Weight: is your horse the right weight?

It is impossible to tell by eye how much fat a horse is carrying, and this can be surprisingly deceptive. Feel for fat in specific areas to check your horse’s condition using the guides and as described in the videos below.

Ask an expert whether you are feeding your horse appropriately. This can be very confusing, which makes it easy to feed your horse more calories than they really need. Also, try to make titbits and treats the exception rather than the rule. You may also need to soak hay to reduce sugar content.

Horses must have a steady supply of food to keep them healthy, so you need to find ways to reduce the calories without cutting down the quantity.

Most leisure horses get more calories than they need from grass alone. In many cases it may be necessary to restrict their grass intake in some way, although additional vitamins and minerals will still be required. Watch our videos to find ways to cut down the amount of grass they get without stopping them from eating completely. If you have the opportunity, you may want to strip graze or implement a track system to increase movement and reduce grass intake.

A high energy feed is also high in calories. Feeding an overweight horse more calories won’t give it more energy for work, but it will create more fat. Think about reducing their calorie intake so they lose weight and build up fitness to give them more energy.

A brisk walk or steady trot will burn more fat than faster work such as canter. Find ways to build more walking into your horse’s day, maybe put some poles out to go over on your way to and from field. Horse walkers can be a useful tool for weight loss but shouldn’t be overused or relied upon. Walking up hills, in hand or ridden, is also an excellent way to burn more fat.

Remember that horses already have waterproof coats and their own central heating systems – digesting fibre generates heat, and this helps to keep the horse warm from the inside out. If your horse is overweight, consider whether it could go without a rug or if a lighter weight one would be more suitable.

Don’t be tempted to feed or rug your horse the same way as other horse owners on your yard – treat each horse as an individual. Consider what your horse needs and remember that it might be different to what other horses need, even if they’re of a similar type.

Horses can put on weight very quickly so fat scoring and weigh taping your horse fortnightly will help you spot any changes more quickly than you could by eye.