I bought the mare!

[Zoey3]

Okay I bought the over weight 2 year old mare. Since I want her to lose some weight, I was thinking of feeding her limited amounts of coastal hay, like 1/2 flake twice a day? Then I will buy a bag a oats, and feed her about 1/2 pound twice a day? Plus free exercise every day!

Any advice would be great!

Also my 11 month old colt, is acting like a stud already! So they will not be put together untill he is gelded. Sadly, his testicles have not dropped yet...but I read it could take him untill he is 2 or even 3 years old. True? I am hoping they will drop soon, since he has contact with a mare now! She will be 2 in March.

I will take a pic of her and a new pic of him this Spring when I clip them!

Thanks!

 

[LAZY J MINIS]

ZOEY3, I HAVE A MARE ALSO THAT IS OVER WEIGHT, I HAVE BEEN TALKING TO SHALADAR ONTHE FORUM AND SHE WAS TELLING ME A BOUT USING CINNAMON IN FEED TO HELP THEM LOOSE WEIGHT. I HAVEN'T DONE IT YET, I'M GOING TO TRY. SHE SAID USE 1 TEASPOON IN THEIR FEED ONCE A DAY. AND LOTS OF EXERCISE. CONTACT HER OVER THE FORUM, FOR MORE INFO. KEEPUS INFORMED AS TO PROGRESS.

 

[chandab]

How big is your new mare? height? Build? [slight, stocky; you've already said she's overweight.] Even fuzzy, pictures will help with weight assessment.

LB info pages has information about weight calculations: http://www.lilbeginnings.com/info/misc/ There are a couple different weight calculations part way down the page.

Even with weight reduction, she should still get at least 1.5% of her bodyweight in feed per day (mostly hay, is preferred). You don't want her to lose too fast, as that can make her sick (hyperlipemia (sp?)). It is best to feed by weight and not a flake of this and a cup of that (unless you know what flake weighs and how much a cup holds).

As to the colt, its quite possible his jewels will make an appearance with warmer weather.

 

[Zoey3]

Okay I will weigh her tomorrow. She is 33 1/4 in. tall.

 

[Reijel's Mom]

I don't know that I'd go with oats in a horse I was trying to help lose weight.

 

[Matt73]

Why not just hay?

 

[Carolyn R]

hay and a ration balancer to keep vitamins and minerals in check is my favorite course of action. Please don't be too sparse with the hay, horses need something going through their digestive track frequently (like every 2-3hours).

Carolyn

 

[debbiesshelties]

Hi,

Could we possibly see a picture?

Debbie

 

[Jill]

If she's overweight, I'd probably stick to just hay and a low carb / low starch pellet.

Colts can drop late (but ideally don't...). However, if you are new to "looking" for the testicles, they can hold them up real tight especially at his age and in cold weather. I've had some gelded that I honestly wasn't totally sure I'd felt until the vet was out here to geld them. It's like a ghost of a feel when the pull them up at that age in cold weather

If it is possible to have him gelded, the weight would come off her faster as they'd be likely to run around and play with each other.

 

[uwharrie]

I highly recommend the weight control feed that Purina makes. Both my stallion and mare came to us severely overweight this past summer. By December both were down to an acceptable weight and are now on Strategy ( we will go to Enrich 32 if it looks like they are gaining it back)

The WC is pricey but with minis it does last a bit.

 

[whitney]

Grass hay and salt and water is all she needs becareful in cutting her back make sure it is done slowly.

 

[txminipinto]

Regarding gelding the colt: Take him into the vet and have them check him. It may require sedation to see if he drops. I've had colts gelded that I feared were crypt that turned out to just be "shy" when I checked them.

On the mare: She needs a BALANCED grain, free choice hay, salt, and minerals. Be very wary to give just hay since not all hay is created equal. Some bloodwork wouldn't hurt either to check her thyroid.

 

[Zoey3]

Okay, she is 47 ins around the girth. So she is almost 300 lbs. Again she is 33 1/4 in tall.

I will try to find a balanced feed, in the mean time she is geting a handfull or two of the Omelene my colt is getting.

Yes I will get him checked and gelded as soon as I can, because I realy do want them to be able to be together, main reason I bought her! They already like each other.

When I checked him, he was very shy and squated a little!

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Zoey3]

I took some pics of her, but could not upload them. E-mail me if you want to see them!

 

[Ashley]

Here is the pic of your mare.......

My opinion is that she isnt that over weight. I would do anything huge to change her. Is there anyway she is bred?

 

[shelly]

She is very cute!!! IMO she looks more pot bellied than overweight! Have you wormed her yet? Can you feel hip bones or back bone? (with all those paw prints she may be homozygous tobiano!)

 

[Miniv]

She's CUTE! And I agree with Shelly. She really doesn't look that overweight.......just healthy and "fluffy"!

 

[Reijel's Mom]

I would agree, not that overweight at all. Probably just needs some conditioning.

 

[whitney]

Nope not fat. Thats 2 inches of Hairrrrrrrr.

 

[Taylor Jo]

I was expecting a REAL chunk and I agree with the others she looks pretty good. Just a little pot belly. Needs some exercise and a proper feeding schedule and she'll be fine. TJ