Fat Horse...need help!?

Question

I have a very fat Canadian gelding who I would love to get in shape for dressge. Since he is only 4 and pretty green I'm not sure how to go about doing this....any pointers would be great! thanks

Answer 1

make him run in a round pen for an hour every day.

Answer 2

What's his diet?

You might want to consider cutting out grain and providing a ration balancer and maybe a top dressing of rice bran oil, or a fat supplement for good measure.

To be honest, most commercial grains cannot give horses the nutrition they need without a ridiculous amount of food(I don't know any horse that gets the amount of food it takes to get them the nutrition they need-it would cause colic, founder, etc.). A good amount of quality hay, a vitamin supplement or a ration balancer along with something like Source for minerals is good for very easy keepers who don't need grain. Again, you can always top dress with a fat supplement if he needs it-it's much healthier than upping the grain intake if they need more weight.

Answer 3

ok, start with just walking, alot atleast an hour day, through worked up or heavy sand is the best, then trot him for about ten minutes and walk again. Try trotting poles also. Ride to a different place every day so he doesnt get bored, thats the worst thing you can do to a young horse.

Also if you have anywhere to, then take him on trail rides through the bush. This will wake him up and make him look where he is going!

-also dont lunge to much or lock in a small yard! this will make him bored and sour!

and dont decrese food, increase excersice!

Good luck! :D

Answer 4

Put him in a confined space. Ie cattle yard. Let him eat it down feed him a biscuit of hay every 2 days. Gradually work up his exercise.

Answer 5

you cant start out working him for an hour but you could cut back on the food and work him 4 to 5 days aweek start at about 15 to 20 mins for the the first week and and alittle more as you go along lots on ground work first. good luck.

Answer 6

Excercise him 5 days a week for about 2 hours a day. Trotting is one of the best ways to get a horse in shape. Lunge him, ride him, and make him sweat. Also put him on a diet. If you excercise him 5 times a day for 2 hours give him 2 flakes of hay in the morning and afternoon and give him 1 pound of some kind of grain (no sweetfeed, I would recommend Safe Choice) in the morning and afternoon. So in total he should be getting 4 flakes of hay a day and 2 pounds of grain.

Is he turned out on grass all day? If you turn him out in a very grassy field you may want to cut down. If your field is really filled with tall green grass only turn him out for about 2 hours a day. If its short grass then maybe 5 hours a day. If he's on a dirt lot then it doesnt really matter how long.

Answer 7

You can still turn him out, but maybe put a grazing muzzle on him

Answer 8

Well, if you don't feel comfortable riding him... try lounging (sp?) him. If he is fat, try changing his diet some...