|
 I
have a Peruvian Paso mare whom I adore, in fact everyone adores her: she
is gentle, sensible, intelligent, very forward going but will stop when
you think it; you can put children and even babies on her back, did I
say she was beautiful and is ridden in a halter? There is only one thing
wrong with her: she is a good doer, a very good doer which means that
comes spring and summer she will turn into a
FAT HORSE.
I have worked out a way to stop her being fat, let me share it with you.
To Lock Up or Not To
Lock Up? The Starvation Regime.
Many people believe that the only solution to the fat horse is to lock
them up in a starvation paddock and be done with it. There are several
things wrong with this.
The horse being a herd animal, to separate it from its mates will cause
a lot of stress which can take a myriad of expressions: physical such as
stomach ulcers and behavioural problems, such as wood chewing or
weaving. Basically you will get a miserable, cranky horse. Being locked
up and starved the horse does not exercises and looses condition and
muscle tone.
Also when you turn out a fat horse, it is capable of consuming twice the
amount of grass it would if it was allowed free ranging.
The worse thing about the starvation diet is that the horse misses out
on nutrients and therefore its health will be endangered.
The starvation regime for the horse is the equivalent of fasting in
order to lose weight for human: a little weight gets lost but as the
metabolic rate slows down it becomes harder and harder to lose weight
and the health consequences are great. Also muscle tone is lost which
makes it easier to get fat again.
A Programme That Works
This is what we do to
keep Luba slim and fit, I am sure you can work variations on the theme.
In the evening we
feed all our horses, in the summer this is more a ritual than a need for
food as our pastures are really too lush, the ritual keeps the bond with
the horses and we give them their herbs and supplements.
Luba gets less than
two litres of chaff with her powders, herbs and one cup of high protein
extruded lupins(now don’t go bananas, I shall explain later), wetted
down and with herbed vinegar. Then we put a grazing muzzle on her and
set her loose with her mates to go and play.
In the morning, some
twelve hours later, she comes to the back door and whinnies for us to
take off the muzzle. As often as I can, I exercise her for at least half
an hour and then I let her go. It is a good idea to exercise the horse
after you take the muzzle off or you take him out of the starvation
paddock, in this way they will release endorphins that will slow down
their desire to put their head down and vacuum clean the paddock. Even
if you just lunge the horse this will make a difference to grazing
intensity.
Why Does This Work?
The grazing muzzle
allows the horse to pick up some grass but a really small amount, not
enough to pig out on, but enough to keep chewing which produces saliva,
which is what horses stomachs need. Of course this also allows the horse
to run around with its mates and this keeps her happy and exercising.
The first year Luba
hated the muzzle, she literally stood with her nose to the shed, like a
little kid in the corner and was obviously depressed, which made me
upset and depressed; as a consequence I took the muzzle off and she
acquired the looks of a Thelwell pony –and got a bout of colic! This
year I got smart by feeding her first, putting the muzzle on and sliding
bit of carrots into the muzzle as soon as it is on. She now puts her
head down to help us secure the muzzle!
Now, let me wind back
the tape to the bit where I told you about the high protein. Yes, I give
her high protein because this will help her not starve and this is good
for muscle build up. We don’t want muscle loss.
Herbs and Supplements
Your horse must get
more calcium (Calcium Di Phosphate as well as Dolomite) vitamin E, B
complex (in the form of Yeast). The best vitamin and mineral supplement
which is also great for the digestion is Kelp. Add this to the night
“feed”. Remember: your horse is eating less food, so you have to
compensate by upping the nutrients.
Herbs that are great:
Nettles for their nutritional and mineral content
Chamomile to soothe the digestion
Linden (if they are cranky about the muzzle at the beginning, you can
discontinue it after a while)
Liquorice is very important because it prevents low blood sugar, low
blood sugar causes one to be hungry, it is also good for digestion and
the immune system.
Absolute NO NOS
Do not give your
horse tit bits, unless it is bits of carrots or beetroot or apples. No
bread, sugar or commercial treats, they are full of sugar. Do not give your horse molasses, yes molasses do
contain B vitamins and iron but they are full of sugar and they cause
hypoglycaemia, which causes hunger. This means do not purchase horse
food that contains molasses. Plain, extruded grains are best.
As always I am happy
to answer questions relating to this or any other article.
Happy riding
Elyane |
