Equine Weight Solutions - Suffolk

FAT IS FAT; WAKE UP & STOP FLUFFING ABOUT NONSENSE!!

'You might find your Shetland is lymphatic, not fat' (whatever that is meant to mean?! ). 'It could easily be bloating from a poor hindgut as well'

No. Nope. Nay.

I posted this a while ago but it is still very relevant.

The pony in the picture is unhealthily fat (and credit to the owner for posting about it and asking for help).

He has simply overeaten the amount of calories he needs (from ad lib hay on a track system.....yep, another one) and those excess calories have been stored as body fat.
Regardless of what's going on with his lymphatics or his hindgut. These may well be relevant to his health, but fat is fat and with it comes a risk of a number of health problems including laminitis.

The ridiculous crazy comment was in response to the post.

Not only is it ridiculous but it is cruel to the pony and unfair to the owners, who knows her pony is unhealthy and wants to make improvements for him.

Don't be deluded. It's simple at least in theory - large fat stores. It's not easy to get them to lose it but it is possible.....

With a calorie deficit. Not hindgut herbs, not lymphatic drainage or any other fluffy nonsense.

Stay strong against the fluff & nonsense!! And share away, please... 🐴🍏

It’s all about the balance. Supplements are mostly unregulated and unmonitored so make sure that your horses diet is balanced and offers the right mix of fibre, forage and nutrients, then see if anything is lacking.

The hindgut of a horse is a wonderful organ. It also acts as the horses central heating boiler that runs on fibre. Horses fed sufficient forage over winter months are quite capable of maintaining their warmth reducing the need for excess rugging. The process of fermentation of fibre also generates a by product called Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA’s) which provide around 30% of your horses energy store which is why fibre is a good slow release energy provider especially for fizzy horses…

Did you know that if a horse's digestive tract was stretched from end to end - it would be about 100 feet long?😲

With the current weather conditions this may be relevant to you. However what will happen is once the temperatures rise to above 6/7 degrees the grass will start to grow and with the rain/snow we’ve had it will start to come through quickly.

In cold sunny weather, sugars in grass may increase AFTER the frost has thawed.
Sugars in grass increase throughout sunny days and are highest in the late afternoon. On frosty nights grass does not use sugars for growth, so sugar levels remain high and start to increase further as the sun comes up the next day. The highest simple sugar levels may be seen in the afternoon of a sunny day following a frost.
Do not assume it is safe for laminitis-prone horses to graze once frost has thawed.

Hi, this is my new page Equine Weight Solutions - Suffolk.

I offer weight management and dietary advice for horse owners worried about any aspect their horse or ponies weight. Visiting yards with my mobile weighbridge I have so far weighed over 200 horses to help owners achieve their horses ideal weight and improve their health.

I am qualified in equine nutrition and have worked with referrals from vets and farriers for their clients.

If you’d like to have your horse weighed and have a chat about their body condition and diet, then please get in touch. The weighbridge is fully portable and battery run so don’t worry if you don’t have “facilities” I can work round most things.
As the name implies I’m Suffolk based (just outside Bury St Edmunds) but happy to travel as needed whether for individual consultations or yard weigh ins.
If you like to see more about diet and nutrition then please do LIKE my page and I’ll be posting lots of useful information about diets and how to help your horse through the seasons 😎