FAT Minis- Weight lost help needed

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uwharrie

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We just picked up our two new minis Saturday

a Mare and Stallion both 8 yrs old.

Both are very FAT ( the mare actually looks like she is in foal even though she is not)

We are putting them in a paddock that has almost no grass

I have good quality fescue hay and can get Alfalfa if needed.

I need recomendations on what to feed to reduce weight. I have been told to find a low carb feed mix and plain beet pulp, grass hay and no pasture.

I am very limited to where I can buy

( Tractor supply and a very small purina dealer)

tractor supply did have a feed for minis

Any help and suggestions greatly appreciated!
 
With extremely obese Minis you have to be careful with the hyperlipidimia! Reduce their intake slowly with mild excercise too to start using muscle and calories. This article may help.

http://wwwchem.csustan.edu/chem4400/SJBR/99boyce.htm

I would also wonder about a thyroid problem, IF just regular diet and excercise does not seem to be working over a period of time, as this will make them stay fat on 'air' and it WILL not come off until put on medication, and even then I dont know if they appear totally 'normal'. Perhaps someone here with more experience with that can help. I knew someone with a thyroid stud, who was not fat body wise, but his neck was very cresty, and once put on medication etc... his neck fell over badly.

You dont want to 'starve' them thinner, so I think a nice grass alfalfa mix would be good nutrition for them, but just in amounts that they are not going to be so fat. I feel sorry for some of the obese ones I see- it is so unhealthy for them.
 
I would put them on 1/2 flake of hay in the morning each and 1/2 flake of hay at night. Also, start them on soaked beet pulp (maybe around 4 cups or so a peice). And about a cup of grain a day just to keep them happy. I think pasture is fine as long as its limited to around a hour or so a day. Don't want to pull them completely off what they are use to. It takes a lot of time to get weight off of them. Just watch for founder. I give mine a supplement called Remission. Its for horses with laminitis, but its chuck full of minerals and makes them use some of their stored body fat. I give them 1/2 a small scoop (in the bucket already) for a week and then cut them back to a 1/4 scoop. It worked wonders on my way overweight mini. Helped pull the excess fat from his withers and flanks. He's still a bit overweight, but he's happier and healthier now.
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Good luck with them!
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Oh, be sure to give them some psylium if they are on a sandy lot just to help prevent sand colic. And exercise them about 10-15 minutes a day or every other day just lunging them. You'll be able to gauge their fitness level after a couple days.
 
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uwharrie, I know you said you have fescue hay. Are you ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE the mare isn't pregnant? Is this mare and stallion from the same place? I also have a mare this is very fat, even though ultrasound did not find a baby, I would not give her fescue hay.

Can we see pictures of your fat minis? Everybody here loves pictures!!
 
If they are overweight, I would suggest putting them on a low starch/low sugar diet. There are many feeds now available that are low starch. Purina has two new ones out. One is WellSource L/S (low starch) and the other is WellSource W/C (weight control). I just picked up a bag of the W/C for an overweight mare of mine I'm having a hard time getting her weight down. I'm hoping it will help, and it should as it is low in fat and low in calories.

The first thing I would try is cutting calories and see if that helps.
 
thanks everyone for the suggestions!

Am very sure she is not pregnant, as the folks had put the stallion with her the week before I picked them up and of course she was in season.

So I guess techincally she may be in foal but only by a few days!

I know all about fescue and pregant mares. Have had "big" horses all my life

uwharrie, I know you said you have fescue hay. Are you ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE the mare isn't pregnant? Is this mare and stallion from the same place? I also have a mare this is very fat, even though ultrasound did not find a baby, I would not give her fescue hay.

Can we see pictures of your fat minis? Everybody here loves pictures!!
Both were show ( apparently a lot) in thier younger days, but like many thing life got in the way for thier young owner. I am still waiting on the pedigree of the mare but the Stallion seems to have a very nice pedigree

the Mare Dreamie 33 in AMHR

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The Stallion Romeo 33 in AMHR AMHA

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Both are settling in pretty well, though Romeo has decided he hates my 8 month old rescue colt ( who is scheduled to be nadless as soon as we can get the vet out)

Question for those with Stallions. Do you allow them to run with the mares all the time?

How are they with geldings?

I have been around Stallions ( friends had QH and WB) but those guys were always kept by themselves, seems a sad existance for a horse.

oh and I promise to get some better conformation shots soon!
 
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Just an FYI - Tractor and Supply can bring in Farnam Platform Miniature and Pony feed, you just have to ask them to bring it in.
 
Depends on the stallion, but I had one that was an angel and I could run him with my geldings. I had another that I couldn't becuase he was nasty. You don't let them run with mares unless you want a baby.
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They don't look too badly overweight. I would for sure get that mare checked to be sure. Her belly does hang down quite low.
 
Your horses are beautiful! My mare is very overweight, she was bred in October, 2 ultrasounds don't see a baby, and all I feed her is hay. Nobody believes me that she isn't in foal. If this is all fat, just from hay, I guess I'll have to go to bread and water. (kidding). Do your minis need grain??
 
Our stud and gelding do just fine together. The stallion also does well with a bred mare. If we put all boys and girls together, the stallion tends to pester the mares and he gets some hoof prints on his chest. And the boys seem to fight over who has the mares. But if each boy has at least one girl, they are fine. The stallion is usually alone because we have a younger girl that isnt to be bred yet.

Marsha
 
Very nice horses
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You might try the Weight Control feed from Purina that Becky mentioned - it's brand new, but my feed store has been telling me that it's good stuff. It is difficult to pull the weight off these little guys sometimes, I have several not in foal mares on pasture who are obese right now, and aside from a bite or two of grain in the morning, all they have is grass.

Jan
 
When I want a horse to lose weight I put him on oats. Oats gives them more energy & so they move around more, and more exercise = weight loss. It works.
 
[SIZE=12pt]I saw and read an ad on the new Purina weight loss and low starch feeds. I noticed it said they were not complete feeds but should be fed with hay. I have a gelding who has two butt cheeks and a tail hang somewhere between them
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He is a "gets fat on air" type. So if he is keeping fat as a pig on strait grass (1/2 flake in the am, 1/2 flake at night, about 2lbs a day) how will adding another feed help him lose weight? Hate to sound ignorant but.... :DOH! [/SIZE]

Yes I have started driving him a couple of times a week now that the weather is cooperating and I can see it's starting to make a difference. I just can't see reducing his hay anymore than it has been
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How will adding another feed help??

Thanks,

Joy
 
I lucked out and my Purina dealer has both the weight loss and low starch feeds

he recommended using the weight loss until I have bloodwork pulled.

Both are quite pricey! Ls is $27 WL is $25

They do carry beetpulp but the only one they carry has molasses. No one around her seems to carry plain beet pulp.

for those that recommended the Beet Pulp the molasses would be a no-no correct?

any alternatives? I thought about Alfalfa cubes
 
It's great that your feed dealer has those feeds! I think you will find that they will help. One benefit that I am finding from the W/C feed, is that I can feed my mare a bit more of that than what she was otherwise getting so there is more chew time and therefore she feels more satisfied.

If you use the beet pulp with molasses, you need to soak it first for at least an hour, then rinse it until the water runs clear. That removes the majority of the sugar from the beet pulp. I rinse mine using a collander I bought at Wal Mart.
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My overweight mare is getting the W/C feed, alfalfa pellets (they are very low in NSC) and a handful of grass hay. She is dry lotted.
 
It's great that your feed dealer has those feeds! I think you will find that they will help. One benefit that I am finding from the W/C feed, is that I can feed my mare a bit more of that than what she was otherwise getting so there is more chew time and therefore she feels more satisfied.

If you use the beet pulp with molasses, you need to soak it first for at least an hour, then rinse it until the water runs clear. That removes the majority of the sugar from the beet pulp. I rinse mine using a collander I bought at Wal Mart.
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My overweight mare is getting the W/C feed, alfalfa pellets (they are very low in NSC) and a handful of grass hay. She is dry lotted.
[SIZE=12pt]How heavy is your mare? and how much W/C do you feed?[/SIZE]

Thanks,

Joy
 
weight tape shows the mare at 416 lbs ( I estimate her to be 34 inches)

and the stallion at 400 lbs ( he is about 34 in as well)

I now have them on an "almost" dry lot

abit of fescue hay

Purina Weight loss and want to add soaked beet pulp

The feed bag recommends 2 lbs per day.

does that sound like a lot?

for those that use the Beet Pulp, how much do you feed?
 
just put the tape on both horses

Romeo is now at 381

Dreamie at 386

So they are losing weight! YEAH!! ( now if I could do the same for myself!!)
 
Just wanted to add:

WOW
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Fat or not, they are both gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love that mare
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