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Post by abpalis on Apr 5, 2015 20:20:59 GMT
Seems like for a past couple years as we struggle to keep Prince's weight down his neck keeps it's crest. He is a horse with a thicker neck in general but it's now always cresty looking. Any ideas on making his neck slim down if at all possible? He's been on a major diet and lost a ton of weight over the winter now and now that his shoulder has healed up I'm just starting to work him again. In the tummy he could stand to lose a bit more but that huge neck makes it hard for him to bend and work
This is him when he's not so fat and his neck much slimmer 
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Lipizzan
Junior Member
Europe, Croatia
Posts: 2,572 
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Post by Lipizzan on Apr 5, 2015 21:05:58 GMT
Work him on a lunge line with a lunge girth and ausbinders to tone his neck muscles.
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Post by abpalis on Apr 5, 2015 21:16:19 GMT
Oh okay so getting him to bring his nose in might actually help work the fat out?
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Post by horselover4life on Apr 5, 2015 23:10:42 GMT
Suppling exercises should help too....
Diet of course helps some.
I understand that giving magnesium and cinnamon can also help them lose that "cresty" appearance...
Is it possible he is bordering on metabolic issues if you've been fighting the weight gain issue for a few years now... 
In that first picture he is {ahem...} rather round.....
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Post by horselady on Apr 6, 2015 0:46:08 GMT
He is handsome. i would imagine exercise helps. have him checked for thyroid. and for diabetic issues.
the reason i say that is years ago it got a mini horse that was diabetic and had a very cresty neck and was huge in the belly also. i stopped all carbs and turned her out into a sandy pen with no grass and gave her hay only, within 2 weeks she was off her medication and was beginning to loose that belly. within 3 months she was normal ,
hope these suggestions help.
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Post by abpalis on Apr 6, 2015 1:13:20 GMT
Thanks guys, going to see what some solid exercise does now and try to get him to bring his head in and over collect a bit maybe to work the neck muscles. He's always been an easy keeper and the past couple years has been kept at a barn that would rather a fat horse than a skinny horse.
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Post by horselover4life on Apr 6, 2015 2:15:38 GMT
I think we have got use to seeing a overweight horse as "healthy" when they are far from that lugging all the extra around with them....
Personally I would rather see them leaner than to fat... 
Were you by any chance in a Quarter Horse barn?
I know by me they are on the hefty side, politely put....
It actually is not nice to see them that heavy to my eye...fat and cellulite jiggling is NOT PRETTY!!
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Post by abpalis on Apr 6, 2015 3:42:16 GMT
Yea you're exactly right. And on a horse that's an easy keeper like Prince where it's sooo hard to get the weight off him it's a bit frustrating. I appreciate that they want him warm in the winter but I then spend the whole summer trying to burn it off him. And with his shoulder injury a month ago, hauling that extra weight did not help him one bit. Fox is at the perfect weight. She's a hard keeper though, she gets twice as much hay as Prince from bright green alfalfa mix bales and Prince gets dull grass hay lol.
I'm going to ride him daily for a bit or at least lunge him for a bit. They get a chiropractic adjustment next Tuesday so I'll work Prince more after that.
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mistersmom
Junior Member
Abita Springs, LA
Posts: 3,749
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Post by mistersmom on Apr 6, 2015 14:06:13 GMT
Well exercise certainly wouldn't hurt him. But maybe, if after a few weeks of solid work, you aren't seeing much of a difference, have the vet out to do a PE and draw some blood to make sure it is not a metabolic issue or some other health issue.
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Post by abpalis on Apr 7, 2015 3:31:08 GMT
I would be curious. He's been an easy keeper since he was mine as a kid. But I also rode him a lot more then and a lot harder than he gets ridden now.
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Post by mustangsavvy on Apr 7, 2015 3:43:06 GMT
Lots and lots of hill work will help a ton - w/t/c.
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Post by abpalis on Apr 7, 2015 4:10:28 GMT
What are these hills you speak of? All flat land around here but hoping to trailer him out to the mountains for some trail riding this summer since Fox is just not mature enough for it. He does love to jump, like LOVE to jump. So I started letting him free jump a bit the other day. Don't even need a chute he'll just go around and around over the jump at liberty. He prances while he does it too, such a show off. Would think it would work his wimpy looking bum at least.
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kskatt
Junior Member
Posts: 833
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Post by kskatt on Apr 7, 2015 5:14:53 GMT
I didn't see anyone suggest a neck sweat, do those things work?
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mistersmom
Junior Member
Abita Springs, LA
Posts: 3,749
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Post by mistersmom on Apr 7, 2015 12:57:12 GMT
I thought about a neck sweat as well but my crazy mind forgot to mention it. Might be worth a try as well, I can't see it hurting anything.
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Post by horselover4life on Apr 7, 2015 14:12:16 GMT
It is one of the last places to lose fat on a horse so be careful you not thin him down to much yet still have that cresty look.
The larger the crest the larger the chance or indication of imminent laminitus, being pre-disposed to foundering I understand.
One of the reasons behind that is just to high a blood sugar level...
So, limit the grass first. Yup, get the muzzle if he is out and use it.
Soak his hay... longer the soak the more sugar is neutralized. You need to get the NSC numbers down...lower the better for him.
Watch his feed and be very cautious in how much he is fed of it and what the nutritional numbers are.
Remember that cinnamon I wrote about... It can and will drop his numbers.
It sure can and does in humans.... Going natural and herbal works!!!
If he is at all inclined for IR he will likely always have a cresty neck, it is the last fat to go away. BUT the quality of the fat in the crest changes rapidly as his blood sugars change. (sometimes noticeably in a few days to a week) If the crest is soft and narrow don't worry so much about him, but if it hardens up and thickens it is a red flag that he needs some fast adjustment in his feeding....per my friend who has a horse with this issue.
This is a lifelong health issue now for the horse and his owner to be diligent about...
Be so very careful with the spring and summer grasses which are much richer with sugars than the fall.
If you buy your own hay, later cuttings are usually safer for these horses to consume...so a late 2nd. or 3rd cut, 4th if you can get it...
This information was also backed up by my vet who I was speaking with yesterday...
My dog has a eye infection now...I can't win!!
I have heard good things about the product "Quiessence" but where you get it from I don't know or the cost either...
My friend uses it and so do some others she knows...my friend lives on LI so her sources are not what I use or know about anymore.
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Post by abpalis on Apr 8, 2015 3:46:22 GMT
Well fortunately he's a paddock only boy due to being such an easy keeper. His crest is rock solid, it's gross. Been that way for a couple years now. I don't know if my mom ever mentioned he is a bit morgan which I think makes him more crest prone. He's boarded so wetting the hay isn't really an option but I will look into the cinnamon thing more. He's supposed to start on a daily feed mixed medication for his "asthma" as the vet put it so maybe I could do the cinnamon with that. He's never foundered though thankfully. I have wondered about things like neck sweats but don't understand them or how they work.
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Post by horselover4life on Apr 8, 2015 10:22:03 GMT
Morgans are breed wise are a higher head carriage and a arched neck horse than most any other breed.
Though when you look at them closely in pictures, the ones shown in competitions... they are not cresty necked, just arched.
Morgan breed horses are known as hardy, and very easy keepers...
If Prince has any of that blood running in his veins he very well could live on near air...no grain and not nutrient rich hay either.
Again, it is the sugars hurting you here with that crest, but it is just plain to many calories that horse is fed for his amount of work done.
When you think about it...wild horses don't have cresty necks nor are they overweight.
They also walk as much as 20 miles a day.
Now "our" horses are considered hard working if they do 1 1/2- 2 hours of work a day then go eat a calorie dense diet we feed them.
So my understanding of neck sweats I use to do on Quarter Horse stallions in show-ring prep....
A neck sweat works only on the principle of removing water by literally sweating it out of the body.
It doesn't change the bodies metabolism.
You can "enhance", elongate the necks appearance for the show ring... they sweat the neck and the jowl are of the horses. Pencil thin necks if you look at photos from years ago are not natural.
I don't know if they still follow that practice today or not.....
Sweating the neck may help with the "now" appearance but it will return as the issue is still their....
jmo
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Post by abpalis on Apr 9, 2015 3:44:27 GMT
Thanks for the info! He's literally near starved now with how much hay he gets. Barely two flakes twice a day. I wouldn't want to cut him back much more or he might get an ulcer or colic. Definitely exercise in his future.
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hugs
Junior Member
Posts: 2,647
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Post by hugs on Apr 10, 2015 0:25:37 GMT
We free choice oat straw in the winter for our horses to keep their tummies working and warming them up without over feeding them. In fact they'll eat oat straw over good grass hay just for the change. Perhaps feeding oat straw in place of grass hay for a few meals will help fill up his tummy and satisfy his hunger without adding too many calories. That being said some folks will bale oat straw before combining and so will have the grain in it, don't get that, get the straw after the grain was combined.
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Lipizzan
Junior Member
Europe, Croatia
Posts: 2,572
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Post by Lipizzan on Apr 10, 2015 9:20:55 GMT
I also use oat straw. Good stuff ;-)
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