Very skinny animals exhibiting ribs are straightforward to identify as undernourished, however obese animals might be simply as a lot of a well being and welfare downside – however are far much less prone to be acknowledged.

Sam Chubbock, Head of UK Assist at World Horse Welfare, mentioned, “It’s pure for horses and ponies to lose a little bit weight over winter, earlier than placing it again on once more with the flush of spring grass. This winter has been very gentle – and moist – and in lots of locations grass continues to be rising and offering energy. Sustaining a horse at a wholesome weight might be very tough and one of the crucial widespread well being points homeowners battle with is their horses being obese. With this winter’s climate it’s trying just like the spring might show an additional problem for anybody attempting to keep up their horse at a wholesome weight.”

Though many house owners know that their horse shouldn’t carry extra weight, the problem is usually in recognizing what a wholesome situation appears like as, sadly, it has turn out to be commonplace for horses to hold extra weight than they need to. Thick winter coats, blankets and dust could make it more durable to see a horse’s physique situation, however there’s loads of useful info obtainable on situation scoring and find out how to handle weight on World Horse Welfare’s web site, together with webinars, movies and a downloadable leaflet HERE.

~ with information from World Horse Welfare

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