my mini is so fat...is something wrong with him?

[lucyromeo]

I have a 5yr old mini....I've had him since he has been 6m old and I've always hav had him boarded with my appy mare. He is pasture boarded with other minis but my mare has an actaul stall & turn out. He has over the yrs put on sooo much weight and it wld usually come off during the summer and put it back on during the winter...but over last summer he didn't lose any weight and now its winter again and he is the size of a hot air balloon! None of the other minis that belong to the barn owner looks like that. She gives them hay everyday and a handful of grain once maybe twice a day in the winter. The pasture they stay in has really gone down hill cuz its over grazed! She doesn't make me pay for him since he doesn't really eat that much. But I don't know how to get his weight off since he is outside all the time...I can't bring him in and stall him or she wld charge me regular board price which I can't afford for 2 horses. What shld I do since I really have no control over what he eats?? I'm beginning to wonder if he mite be IR! I am kinda low on money cuz I just had a baby and was wondering how much it is to get him checked for IR? I think I wld b able to regulate his weight better if he was at my property but that's a whole nother story. What can I do for my fat mini

 

[patandchickens]

Could you post a pic so we can see how fat 'so fat' is?

I am not sure how useful it would be to put lotsa money into having him tested for Cushings or insulin resistance or that sort of hormonal thing unless you are in a situation whree you can DO something about it, and if you are financially/practically NOT at the moment, then, ya know?

Have you tried a grazing muzzle on him. I *think* (but am not positive) that they do make them sized for minis. You'd want it on a breakaway halter. Some horses will accept these ok, others won't. On the chance that he might be one of the first category, personally I'd be inclined to try it if he is really morbidly obese.

(I have a large pony sized half-Lipizzaner who is quite the whale-shaped object himself, but he will NOT wear a grazing muzzle. However I figure that as he lived most of his 7 yrs of life before I got him on 24/7 lush pasture without laminitis, and has now reached the age of 22 *still* without foundering, he will probably die of something else altogether, such as pigheadedness or eventual extreme old age But in a founder-prone breed like minis and with a younger animal I would definitely be Worrying, and Trying To Do Something About It, as you are.)

If you could get the barn owner to quit graining them, it'd be a big first step. Minis do not need grain, period, it is just a big "kick me" sign. If she is concerned about nutritional deficiencies from grazed-down pasture or less-than-wonderful hay, a tiny bit of something designed specifically as a ration balancer woudl be more effective and safer. I realize that as the others are *hers* this may not be in your control but if the subject should ever come up in conversation...

Try finding a mini-sized grazing muzzle though, see if it helps.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[michickenwrangler]

Could you talk to the barn owner about putting him in a dry lot?

Minis really don't need a whole lot of food. Remember, they are the size of a medium to large dog.

2nd Pat's idea of a grazing muzzle. I've known people who have made their own grazing muzzles from milk crates if you can't find one mini-sized.

 

[lucyromeo]

The owner does not have a dry lot for them only for the big horses. Plus the pasture they are on is nothing....its so overgrazed it might as well b a dry lot! Her minis do not look like that at all so that's why I'm wondering if there's something wrong with mine. The owner is very nice and super sweet...but if I ask her to do anything extra like even putting a fly mask on my mare in the summer...she wants to charge an extra $5 a day for that...or when I do make it out there she hasn't done it. She is kinda lazy and thinks some of my concerns aren't necessary cuz she has had horses for 40yrs and "they'll be fine" is her attitude! I'm kind of at her mercy but she is the cheapest nicest barn that is close to my house. I thought about putting a grazing muzzle on him...but once again the pasture is down to nothing so what is the point! I'll try to post some pics soon! I just wish I cld have them at my house

 

[patandchickens]

I thought about putting a grazing muzzle on him...but once again the pasture is down to nothing so what is the point!

Well obviously he is eating SOMETHING excessively, to support his large body weight So cutting down on that WILL result in some weight loss.

Remember that low-grazed pastures can be deceptive... sometimes there can really be pretty substantial grazing for a sufficiently-dedicated horse, because the grass is growing back as fast as it's being grazed off. The extra grass biomass goes directly into a horse's tummy so you don't see it standing there waving in the wind. Of course other overgrazed pastures really *don't* have much grass growth. But the point is, you can't tell just by looking.

In the absence of photos, the only thing I can say is: is he OVERALL fat? That is, hard or impossible to find his ribs with your fingertips, and neck is fat/cresty, and possibly pads of fat atop the croup on either side of the tailhead? If so, he IS getting excessive caloric intake. OTOH if he is merely round in the belly but his neck is thinnish and you can easily feel his ribs then he is not *fat*, he is big-bellied for a totally different set of causes (past history, worm load, internal growth, etc). So you could doublecheck on that, by FEEL not by eye.

(edited to add something that just occurred to me -- are you sure they are the same type of mini? Some minis are much more spindly and horselike, some are more round and fatponylike. Again, make sure it is fat not just basic architecture)

But if as you say he truly is *fat*, then a grazing muzzle WOULD help. Supposing you can get it to stay on him. Do be aware that wearing a muzzle introduces a small extra amount of risk, as horses can hurt themselves on just about ANYTHING and a halter or muzzle is no exception. But for a morbidly obese horse the risk of the grazing muzzle may be quite a lot lower than the risk of continuing to be that fat until something Bad goes wrong, so it can be worth it in some situations.

Best of luck,

Pat

 

[michickenwrangler]

The owner does not have a dry lot for them only for the big horses. Plus the pasture they are on is nothing....its so overgrazed it might as well b a dry lot! Her minis do not look like that at all so that's why I'm wondering if there's something wrong with mine. The owner is very nice and super sweet...but if I ask her to do anything extra like even putting a fly mask on my mare in the summer...she wants to charge an extra $5 a day for that...or when I do make it out there she hasn't done it. She is kinda lazy and thinks some of my concerns aren't necessary cuz she has had horses for 40yrs and "they'll be fine" is her attitude! I'm kind of at her mercy but she is the cheapest nicest barn that is close to my house. I thought about putting a grazing muzzle on him...but once again the pasture is down to nothing so what is the point! I'll try to post some pics soon! I just wish I cld have them at my house

In addition to again agreeing with Pat, if you decide that your horse truly is overweight ...

Does the barn owner have some cattle panels or steel panels that could be used to make a small corral for him? If you utilize a building wall or pre-existing fence, you may only need 2 or 3.

 

[lucyromeo]

He does seem to b a different type of mini...he is stockier than the others which r a lil taller. He does have a super thick neck and noticed his legs look bigger too. He does remind me more of a mini draft horse LOL. When u look at his back it looks like if I was to straddel him...which I wldnt.... there's no way my legs cld touch the ground or even come close...he is that wide! I do have some pics...but they don't do him justice on how large he really looks. I get what u guys r saying about the muzzle and moving him...but the owner will not do that unless I come out everyday to do it myself...which I can't. I just had a baby & its winter time & my lil car doesn't make it around n the snow very well to travel everynight after work to tend to him....and she will charge me extra to have her do it! :/

 

[lucyromeo]

I have pics under my upload section....i don't know how to post them to this thread thou.

 

[jodief100]

I have pics under my upload section....i don't know how to post them to this thread thou.

Cut and paste the words in the box below the picture into your reply.

 

[lucyromeo]