 15.2
On the laminitus front... it is a worry, however, in the spring and summer we feed Laminitus Trust approved haylage and feed so he can safely have enough to satisfy him, but the sugar and starch content is low enough not to be a problem.... touch wood this has worked so far |
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Kazzy
Platinum Member
England
3335 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 1:36:28 PM
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I,m like you Pasha I only feed laminitis Trust approved feed and he
also gets Magnesium supplement aswell, I am frightened to death of him coming down with it like his mum He can get a bit podgy if I
dont watch what he eats, he moves around a lot in the field likes
a good old run around but theres always that fear at the back of mind.
I get quite passionate about Laminitis because I have been through it
and it is not very nice, infact its downright awful!!! The suffering
they go through is not nice to see at all.
Janet |
Sunny Cheshire |
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nikki
Platinum Member
Wales
4384 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 2:00:03 PM
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| is it true, even a healthy weight horse can get lami? |
pagey |
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Kazzy
Platinum Member
England
3335 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 2:07:43 PM
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Yes Nikki it is absolutely true. My mare was never ever overweight.
A list by The Laminitis Trust on *Causes*
Pituitary Dependant Cushings Disease
Any infection which results in toxaemia - specific toxins in the bloodstream.
Prolonged weight bearing on a hoof.
Repeated trauma to a hoof.
Inappropiate foot dressing, making the horse stand on a thin sole.
Drug induced laminitis - corticosteroids
Fillies and mares may suffer laminitis when they come into season.
*Stress* usually that of long journeys, seperation from a long term chum, vaccinations or worming.
Chemical or plant poisoning.
Cold weather - some horses legs seem abromally sensative to the cold.
Sole pressure horses which have recently had their shoes removed and are not used to, or cannot cope with pressure from the ground, or mud fills theirs soles causing soreness.
But the most common Laminitis is obesity. Through grass intake or
high sugar diet.
Janet |
Sunny Cheshire |
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Arachnid
Platinum Member
England
1872 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 2:12:41 PM
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| Spiders not a particularly good doer. Hes very athletic and quite highly strung about some things and I think he burns it all off, much like me |
   
West Sussex |
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nicolanapper
Platinum Member
England
4247 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 2:34:10 PM
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Like Janet I too am neurotic about Laminitis. My Sec D mare, got laminitis the first time in the middle of winter (during a snowy period), the second time after steriods which were needed to save her life. Last autumn she developed a nasty abscess in her foot, (which the vets did not find even after 7 visits), eventually it burst through her coronet. She developed the absecess as she has pedal rotation. Now she is out 24 hours a day, on very little grass and is fed Happy Hoof only. She is however very uncomfortable on the hard ground as her feet are so flat.
Like others have said, once a horse has had this terrible "disease" you cannot sell them or get insurance. You are on your own, and it gets very expensive.
Luckily for me my Arabs are good doers but not fat, so I pray it continues that way.
Nicky |
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Pasha
Platinum Member
England
3622 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 2:56:20 PM
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| I agree with what others have said and there are many causes for laminitus... touch wood we have never had a problem with it, but as I said in the Spring, Summer and Autumn when the grass is at it's most Sugar and Starch rich it's a very good idea to ensure (unless you have a competition horse that requires high energy feed), that you use feed and hay that is fibre based and low in starch and sugar... at least them you are not adding to the grass problem |
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bexr
Gold Member
England
818 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 3:04:35 PM
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| My mares had lami (mild) twice, both in winter. Once after the girl who had her on loan took her for a really long ride boxing day, after very little work and the 2nd time after a bad reaction to been wormed with Equvalan Duo. |
Bex |
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nikki
Platinum Member
Wales
4384 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 3:26:46 PM
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| Goah really Bex, i never knew horses could get Lami from that(don't know anything really about lami) |
pagey |
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arabic
Platinum Member
England
4562 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 3:49:37 PM
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Pasha, I am like you and keep a close eye on the "apple bottom" I am hoping that this year I can get the balance right by restricting the grass and supplementing with hay and a bit of hard feed if necessary. I have a battery on charge at the moment because "the grass was greener on the other side" and somebody decided to help themselves!!!!
Sandie |
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Pasha
Platinum Member
England
3622 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 3:59:13 PM
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| Arabic that made me smile - apparently the grass (or bush or flower) is always greener! bless them little devils! |
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Grey Girl
Platinum Member
England
1554 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2007 : 8:37:09 PM
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Amelia puts on weight almost as you watch her: hence being in a muzzle at the moment until she can have her summer paddock back. Mind you, when she's slim (as she will be in the summer) she looks a bit like the Before on an RSPCA poster - she doesn't seem to muscle up that well, despite pretty concentrated work. Hopefully this year she will!
Actually, MY insurers haven't excluded laminitis after my enormous claims of two years ago...
Grey Girl |
 Said the little eohippus, "I´m going to be a HORSE"  |
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NUTTER
Platinum Member
England
2452 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2007 : 12:01:21 AM
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| My mare is huge looks like a sec d,, i am really strugling to keep her weight down, when i got her she was so so poor, it took me a good 14 months plus for her to look good now shes a real good doer on thin air, plus i have got the added problem of no rider til i can get back in the saddle december, jan. |
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Kazzy
Platinum Member
England
3335 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2007 : 08:35:21 AM
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Just thought I would add that when I had to have my mare PTS in February through Laminitis, my vet said it is NOW the biggest killer
in horses and ponies, it used to be old age and colic but now Laminitis kills more horses than anything. He said to me it is very
worrying.
She first got it through an abcess in her foot when I had weened him
and she had no shoes on and got a little stone imbedded in the white line, she got over the abcess and straight away came down with laminitis I managed to keep it at bay for a number of years but
like all laminetics she got it again but this time through going
barefoot (long story and I wont get into it )
So you can never ever take your eyes of a laminetic.
Janet |
Sunny Cheshire |
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ACGODFREY
Silver Member
United Kingdom
440 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2007 : 09:33:29 AM
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| Laminitis is always such a worry...I literally stress about it so much. When the psychic visited us, my boy supposedly said to her that I was to stop obsessing about his feet as they are fine!!! My boy had post-operative laminitis in 2003 and although it was mild, I am terrified about it. I think many people don't fully appreciate the consequences. Yard I am at has so many massive 17hh+ obese 'posh' horses with hippo bums and cresty necks yet no one thinks they are fat. My boy has huge rib cage and is so short backed that he always has a rotund middle which people mistake for fat. I try to point out that there is no fat on rump or neck or shoulders, but they all mistakenly seem to think that a large middle equals fat horse I had vet out recently who said that this winter they had at least 2 new cases of laminitis every week which is very unusual and that in some cases they were not what they would normally class as 'at risk' horses, but that in some cases owners were shovelling very high starch energy feeds and haylage into their horses but not exercising them at all. Grrr! It makes me angry |
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nikki
Platinum Member
Wales
4384 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2007 : 09:52:38 AM
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I better do some serious research on this.
I really never knew you can get lami through an abesses.
Janet, would you mind explaining a bit about lami through abesses, what to look out for etc. I know it will be upsetting, but it would be educational.
Maybe we can turn this into an educational thread? Maybe with pictures? |
pagey |
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bexr
Gold Member
England
818 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2007 : 10:33:19 AM
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I have a little section A, who is totally huge. I keep her on a very bare 3 acre paddock, as she has had lami before. She is ridden most days and I also drive her, and she still totally fat.People do say "Isn't it cruel keeping her with no grass" Rather that than watching her with lami.
Check this page out.
http://www.ilph.org/ukoperations_details.asp?id=744 |
Bex |
Edited by - bexr on 20 Apr 2007 10:35:22 AM |
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