Re: Advice for obese pony?

[rides2far@juno.com (Angela C. McGhee)]

Hi Donna,
I'm a BIG pony lover and have had lots of them around.  Your best bet is
to just have a "dry lot".  If you can set up any sort of corral where the
pony can move freely, have free choice hay, but not have access to grass
that's good.  Another possibility is a muzzle.  I once had to keep my
pony at a field where I couldn't confine her, so I made a muzzle out of
the bottom of a milk jug and had a break away halter with the muzzle on
the nose.  After a few hours of grazing, the muzzle went back on.  She
could actually get a few blades though it, but it slowed her down a lot.

What I like about the "Dry Lot" diet is that you can keep some hay in
front of her, but with that grass in the distance, she probably won't eat
much of it.  That way, you don't feel like you're starving her.   

I'd be  very careful about taking a horse out of the stall and lounging
it.  Sounds like the perfect recipe for a tying-up episode.

I guess I'm just lucky, my 5 acres with 1 horse and 3 ponies on it looks
like a moonscape.  :-)

Angie McGhee and the ponies: Animal Krackers, Stormy Weather, & Abby

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