Question
Biggie, my 12-year-old, 29-inch (7.1-hand; 74-cm) Miniature Horse gelding, has no known medical problems, though he tends to get a hay belly. He needs to lose some weight. I feed him 2 lb (1 kg) sweet feed, 2 oz rice bran oil, and a couple pinches of Himalayan rock salt each day, divided into two meals. He gets a typical flake of fescue hay in the winter, and he grazes with a muzzle during growing seasons. Any suggestions to help Biggie lose weight?
Answer
The best way to help Biggie shed weight is by reducing caloric intake and increasing exercise. The most efficient way to do this is by slowly discontinuing the sweet feed and rice bran oil, both of which only serve to increase energy consumption.
In order to fulfill nutrient requirements without adding calories, you can replace the sweet feed with a ration balancer pellet. A ration balancer pellet is a concentrated source of vitamins and minerals designed to be fed at a much lower intake. For instance, Biggie would only need about 4 oz of a balancer pellet to provide essential nutrients without adding calories.
If you are feeding the oil for a healthy coat, I suggest switching to a source of omega-3 fatty acids, such as the fish oil product EO•3. Just 1 oz of EO•3 daily will reduce the inflammatory response and positively affect insulin sensitivity; these factors could help with Biggie’s weight loss and might stave off some metabolic diseases that obese horses are predisposed to.
Spreading out 4 lb (1.8 kg) of hay throughout the day is ideal to meet his forage requirements. Limiting grass intake is also important for weight loss, so using a muzzle will continue to be important, though total time on pasture might need to be reduced as well. Many Miniature Horses tend to get a hay belly rather easily from lack of exercise, obesity, poor-quality forage, or a combination of these factors. At this time, weight loss is the goal for Biggie, so maintaining him on medium-quality hay, fed in appropriate amounts, would be desired.
If Biggie tends to devour his hay quickly, leaving him standing around for long periods with nothing to munch on, consider feeding his hay in a haynet with tiny holes. These haynets are typically designed for full-size horses with much larger muzzles, so it might be necessary to “double-bag” or use two haynets instead of one to make him work a little harder for each mouthful of hay. Even with this arrangement, if he is left without hay for extended stretches, consider an antiulcer supplement to keep his stomach in tip-top shape—RiteTrac is available in the U.S. and other regions, and Australian stockists offer research-proven options.
