How to get overweight mare to slim down

I plan to start lunging her tomorrow how long should I start her workout for to start.

She gets Some of equiline feed should she be put on a less fatty feed and we are about to start feeding just square bale of hay a flake twice a day for her or is that to much as her pen has no grass and right now she is on a round bale with the other mares who aren't overweight like her.

Thanks for the tips ?

Go slow reducing her feed. Exercise is definitely the answer. 10 minutes minimum. You might also lay out some poles for her to go over. I suggest you take a watch and time the exercise session; 10 minutes can see like an hour.

She doesn't look that heavy. I like those three brown spots!

She isn't in bad winter weight.... I agree with Marsha....Go slow with reducing/changing feed. And 5 minutes each direction with lunge-ing is where we start.

Laying down poles for her to step over is also a good idea. After about a week to 10 days we up the total work-out time to 15 minutes.

Recommend weighing her flakes of hay. They can weigh anywhere from 2 to 6 lbs. The usual rule of thumb is 2% of their body weight for feeding.

It's so hard to judge weight when they are in their winter woolies, which typically add 3" all around.

Have you laid your hands on her and felt her? How easy or hard isn't to feel backbone, hips and ribs? She might not be as heavy as you think under all that hair.

Thanks for the wonderful advice this girl stays on the puggy side Year round.

Here a pics of her when I got her weight down in 2012

Sorry forgot the pic lol

This is her in august 24, 2016

If she's still about like she was in August, then she might be packing a few extra pounds. I rarely diet in the winter, since the cold often sucks weight off them here. Reduce her feed and forage by 10% and see what that does for her, give it a couple weeks to do something for her before deciding if you need to reduce further or perhaps switch her feed for a lower calorie feed.

Ok thanks for the advice I might wait then till winter is over to be on safe side

I had one that has just come back from being on lease as a lead line pony. He was very overweight ,cresty neck , fat deposits ect when I got him back.

He has been on a grass hay diet only with limited grazing time. With the mild summer here and plenty of rain the grass just will not stop growing.

Changes to feeding really need to be taken slowly. I have just started to lunge him until he starts to feel warm under the front legs and will increase slowly as he becomes fitter.

Im heading towards winter here , so always like them to be a little heavier going into winter.

Briskly hand walking is always an option for some light exercise if you can't lunge because of the footing or whatever. It's a nice way to bond and spend some extra time with them. Good exercise for the two-footed walker, too!

I wouldn’t presume to comment whether your horse is too fat based on your photos. I can’t even figure out when ours are too fat.

Round bale vs square bale vs flakes makes no never mind. How large is the flake? And what’s in that hay? Texas hay is probably different from our Washington hay. I remember reading (not only on this forum but also elsewhere on the internet) that some people feed straight alfalfa to their minis. Whoopie!--We were throwing alfalfa flakes over the fence willy-nilly; our three minis were deliriously happy. They loved us! …until our Baby got laminitis. Heart-breaking. Luckily, I don’t think we damaged her.

The vet gave us some suggestions; she told us we didn’t have to do them all (but in between polite remarks about body scores and comments about pasture potatoes) she said we had to do some of them. I chose the easier ones first. We got rid of any bagged feed. It’s loaded with sugars, corn, etc. Ours get free access to salt and a vet-recommended vitamin. I don’t soak the hay anymore; it’s a pain in the butt. However, I do use a slow-feeding net (nibble net) for our two girls sometimes. It slows their eating and keeps them occupied. I hated it, but we also rigged a dry-lot for the girls. And we carved up their (approx) 3 acres of pasture into small sections. They only get limited access; I try to balance their desire to graze with limited access. Our stallion gets about an eighth of an acre, and luckily we didn't have to try to "chunk" up his pasture because he stops eating. He'll save hay for later. Each horse is different.