The Obese (or Just Fat) Horse Diet

Well, Margo isn't that fat! :) Almost though!

I got out the weight tape last night and here are my two's appx stats:

Margo: 15.1 hh, 1,190 lbs
Peter: 10.2 hh, 510 lbs

It is recommended to feed 1.5 to 2% of horse's body weight in roughage (hay) per day. For them to lose weight, you should feed for a goal weight you would like to reach (incrementally). So, I would like to get Margo to 1000 lbs 1st, so that would be about 15 lbs of hay per day. Pete, I would like to get him down to 480 lbs 1st, that would be appx 8 lbs of hay per day. I am not going to calculate in their time out grazing, since it is minimal.

I searched the internets for a horse diet, and found that it is like a human diet, you have to figure out what is best for you. I got slightly hysterical, but I think it was because I was reading too much into diets for horses who have already foundered. Mine have not foundered, they just need to lose weight.

So... Here is the best "Horse Diet" plan I could come up with (probably will be tweaked as needed):

Monday-Friday:
5 am - Dan lets horses out of paddock for morning grazing as he is leaving for work
6 am - I muck out paddock, set up morning hay (1 flake for Margo, 1/2 flake for Pete and "grain" 1 small handful for Pete, 1 large handful for Margo. (Both with salt and minerals) (Grain is actually low-fat grass hay pellets, it tricks them though!) Put both horses back in pen as I leave.
5 pm - Whoever gets home first gives horses 1 flake of hay to split.
6 or 7 pm - Turn out on grass for 1 to 2 hours, when they come back in, they get the "grain" handfuls again, with salt and minerals, and a small scoop of applesauce with MagOx mixed in it.
9 pm (or right before bed) - 2 flakes for Margo, one flake for Pete (broke apart and spread around paddock)

So, that is my plan for now. I want to add in either Farrier's Formula or SafeChoice as a supplement, so they are getting their daily requirements (minerals, vitamins, etc) in...

As for the good news...

Margo had withers this morning!!! She was so fat over her withers, it was like a squishy pillow, with no definition. This morning, her 'shoulder blades' were defined and distinguishable from her withers (spine) YAY!

She is still fat in other places, but she does not have a crease down her back, nor fat deposits over her eyes, so she wasn't/isn't obese, just chunky. :)