Overweight and Under-concerned?
by Shari Zachrich of Mars Horsecare US, Inc.
There are several causes of obesity in horses; too much energy (or too many calories) consumed, too little exercise, and other medical conditions such as insulin resistance or laminitis. Just like in humans, a healthy diet and exercise go hand in hand when it comes to shedding the pounds. It is unlikely that you will have the results you desire without one or the other. There are many concerns involved with an overweight or obese animal in which owners should take notice. Overweight horses are subject to many additional stresses due to their overall health including decreased time to fatigue, increased sweating and heat stress, increased respiratory difficulties, leg or joint trauma, and overall decreased performance. Overweight horses are at high risk for metabolic disorders such as Insulin Resistance or laminitis.
Assessing your horse’s overall condition is an important first step in changing the weight and lifestyle of your horse. Attaining a Body Condition Score and using a weight scale are some easy methods to determine a starting point for the new diet. Please refer to the April 2, 2008 edition of The Horse-Podcast for more information on Body Condition Scores. If your horse has no pending medical conditions, then decreased caloric intake and increased exercise is the preferred method to decrease your horse’s weight. After considering just how obese or overweight your horse is, you should then evaluate his current diet. Your assessment should include everything your horse consumes on a daily basis; hay, grain, pasture, supplements, etc. Many owners decide their horse is overweight and decrease the entire intake that horse has in order to lose weight. Typically, the average horse owner believes grain and concentrate to be the culprit and limits the intake of these feedstuffs. It is important, however, to consider exactly what portion of the diet you are limiting. Your goal is to meet the horse’s total daily requirements for protein, mineral, vitamin, and fiber to maintain healthy gut function, while reducing the amount of energy, or calories to lose weight. By decreasing the amount of grain or concentrate, you are usually decreasing the amount of vitamins and minerals your horse requires to function properly. Instead of limiting the concentrate and starving your horse of important essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other imperative nutrients, it is better to change the forage regimen first.
If your horse is on pasture, that is a major component to limit. Horses that are prone to being overweight or with little exercise are not a good combination with free choice pasture. Pasture has higher energy than hay because the plant in pasture is less mature. For a weight loss program, hay is recommended. There are two types of hay to choose from, grass and legume. Grass hays are timothy, orchard grass, fescue, coastal Bermuda, brome, etc. Legumes include alfalfa and clover. Because grass hays are typically lower in energy or calories than legume hays, they are also preferred for decreasing the weight of your horse. Grass hays are also an excellent source of fiber for the horse and essential for normal hindgut motility and function. By decreasing the amount of hay and fiber your horse consumes, you risk digestive upsets and even colic. Unhealthy vices can also occur in a horse lacking proper fiber intake such as eating bedding, cribbing, and other indigestible fiber sources. Typical grass forages do not meet daily requirements for mature horses in terms of protein, vitamins and minerals. These nutrients must be added to the diet by other means.
There are a few options when it comes to deciding your horse’s feed sources. Option 1 is to feed a reduced calorie feed, such as a low calorie, low starch concentrate. This allows owners to provide a typical grain ration without the added energy. Option 2 is the preferred method including a ration balancer that includes the protein, vitamins, and minerals designed specifically for your hay. A ration balancer is formulated to be fed in very small quantities yet supplies your horse with the essential nutrition your hay is lacking. Ration balancers can create a more tailored feeding program to your specific horse without the guesswork in larger grain rations. Keep in mind to make all feed changes gradual and maintain a total intake of 1.5%-2.0% of your horse’s bodyweight.
Once you have your nutrition program settled, a gradual increase in exercise will accelerate weight loss for maximum results. It is important to begin exercise routines slowly, depending on the fitness of your horse. Monitoring signs of fatigue such as heart rate, respiratory rate, and sweat is a good practice for avoiding overexertion.
It takes time and persistence for the horse to allow these changes in weight to occur. By making changes in your horse’s diet and lifestyle you can ensure your horse a longer, healthier life with improved performance and decreased risk of laminitis, insulin resistance, and colic. Obesity in horses is definitely something to be concerned about but it is preventable and a problem easily solved with proper well-balanced nutrition and exercise.
