tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960487123683294937.post7905739736075423220..comments2023-06-16T09:12:31.560-07:00Comments on Golden the Pony girl: The Dichotomy of health; my little chunky monkeyGolden the Pony Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15230832980797448174noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960487123683294937.post-49300736113925027642010-05-12T13:11:02.973-07:002010-05-12T13:11:02.973-07:00I have horses at either extreme. Or suffice to sa...I have horses at either extreme. Or suffice to say, I had. Flair was the more typical Thoroughbred type who needed weight put on, especially in his declining years. Now I have Mr. Golden-Fatty-McFatAss, and he needs to lose weight. I can never win. *pout*<br /><br />Mitch got his spring shots last week, and the vet says Chubbsy Ubbsy needs to lose at least 75 lbs. Which was very surprising for me because he was only getting the 4 flakes of grass hay a day in a slow hay feeder, no grain and I was riding practically every day. I did have the vet pull blood to check insulin and glucose since Mitch has a bit of a cresty neck and I suspect he's possible pre-IR as some Haffies are likely to be, but the results came back normal. I'm probably gonna have another blood test done in 6 months when he gets his fall shots because I've heard the blood tests can be iffy at times. We're cutting down on the hay a little per the vet, and I'm trying to increase his exercise workload to twice daily.Leihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05503579118629251506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960487123683294937.post-61875850899124133352010-05-12T09:00:24.211-07:002010-05-12T09:00:24.211-07:00You wonder though about these fat athletes and wha...You wonder though about these fat athletes and what it will do to their long term health. My massively overweight TB from childhood had heart disease and died with many kidney and liver tumors at the age of 23. He was overfed low quality sweet feed his entire life until he came to me.Golden the Pony Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15230832980797448174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960487123683294937.post-88629726033857727502010-05-12T08:46:19.485-07:002010-05-12T08:46:19.485-07:00When I did drug testing at a hunter/jumper show re...When I did drug testing at a hunter/jumper show recently I was surprised that every single horse was fat! These horses could canter and jump 3' effortlessly, but somehow they were still pudgy! My guess is that they are stalled 24 hours a day, ridden an hour or two daily, and fed free choice high quality hay. If these horses lived a bit more naturally they wouldn't be so chub-a-lub.<br />Exercise is the key to health apart from good grass!Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10254648268905529650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960487123683294937.post-56869502805455725332010-05-11T12:39:07.993-07:002010-05-11T12:39:07.993-07:00thanks for addressing this-- only wish I could sen...thanks for addressing this-- only wish I could send it to one family in particular at the farm...Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08558668876103778821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960487123683294937.post-1032167911063451742010-05-11T10:51:42.217-07:002010-05-11T10:51:42.217-07:00You're absolutely correct about this problem. ...You're absolutely correct about this problem. We have a few chunky monkeys occasionally but for the most part they are fit. We do exercise them by riding and or longeing. The retirees also get lots of exercise by being turned out all day. I've found that it helps to put their hay in small-holed hay nets and hang them in their stalls it takes them a lot longer to eat and leaves less of a mess. When some of them occasionally sneak over the line towards 'chunky' they do get grazing muzzles. We're trying but it's an ongoing battle with horses who love to eat.Grey Horse Mattershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05837575441967937196noreply@blogger.com