Weight management
Sadly, obesity is an ever-increasing problem in our equine patients which means they prime candidates to succumb to equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) and in turn, laminitis.
Helping your horse to achieve and maintain a healthy weight
Obesity in horses and ponies is becoming a growing problem. Being over weight can result in horses becoming susceptible to painful conditions such as laminitis, as well as heart, lung and joint conditions.
Taking a proactive approach to your horse’s weight management will help protect them from developing weight-related medical conditions. Knowing your horse’s weight also facilitates accurate worming and administration of other medications.
In the wild, horses naturally gain weight over the summer and lose this weight over the winter months, due to a combination of poorer grazing conditions and cooler climatic conditions.
With our domesticated horses, they too experience a ‘natural’ weight gain over the summer months but the problem arises when these horses gain further weight over the winter months due to a combination of overfeeding, reduced activity and over-rugging. As a result, these horses gain weight year on year meaning that they are prime candidates to succumb to laminitis, a condition, that you will all agree, whose prevention is far better than cure.
The Oakhill Equine team are passionate about promoting healthy weight and as such run weight clinics for a small fee in addition to our Fat2Fit Club – a free, supportive online community where weight loss tips and advice are shared.
Fat2Fit Club
Research has shown that those who ‘buddy up’ are 45% more successful at achieving weight loss. For this reason, we launched our the Oakhill Equine Vet Fat2Fit Facebook group in October 2021.
The club provides a supportive online environment where weight loss tips and advice are shared along with our successes and struggles along the way.
Our club is free to join. Members can receive a complimentary weight monitoring chart on request. We also promise a competition (or two!) along the way!
Let’s get shedding those kgs to keep our horses healthy!
Equine Weight Clinics
Designed to promote healthy weight in your horses and ponies our weight clinics are available to all of our clients. While weight tapes will give you a rough idea of your horse’s weight, we often see discrepancies of up to 50kg between weight tape and bridge, which highlights the importance of acquiring an accurate weight using a weighbridge.
During the session your horse will be weighed, body condition scored and you’ll be given weight and nutritional advice specific to your horse, by our equine vet.
If you would like to arrange a weight clinic for your yard, we need a willing yard co-ordinator, at least 6 horses wanting to be weighed and payment of £10 per horse payable at the time of the clinic.