Site on the hazards of equine obesity.

Don't say I didn't try to warn you.

Excess weight and over-nutrition have a number of potentially negative effects, including:

• Increased stress on the heart and lungs
• Greater risk of laminitis or founder
• Increased risk of developmental orthopedic (bone and joint) problems in young, growing horses
• More strain on feet, joints and limbs
• Worsened symptoms of arthritis
• Less efficient cooling of body temperatures
• Fat build-up around key organs which interferes with normal function
• Reduced reproductive efficiency
• Greater lethargy and more easily fatigued

From the American Association of Equine Practitioners booklet, which also includes very helpful indepth coverage of what to do in order to safeguard your horse's health.

Preferences

Generally speaking ...

• I'd rather see a horse a little overweight than a little underweight.
• I'd rather see a horse a little underweight than a lot overweight.
• I'd rather see a horse a lot overweight than a lot underweight.

But ideally, I like to see horses at a healthy weight.

Sometimes, that means work.
Money, too, perhaps—but mostly research and effort.

Knew I wouldn't have to search far...

to find a non-obese miniature horse.

This little fellow was in a farm animal petting zoo exhibit at the county fair.



Sorry, it's from the camera phone again. While there is plenty of "belly" it is not disproportionately huge compared to his shoulder and rump. You can't see from the pic that he's got visible bone structure, without being skinny. He has a neck, rather than just a slope from body mass to head.

He may not be broke to ride or drive, never asked, but he has a job nonetheless. Friendly, content and well cared for... and certainly tolerant! Thousands of people petting, poking and screeching over the course of a week, and he never looked stressed or depressed, tired or anxious. The other animals on display seemed to be similarly well cared for and well suited for their ambassador jobs.

You simply cannot give me the excuse that your horse is FAT because it's a MINI! I also do not accept young, old, broodmare or draft for excuses. A healthy horse is a healthy weight.

I know it's a mini, but ...

... is the belly really supposed to descend below the knees?

Another reader contribution:

Okay, maybe it isn't THAT bad ... but still ... the stress of that extra weight must be hard on those little legs.

His crowning achievement is "nice color all over." He is not broke to ride or drive. I have to surmise that his main exercise consists of avoiding being caught and avoiding being eaten by the big horse trying to nose into the photo.

Please don't tell me that ALL minis look like that. I'm certain I could easily prove you wrong, but I'm a busy gal today.

Look for a new Squidoo lens on AllHorses.us about the disgraceful TWH soring that continues to plague the who's who of the breed and WILL be the downfall of the Celebration and the registry if more sound horse owners do not pick off the lunatics running the asylum and make TWH showing what it should be ... about the natural, sound horse that is a joy to ride!

In closing, I KNOW how hard it is to keep weight off an "easy keeper" ... I'm fighting that battle with you! My own dear air fern seems to have gained about 100# in the past two weeks. Apparently I'm going to have to separate him from the normal horses again, and endure his pathetic one-eyed attempt at giving me doe eyes whenever I walk outside and see him wasting away in the smaller pasture ... drama queen that he is.

Excessively fat = not healthy!

When a friend shared this pic, I knew it would have to be a featured horse:

Click to enlarge... and just LOOK at that shoulder!

From the photographer:

"At the [horse] camp I used to run they had some HORRIBLY obese horses. I worked hard to get them in shape. The horses above are pictured AFTER they each lost [around] 250 lbs!

"I am so sad to hear from people who work there now that they had FIFTEEN horses founder this year. The people who took over after me said the horses were too skinny, so they started socking grain to [these] founder and laminitis cases, who I had been working to get down to proper weights.

"I found out these [three] horses are ALL gone now -- due to complications from FOUNDER."

This is what is called "killing with kindness" ... overfeeding to the extent that they become sick, crippled and may even have to be put down. I personally know of two horses that were purchased from that camp because they were founder-prone and often lame because the camp would not keep them separate from the rest of the herd to manage properly for their conditions. They are doing well in private ownership, but their diets have to be managed VERY strictly, as just a tiny bit of a bad thing causes immediate painful lameness!

If your fat horse is just fine -- it may be only a matter of time. Why risk it?