Starting date – Feb 2, 2009. Girth measurement 75 inches.
Just like humans, animals can get overweight without even trying!
Foxy is what we call an “easy keeper” or “air fern”. One day she is looking ok, well, maybe a little chunky, then suddenly she is huge! The problem with horses is that obesity leads directly to hoof/foot problems and there’s an old saying “No hoof, no horse” so it pays to take care of things.
Most of the winter, she was a little chunky – out of shape (no riding) and pretty woolly. The other day I saw that she was developing a crest below her mane – a prime indicator that her metabolism was dropping and she is at increased odds for foot problems. I want to emphasize that she has never had foot problems before – never sore, no laminitis, no founder. She is usually fine on pasture – but we’ve had an unusual winter, much warmer than normal. The grass is normally dormant in winter – well it’s green and a little cold-stressed this year, so it produces a lot more sugars than mature grass.
So she is off pasture altogether and gets her hay rationed throughout the day. I’m riding her daily – starting out on short jaunts, to build up as her fitness increases and her fat decreases. She also gets to spend part of her day with a busy-body Arabian gelding – he keeps her moving around the dry lot. Not running, but if she had her way she’d just park and not move. Her buddy makes sure she isn’t a “couch potato”. And the last ingredient in her diet plan is a supplement called “Remission”. It’s made specifically to support the metabolism of cresty horses. Between reduced food, increased exercise, and the supplement, I hope to have her in good shape by summer. Right now she is too round to fit any of my saddles, so I use a “LJ” or Little Joe Saddle pad. It’s nice and grippy and there’s no slipping when I ride.
I plan to update her “journal” here at least weekly – there will be a photo update and girth update every Monday.
