Using drought to diet, but do it responsibly

Overweight pony or horse? A drought can be your ally. Your horse's health relies on smart restraint from you.

Using drought to support a healthy diet can be a blessing. Drought isn’t just a hassle, it can be a useful tool to help horses and ponies who need time in calorie deficit for their improved health.

With grass growth stunted by drought, many horse owners panic and load up too much on hay. Some provision might be nneded, but we can do this while providing great enrichment for your horse too.

Your heart vs your horse’s health

Watching your horse nibble a bare paddock can feel heartless. Many owners fear their horse is starving, and act emotionally by feeding hay. BUT STOP, in reality:

Horses thrive on 1.5  to 2 % of body weight/day in forage (dry matter)
For a 500 kg horse, that’s approximately 9kg (at 1.5%) to 12.5 kg (at 2%) in TOTAL
This is NOT unlimited hay or grass
Allowing slight weight loss for an overweight horse during drought is healthy not harmful
Treat drought periods as you would a winter weight loss period
We often don't get this benefit during the grazing season, utilise it positively
Ensure forage provision (dry matter) never drops below 1.5 % bodyweight/day

But what about ulcers?

Horses are trickle feeders, evolved to graze for 16 to 18 hours per day
This allows for up to 4 to 6 hours a day WITHOUT access to forage while maintaining healthy digestion
CHECK DROPPINGS - Know your horses normal, 8-12 droppings/day is healthy
It might look like there's no grass in your field BUT if your horses droppings are normal in number and appearance then they are probably getting more forage provision than it looks like

Be a responsible owner and don't ignore the reality for your horse as an individual. It is proven that owners underestimate body condition and over 40% miss obvious obesity signs.

FAT is NOT "CUTE". "CHUNKY" is UNHEALTY. "HE CARRIES HIS WEIGHT WELL", NO, being overweight causes negative impacts on heart health, respiration, heat regulation, joint mobility, hoof health, and even more!

Slow intake, fibrous forage helps support healthy digestion and mimics natural grazing. Sadly this isn't achieved by carrying a couple of slices of hay to the field for your horse to stand still and consume in 30 minutes. We can make it last longer, and also encourage movement too.

Field enrichment is key, try some ideas such as:

Slow feeders - such as providing their feed balancer in a treat ball
Straw mixed with low calorie and/or soaked hay at a 25/75% ratio
Hay/soaked hay and straw mix placed in smaller holed haynets
Hay/soaked hay and straw mix placed at various points around the field to encourage movement
Check that total forage provision is only 1.5 to 2 % of bodyweight/day

Tough Love - if your horse is overweight:

Resist automatic topping-up of forage
Treat your horse as an individual, don’t follow the herd
A calculated deficit can save health, not endanger it
Speak to us, we can help - Only 25 % of owners seek professional guidance
Monitor weight weekly on a weigh tape to track gains and losses
Body Condition Score regularly (fortnightly ideally)
Chat with friends - share useful blogs and content
Normalise that lean is healthy and that having an overweight equine is not
Respect their biology - controlled forage, slow feeding, expert guidance
Turn temporary grass scarcity into long-term health gain

Limit grass, YES! Limit calories, YES! BUT provide suitable levels of forage (don't overfeed) plus a full vitamin, mineral and micronutrient provision.

By feeding a balancer you ensure your horse or pony obtains all they need for their long term daily health WITHOUT the addition of excessive calories, starch or sugar.

ALL Blue Chip balancers are molasses free and INCREDIBLY low in starch, sugar and calories. It's such an easy way to ensure a balanced diet. Slim & Trim even helps assist further with healthy and safe weight loss.