At first glance, a round horse or pony with a cresty neck and dimpled quarters chomping on grass may look like a happy one. Yet beneath the glossy coat, excess weight places a quiet but relentless strain on their body, affecting everything from joints and lungs to metabolism and mood. 

Equine obesity is now one of the most widespread welfare challenges facing horses and ponies of all ages – and the consequences can be life-limiting.

The good news is that weight loss, when managed correctly, can be profoundly life-changing, restoring comfort, soundness and vitality long thought lost.

From native ponies to performance horses, carrying excess weight increases the risk of laminitis, arthritis and metabolic disease at any stage of life.

What is often underestimated, however, is just how transformative safe, sustained weight loss can be – improving movement, energy levels and long-term health – giving equines of all ages a second chance at a more comfortable, active life.

‘Ten Tonne Ted’

When Ted, a 15hh veteran black cob, arrived at Oxfordshire Retirement Livery nearly four years ago, he weighed in at 652kg – well over 100 kilos more than he should to be healthy – and was suffering with laminitis.

“His nickname for a little while was ‘Ten Tonne Ted’, because he was really quite round,” says yard owner Jenny Surtees.

“He gradually put on weight at his previous livery yard as he was physically able to do less [due to his age]. There was a rule about no strip grazing and so [his owner, Robyn] couldn’t control his calorie intake.”

Ted’s weight loss journey involved soaked Timothy hay grown on site, mixed with oat straw, fed at the recommended 1.5% dry matter of his bodyweight. This was split between four or five Nibbleze nets a day. He lived in a large stable with plenty of room to move around and, once recovered from laminitis, started to be turned out.

“All of our grazing fields have been specifically sown by us with horse-friendly grasses,” explains Jenny. “We have one field where we purposely don’t reseed or fertilise it, so effectively he’s got to move more to get the greenery, which fulfils all of his natural instincts to forage without artificially needing to restrict his intake with a muzzle or stabling him.”

Ted, aged 27, lost 160kg and the yard has been able to maintain his healthier waistline ever since, with no recurrence of laminitis. Over the winter, he was fed ad-lib hay in a barn, where he could choose to be outside with friends or inside.

Losing weight and being able to maximise Ted’s forage intake through the use of lower calorie forages, including straw, is really important for his ongoing management.

“We’ve been so careful with the transition that he’s not a particularly greedy horse; he will eat his food and move on,” adds Jenny.

Non-weight bearing in 12hrs

Fellow retiree Meadow also arrived at Jenny’s facility grossly overweight.

“I think he was 690-something kilos and he might be 15.1hh. He wasn’t in active laminitis when he came to us, but he was having hoof trouble,” she recalls. “He arrived on the Sunday and by Thursday he did have laminitis, although we had already started him on an appropriate diet by that point. He went from being fine one day to non-weight bearing within 12 hours. We did think that we might lose him, but he has turned a corner.”

The 19-year-old traditional coloured cob arrived at the yard three months ago and his weight loss journey is ongoing.

“We’ve got weighing scales here so we’re accurate with the way that we track their weight,” says Jenny. “Meadow is in the barn on bedding he can’t eat and going through the same process of soaked food, trickle nets. He wears shoes, so once he’s able to and the vet’s happy to sign him off, he’ll be able to start walking rehab to encourage some weight loss.”

A mental transformation

Jenny, who has 50 horses on her retirement yard, says the change in both horses post-weight loss – mentally as well as physically – are rewarding. Meadow is already showing positive signs.

“He looks so different now and he’s much more comfortable, much chirpier,” says Jenny. “I’m very much looking forward to seeing his progress and hoping that he is much more comfortable.

“I think horses are incredibly good at coping with all sorts of negative environmental inputs. When they have the opportunity to move comfortably, it’s amazing how quickly they really come out of their shells.

“It’s fascinating to see them develop this bigger personality, because suddenly they’re able to interact and move and be who they are without any discomfort.”

‘A whole new pony’

When Sonny, a Welsh/Arab cross, arrived for Amy Taylor’s children to ride, the mare was already teetering on the edge of obesity.

“I remember my farrier saw her a few days later and gave me what for, warning me that she was on a one-way street to laminitis,” says Amy. “I was used to Thoroughbreds and poor doers, so this was new territory for me. I just hadn’t seen it. My children didn’t enjoy riding her; she was unresponsive, would only go so far before trying to turn for home, and even the smallest hill would make her huff and puff.”

With the help of a nutritionist, Amy placed Sonny on a calorie-restricted diet, including soaked hay mixed with straw and a balancer. She lived in a barn or a sparse paddock.

“As the weight came off, a whole new pony was born. Suddenly she would have a little jog out riding, happily canter up hills and would go forward when my daughter asked with her leg. We went from no one wanting to ride her to everyone wanting to, and she’d keep up with my ex-racehorse when I led her out hacking on school days.

“She wasn’t just physically fit and healthy, she was mentally so much happier and confident, too. She stayed with us for 20-odd years. I had to watch her weight the whole time, but correct diet and regular work meant she never became obese again.”

Image credit: Dengie

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