He WHAT?
Dec 02 2008
“QTS Wild Rose Badger- Beautiful Paint Stallion is looking for Mares–add a gentle disposition with talent and color to your herd. He is 15.1 hands, he is listed as a dun tobiano but, has black tail, white/black Mane, his body is dark dun and white, has a marking of a cat standing up on his one side.He has never offered to kick or bite, he nipples but he gets corrected. This Guy could throw alot of positive in your herd–give me a call for planning a stud service”
*rolls on the floor laughing*
OK, that part aside, can we liposuction some fat off of this guy and pump it into some rescue horses? He is ginormous. Obesity in horses is no better than obesity in people. He may actually have some decent conformation but it is impossible to see as everything is covered over with a generous layer of blubber.
From Science Daily: “Obesity in horses not only causes weight gain but also endocrine problems, including insulin resistance. The equine obesity risks have been less studied, but researchers believe horses have similar risks as humans, such as heart disease and diabetes.”
The Veterinary News accurately observed: “One of the most difficult aspects of dealing with these horses is convincing owners that overfeeding is not healthy. Many owners equate equine food with care and concern and feel that a fat horse is a happy one.” Exactly. While none of us like to see a skinny horse, you can absolutely go too far the other direction and many people do.
They really are just like people, as rapid weight loss causes metabolic issues for them as well. If you have an overweight horse, the vets recommend steps like starting an exercise program (and just like an overweight human, that starts with walking only), spreading hay out in the field so that the horse has to walk to get to it, or using a grazing muzzle if the horse is out on pasture only and is overweight. You really are not doing your horse a favor if you’re letting him look like that stallion above – you’re shortening his lifespan and setting him up for a collection of painful health conditions.
Now, here’s a happy sight – that skinny colt from yesterday’s post in training with his new owner. Doesn’t look like a $75 colt anymore, does he? Nice job!
One comment to “He WHAT?”
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I agree about equine obesity – we actually have a mare that is INCREDIBLY hard to keep weight off! I lunge her often, she gets fed pasture only (except for a TINY handfull of oaten chaff to mix iodised salt in with).
I actually got a blood panel done on her yesterday – she has had a swollen thyroid gland for a while and I got the vet out to look at it and they said that it appeared to be a lack of iodised salt, but after a month or two with no results we decided a blood panel might be good. I’m thinking it’s an under-active thyroid, which would explain the weight, but she’s not really lazy.
It’s so hard to keep weight off her! I really think that many people just believe that a fat horse is a healthy horse, but that’s not the case – I know that, I’m just struggling to get her weight down, it’s slowly getting there – I think. . .