An equine weight management survey of 1,519 UK horse owners has revealed that many of them are struggling to find workable solutions to equine weight loss.
While many owners understand the causes of excess weight – which according to the survey affects 74% of leisure horses – they don’t know how to resolve the issue.
Feed manufacturer Spillers launched the survey in summer 2025 as part of their ongoing educational and practical work, to help combat equine obesity in the UK.
The purpose of the survey was to gain a better insight into how owners manage their horses’ weight, with the intention of identifying how they can be better supported, to help protect their horses from weight-associated health and welfare risks.
‘Valuable insights’
“This survey has delivered valuable insights, directly from horse owners, about their current equine weight management practices,” said Bella Fricker, project lead at Mars Horsecare, home of the Spillers brand.
“While owners seem to be very motivated, they are somewhat overwhelmed by the barriers they face or lack confidence to make the management changes they need to support weight loss.
“The survey results have shone the spotlight on the areas where we can provide further practical educational support for horse owners. We aim to be partners in care to help make change happen and banish equine obesity for good.”
Lack of exercise was listed as the biggest cause of weight issues (38%) with excess calories/overfeeding close behind (37%). Twenty percent of participants’ horses were affected by EMS/PPID/laminitis.
Management strategies
The most popular strategies to help manage equine weight were stabling for part of the day or overnight (19%), using small holed haynets (18%), soaking hay (14%) and strip grazing (12%).
Participants cited lack of time to exercise, difficulty controlling calorie intake and the horse or pony always being hungry as the practical barriers to weight management.
Less than half of respondents were aware that straw can be fed as a partial forage replacer but had not yet tried it (24%) or were already feeding straw as a partial forage replacer (18%).
Encouragingly, 57% of participants monitored their horse’s weight daily or weekly but most owners relied on less precise methods to do this such as by eye/from photos (30%). Only 13% used a weighbridge.
Respondents described feelings of guilt, frustration and worry in relation managing their horse’s weight – showing that weight management is about more than just feed.
Owners also highlighted the features they value most in feed are low calorie and high-fibre products that deliver balanced nutrition.
New packaging
Spillers has also announced that it has improved the packaging on its treat bags.
The new bags will be resealable for freshness and convenience, and every pack will be recyclable for reduced impact on the environment.
