between seasons

[krissy3]

I have a few questions for those of you that live where there is a LOT of snow and it gets in the 10 or lower degreese..

my shetlands sleep in a stall only through the winter season. they go in and are fed at 5 pm and come out to enjoy the day at 8am, and the stall door is left open if they want to go in.

right now the days are longer , and i have noticed the first signs of sheding...shorter hair , but still very thick , especially on the grey gelding. There is still about 6 feet of snow here, and because there is so much snow there space for exercising is limited , hence the extra fat. My round pen is burried , and I have at least another month before I will be able to see the ground, and move them around a bit. they stick to 1 trail that goes to the bottom of the hill , and they go right back up again , but its just not enough exercise to get the extra few pounds off. I thought as they would shed , they would be a lot smaller , I didnt think I had a problem until I noticed they are shedding , and NOT getting smaller.

The grey gelding is sweating a little some nights in the stall, and they are a little "round". I fear shaving them in case we get another storm , and it gets below -10 degreese Celcious, like a week ago or so

I have reduced the grain to almost not giving them any at all , and have reduced the hay a little , but its still given 2 times a day.

what do you do in this "between " season... when they still have a little winter fat , winter coat, and spring is around the corner?

If I do try to shave the ones that will let me ..do i shave the chest area, and belly , leaving the legs? The one that is warm is naturally my "special needs" wild pony that wont let me near him with a brush let alone a clipper. My AMHA registered horse is naturally shedding in her chest area , but the 2 native shetlands are still very thick and wooley.

help help...what to do when they cant run around like a hooligan

 

[muffntuf]

You could do a hunt clip - around the stomach and legs. But really if you are still below zero I would just let them shed naturally. Can you make the stall any bigger? Find someone with a little atv of something with a plow on the front to come and move snow further out in their pen, etc.

 

[nbark]

Hi Krissy

Mother Nature will take care of some of the fat as the weather gets better along with the coats. I wouldn't worry too much. As soon as the snow gets to a point that they can start having some fun, they will. Mine have done the same thing, made a path and then stayed on it back and forth, but now that some of it is melting, they are venturing off the path and into the snow to play.

Nancy

 

[Echo Acres]

I would cut back their hay. I have found that this time of year when it gets a little warmer, but not yet spring they tend to gain weight on their winter diet. They aren't burning as much of they hay off because they don't need it to keep warm. I have just cut mine back as well.

Last year we bought a treadmill and used that for the month before we could get into our round pen. Boy did that help! Gave us a big head start. But I know that is not possible for everyone.

 

[Darkstar]

It sounds like you are are caught between a rock and a hard place, like most all of us northern miniature horse people. I hope some of the experienced trainers and show folks will chime in on this post and expound on nutrition vs. exercise.

I really can't give you any good specific advice as I am just learning this aspect of conditioning for showing myself. I think the basic theory is to maintain or increase nutrition and decrease the mass that you are feeding. I know this doesn't help much,but I thought but I needed to "chime in".

It seems to me that giving the horses more grain and high nutritional feeds is like us eating lots of chocolates and sugars and probably caffine. If the horses are young and have room to run they will burn it off and then some on their own. I think the bottom line is to focus on building muscle on the horse and with some exercise the pounds will fall off very quickly.

With increase "for us chocolate" (LOL) I bet them horses will be forging new paths to run up and down the hill.

Take this as a grain of salt, as like I said, I am just learning this of show conditioning aspect of miniature horses myself. I usually like to keep mine fat and happy ! LOL

And so do they !!!

If it were me, I wouldn't cut their grain at all, but maybe increase it slowly. I would also cut their normal feed, in conjunction with increasing their grain, and maybe switch it over to something high in nutritional value slowly. It's a balance act!

Big muscles, small belly is what everyone whats. This is getting to close to home!!! LOL

 

[krissy3]

Maybe I didnt mention the fact that the snow is a lot higher then the horses ....like 10 feet in most places...I think adding more grain to hype them up a bit to carve a new path will lead to a few deaths...and I dont have the energy to dig them out of snow.. they are doing what they can in this reigon...most horses -cows and sheep are indoors for the entire winter ...mine are lucky to have a varanda , and a place to play.

thanks for the tip ...will continue to reduce the food intake as they certainly dont need to keep warm...should I perhaps leave the stall door open so they can go out in the night ??

 

[MiLo Minis]

I have a few questions for those of you that live where there is a LOT of snow and it gets in the 10 or lower degreese..
my shetlands sleep in a stall only through the winter season. they go in and are fed at 5 pm and come out to enjoy the day at 8am, and the stall door is left open if they want to go in.

right now the days are longer , and i have noticed the first signs of sheding...shorter hair , but still very thick , especially on the grey gelding. There is still about 6 feet of snow here, and because there is so much snow there space for exercising is limited , hence the extra fat. My round pen is burried , and I have at least another month before I will be able to see the ground, and move them around a bit. they stick to 1 trail that goes to the bottom of the hill , and they go right back up again , but its just not enough exercise to get the extra few pounds off. I thought as they would shed , they would be a lot smaller , I didnt think I had a problem until I noticed they are shedding , and NOT getting smaller.

The grey gelding is sweating a little some nights in the stall, and they are a little "round". I fear shaving them in case we get another storm , and it gets below -10 degreese Celcious, like a week ago or so

I have reduced the grain to almost not giving them any at all , and have reduced the hay a little , but its still given 2 times a day.

what do you do in this "between " season... when they still have a little winter fat , winter coat, and spring is around the corner?

If I do try to shave the ones that will let me ..do i shave the chest area, and belly , leaving the legs? The one that is warm is naturally my "special needs" wild pony that wont let me near him with a brush let alone a clipper. My AMHA registered horse is naturally shedding in her chest area , but the 2 native shetlands are still very thick and wooley.

help help...what to do when they cant run around like a hooligan

Forgive me for asking but are you going by "feel" or "look"? I find it hard to believe, unless you have a whole herd of very easy keepers, that hay twice a day and some grain would lead your horses to be too fat over a very hard winter. We have had tougher years than this one, I have very good quality hay and feed it to the point that they also use it for bedding and mine are not fat. Most are in very good flesh and a couple I would like to see a bit more weight on. I don't start feeding grain on top of the hay until after the New Year when the hay is not quite as good as it was in the fall but even so.....have you put your hands on them to see how their ribs feel, their spine and their hips?

I usually try to let my horses shed out as naturally as possible with plenty of brushing to loosen the coats. I find that gives me a better quality early show coat than one that is clipped off early in its growth. Until the weather gets so warm that they are sweating standing still I don't usually clip at all.

 

[krissy3]

I am going by both feel and look...they are not grossly fat , but thick, and there is a fat patch above the shoulder..I would call it brown fat that will go away once the snow melts , and they can run around. When i feed 2 times a day , It is just under 1 flake per horse 2 times a day . This hay is from germany and is a very good quality 2nd cut grass hay , mixed with our local swiss grass cut that is about the third or forth cut. They get apples , and carrot peels from the restraunt, and some grain . I have never had a thin animal ...if anything I am the kind to have too much weight on them. The hay lasts almost all day for them , so they really go just a few hours without hay in the day and night. I have easy keepers I guess, I have never had a thin horse , and even my Donkey is a little too fat , he is 30 years old too.