When horses are overweight, there are many things one can do to help change that. The two most common ways to do that are by making changes to their diet or by increasing amount of energy they expend. In Merlin’s case, I am focusing more on the exercise portion.

Exercising horses more will help to facilitate weight loss because it encourages their metabolism to burn more fat. Physical conditioning will also improve body condition due to conservation and the increase of muscle mass. “Over a period of weeks, the horse will become more “athletic” in appearance. As lean tissues such as muscle have a higher rate of metabolism than fat tissue, this change in body composition will raise the horse’s resting metabolism” (Geor 1).

There are two main ways to increase the amount of  exercise in your horse’s routine. The first way is more easier than you may expect, but it is as simple as turning them out more. This provides them with an opportunity to voluntarily exercise throughout the day. The only catch is that they should only be turned out in a dry lot until their weight is back under control so that you can control their calorie intake.

The second method is to increase the amount of “formal” exercise (lounging and riding). While this method is is more gradual, it is also the most effective -especially if your horse is on the lazy side. “Any increase in exercise must be done slowly, probably no more than a 5% increase in duration or intensity every week or so” (Geor 1). If time is an issue, it is recommended to increase the intensity by doing lots of trotting and eventually working up to some cantering as well. Introducing trotting in circles and over ground poles is also a great way to focus on building up muscles as well. Just be careful and monitor your horse closely since overweight horses are at a higher risk of obtaining a leg injury.

Source:

Geor, Ray. “Shaping Up Your Overweight Horse – The Horse.” The Horse, 11 May 2018,               www.thehorse.com/13961/shaping-up-your-overweight-horse/