The Right Weight  © ILPH 2006

Is equine obesity really a problem?
Yes. In recent years the perception of ‘good condition’ has changed dramatically and as a result many leisure horses are carrying more than the ideal amount of body weight.

The picture above is ILPH Dollar. You could be forgiven for thinking this pony is in reasonable condition but in fact he is extremely overweight.

He was put on a strict diet and over the course of two years he lost a staggering 176 kilos – this is nearly 9 standard bags of horse feed.

 

 

 

 

 

Still not sure this is a welfare issue?

Then take a look at these pictures of ILPH Bahir. Bahir and Dollar are a similar height. When Bahir arrived with us he was underweight by the same amount as Dollar was overweight.

 

 

 

This is ILPH Bahir following a course of rehabilitation and looking fantastic.

Does this really matter?
Yes. Any animal that carries excess body weight over a prolonged period is likely to suffer from health problems. Aside from the obvious things such as problems with the heart, lungs and joints, overweight horses are at an increased risk of laminitis and hyperlipemia, both of which are potentially fatal.

For those of you who aren’t already aware of these, laminitis is a condition of the hooves where the hoof wall starts to separate from the underlying structures and in severe cases the bone actually erupts through the sole of the foot. As you can imagine this is an incredibly painful condition and is more common than you might think. Laminitis is a recurrent problem, so it is true to say that ‘once a laminitic always a laminitic’.

Whilst this is widely recognised as a problem in small fat ponies it can and does affect any horse of any breed. Although possible to treat if caught early enough, many horses in the later stages must be put down.

Hyperlipemia is caused when the horse’s fat stores mobilise into the blood stream. This is usually triggered by sudden starvation i.e. crash-dieting or some other stress factor such as travelling or exercise. In a high percentage of cases this will lead to chronic liver failure and death. Liver failure is a horrific way to die with many of the animals concerned losing sight, coordination and control of breathing amongst other things.

How does this affect the ILPH?
It costs significantly more, takes longer and is far more difficult to rehabilitate an obese horse than an emaciated one. An emaciated horse that comes into ILPH care, providing it has no underlying conditions, can be back to the correct weight within 3 months. Conversely, a horse which is obese simply through overfeeding rather than because of some underlying cause, will take in the region of 9 months to get to the correct weight. They are likely to suffer some long-term damage such as joint problems and, at the very least, their weight will always need monitoring. This is because once fat cells have been formed they will stay in the body forever, so a horse which has been overweight will become fat again far more easily. Many of the overweight horses and ponies we deal with will also suffer from laminitis, the treatment of which is prolonged and very expensive.

How are the ILPH planning to tackle this?
Our aim is to raise awareness of this problem. It is vital that horse owners understand the importance of feeding their horses an appropriate diet.

Feed companies categorise their products according to the level of work the horse is doing, i.e. light, medium or hard work. Understandably, there is a common misconception among horse owners about the level of work done by their horse. For example a horse which is hacked out a few times a week is doing light work at most, but many owners would consider this to be medium work and feed accordingly.

It is worth mentioning that most fat horses become so due to well-intentioned and caring owners - hugely different to the neglectful owners who allow their horses to become emaciated. Nevertheless the matter of obesity, as we have mentioned, can cause more severe problems which are more difficult to cure.

To help horse owners establish what the right weight for their horse is, we will be running Right Weight Road Shows around the country. On these days the general public will be invited to bring their horse to be weighed on a mobile weighbridge.