She's so HUGE!!

[Krstn&Locket]

My Mini is getting very, very fat! She's at a barn where shes on grass all the time. Shes not getting any grain but Is getting 2 flakes of hay daily, along with being put out on grass all day. I'm worried about her health because I've been working alot to pay for college and I'm not able to go out to the barn and work her as much as I should. I'ts so hard to keep weight off mini's. I left a note asking if they could maybe cut back on her hay but I hope I'm not offending the lady who owns the barn. I don't want her to think she's doing something wrong but the diet for her big horses is much differnt than my mini's.

 

[nootka]

Is it truly fat?

Could she be in foal? Could she just have a large belly from not getting enough nutrients? (MOST times, hay and pasture aren't enough nutritionally, but again, I don't know the type of pasture she's on, nor the hay quality, etc.) Seeing a picture and a bit more information could be helpful.

My minis are on pasture all day, they also have hay in front of them all day and not one is obese, though one of them is what I consider fat, she tends that way. She also gets a small amount of grain as well as she is a broodmare.

Hope this helps you help us give better advice.

Liz

 

[Magnolia_dream]

i have just the opposite problem, my mini is too skinny :lol:

 

[Matt73]

If she's on grass all day cut down her hay DRASTICALLY! 1/2 a flake a day should do it! I don't think she should be on grass all day in the first place; like ponies, these little ones founder VERY easily. I limit mine to an hour of grass-grazing/day in the early morning when the sugar content is low (the sugars and other photosynthesis "stuff" is what can lead to laminitis.