So... 3 months of feeding 15 gramms of magnesium oxide didn't change her much! (although the cinch is a couple holes shorter now )

But my fatty still looks like this


I removed all concentrates - she's only getting hay, alfalfa/straw commercial mixture as her morning and day meals (really small portions, about 1/2 lb each) and about 2 lbs of soaked alfalfa/grass pellets where I add supplements.

Now that they started to graze for about 4-5 hours a day she eats about 7-8 kg of hay/day. She is also excersized for at least 5 days a week, what I'd call "medium work".

I think about adding psyllium to her diet and see if that helps her lose some weight... I read in other posts that you recommend adding 1/3 cups per meal... but provided she has only 1 meal I can add it to - shoul I add 1 cup per day? I'm not sure if I need to leave magnesium - it doesn't seem to have much effect...

I also found this product on our market called LaminTec 5-HT™:
- Suitable for horses and ponies prone to laminitis, those with conditions such as Cushing’s disease or metabolic syndrome or where owners are worried about laminitis risk associated with weight gain and/or periods of high grass growth (spring and autumn). Can be fed all year round.
- Different from other products – backed by published science – includes a unique natural ingredient, ground feverfew herb. No current equine supplement has this ingredient.
- May help to decrease obesity; helpful for the ‘good doer’, fat cob, Shetland, Shire or other types of horse which put on weight easily.
- Feverfew is known to help balance body systems and assist in maintaining healthy circulation.

http://www.pegasusdiagnostics.com/?page_id=19
I'm not really sure if it can do anything for her, but I'm thinking about trying it...

Also... she doesn't eat salt! I started adding 15 gramms of salt to her meal, but she was very disgusted about it and got used to it only in about 2 months! She stops eating if I try to add more (well, she does finish her meal anyway, but over night!). The salt cookies that I bought earlier she refused completely! (fortunately I have other horses who were happy to eat them!)

So I don't really know how to squeeze more salt in her... I feel like I'm torturing her Or can it be that she doesn't need it after all (although she sweats a lot during work out, especially now when it's getting hot!)

Sorry for such a long post... Thank you for your time!!!

Where are you from? Moscow, Russia

How did you locate this forum? internet

Some more pics


People ask me if she's pregnant :))


but her daughter (to the right) is 3 yo now, and she still looks like she's 11 months pregnant! (Actually, she wasn't that fat before pregnancy - may be this is hormone problem? On the other hand, her brother-gelding looks almost the same...)

She's the last one to leave the hay feeder when the others are already off

Where are you from? Moscow, Russia

How did you locate this forum? internet

Where are you from? Moscow, Russia

How did you locate this forum? internet

Hello Ekaterina,

Thank you for the great photos! I laughed at the one where she was still eating and the others had lost interest!

Some of her pregnant look is due to a hay belly, which is not fat, but gas and is not harmful.

You could try the "weight loss" product you mentioned -- doesn't appear to be harmful. And I would continue with the magnesium (does it also contain chromium?) since it can take far more than 3 months to see a difference.

She doesn't appear to have regional fat deposits, but instead, is heavy all over. This puts her at less of a risk of laminitis than if she were experiencing a lot of fat along her neck, shoulders, spine, etc.

She may not be able to graze on fresh pasture as much as she'd like. Will she tolerate a grazing muzzle for two or three hours? It is only a good idea if it does not cause frustration. And make sure she can drink with it (that the hole is big enough).

About the salt... I would have her blood tested to make sure her electrolytes are in balance and that her liver and kidney function is normal. It's always good to get a "snapshot" of what's going on on the inside.

Keep me posted!

All the best,

Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse

Ekaterina

Where are you from? Waverly, Ohio

Thanks for reply, Dr. Getty!

I'm a little bit relieved that she's not dangerously fat! I tried to measure her neck as you suggested in the Easy keeper teleseminar... it's 95-97 cm depending where I measure - iy's really hard to find the exact middle! And she is about 152 cm high - so it's really on the edge, either a little under or a little over 0.63.

As for grazing - there is really not so much grass :( They've finished it within a few days, so now just wonder around looking for small remainders! Or going back to hay feeders!

I do test her blood about every 6 months. She seems to be on average with Na and Cl. The latest (March) was 137 mmole/l for Na and 100 mmole for Cl. She was a little short on Potassium this time (3.0 mmole/l), but I think it's more of a discrepancy, usually it's about 4. She also withing the average range on all other numbers, including glucose.

except for triglycerides, which are higher than average!! :)

However, she also is having problems with her white nose for the past couple of summers!

No, unfortunately my Magnesium supplement is a pure Magnesium Oxide. I also give her a general vitamin-mineral supplement, but it doesn't comtain Chromium! In fact, I haven't been able to find any supplement with Chromium on our market :(

Where are you from? Moscow, Russia

How did you locate this forum? internet

Greetings Ekaterina,

Thank you for your patience. Let me know how she's been doing the past month and perhaps it would be best to go over things in detail through a consultation via email. That way, I can better address the specific blood levels, measurements, etc. to see how we can customize things more than this forum allows me to do.

All the best,

Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse

Ekaterina

Thanks for reply, Dr. Getty!

I'm a little bit relieved that she's not dangerously fat! I tried to measure her neck as you suggested in the Easy keeper teleseminar... it's 95-97 cm depending where I measure - iy's really hard to find the exact middle! And she is about 152 cm high - so it's really on the edge, either a little under or a little over 0.63.

As for grazing - there is really not so much grass They've finished it within a few days, so now just wonder around looking for small remainders! Or going back to hay feeders!

I do test her blood about every 6 months. She seems to be on average with Na and Cl. The latest (March) was 137 mmole/l for Na and 100 mmole for Cl. She was a little short on Potassium this time (3.0 mmole/l), but I think it's more of a discrepancy, usually it's about 4. She also withing the average range on all other numbers, including glucose.

except for triglycerides, which are higher than average!!

However, she also is having problems with her white nose for the past couple of summers!

No, unfortunately my Magnesium supplement is a pure Magnesium Oxide. I also give her a general vitamin-mineral supplement, but it doesn't comtain Chromium! In fact, I haven't been able to find any supplement with Chromium on our market

Where are you from? Waverly, Ohio