Hi everyone,

As some of you may have heard from other threads, Star is a little over weight right now! Turns out she is a good doer in the summer!! (last year I had only recently got her underweight and in a bad way and struggled with her weight all summer) This year she is a very happy neddy in her yard and with her herd and I think she is just overall doing well!!
I tried a grass muzzle, this did not work as I left it on for 4 hours and in the 4 hours she would not graze or drink! This in my mind is too risky to keep on her and I think it would end up in either colic or dehydration!! She really doesnt know what to do with it on her face

Yesterday I went and bought baileys number 14, Lo Cal Balancer , after being suggested to use it by a friend who had the same trouble with her horse getting extremely fat in the summer! I am slowly adding it in and taking out her other feed (she was literally having a handful a day of chaff and mix with her supplements in the evening) But I am unsure as to how much balencer to give her in the long run. I am going to be replacing her old feed with that so she will literally be having the balancer with her supplements and nothing else, And looking online I want her to have 2 jugs a day with her size and work load.

I just want some advice really from people who may have used it so I am doing the right thing with it!! She is 16.3hh tb, 13years and in 5 days a week work.

Any advice would be much appreciated!!

I feed a balancer all year round adding fiber through the winter and a bit of sugar beet. I use the winter to get my pony to loose any weight that he has put on over the summer. This way he seems to stay at a good weight all year round. And has room to gain some in spring! I do not add a any suppliments to the balancer as this contains everthing he needs. Hope this helps. Use a weight tape and chart to monitor condition. Weight loss takes time with the right feeding and plenty of exercise. My pony got very upset in a muzzel so won't use one of those again.

Well I have started slowly adding it and she isnt exactly what you would call fussy with food! As long as its food infront of her she doesnt need asking twice to eat it! lol So she is quite happily gulping it down so far! Hopefully by next week or so we will be on just that with the other feeds cancelled out.
The problem I have is that she has adlib grass so needed something that worked with that so the baileys seems to be the obvious starter option!
In the winter I intend to ad chaff and sugar beet (thinking I will leave the mix out as not really needed and jst something else to make her fatter!) The only supplements I ad is Garlic for the flies and also codlivine for her joints which is only once a day.

I would take her off feed altogether but she is working 5 days a week so needs the nutrients which is why I think the balancer is the best option I have to get her weight right! She looks like a barrel on legs right now

Thanks for the help though, reasuring knowing it is working for someone else! Especially a shetland who I am sure is a lot harder to control weight than my TB lol

Try it all year round makes life much easier. My feed balancer has stuff in for joins etc. I use the winter to get him trim ready for a bit of weight gain in the spring and summer.He is looking like a very sporty shetland ready for lots of driving. Even though he is in his 20's! Very very please with my feed balancer!

Do find that TB's specially mares can put it on a bit! I ride one that comes out of winter looking like she's been going through summer! and then she gets even bigger! She eats anything too loves food! Not in charge of her feeding though. Thank heaven would cost me the earth!

Well I had a reply from the baileys nutritonist and have worked out that if she ways under 500kg then she should be having 2 feeds of 1 mug of balancer and a handful of chaf, one in the morning and one in the evening!
If she ways over 500kg she should be having 2 feeds of 1 and half mugs of balancer with a handful of chaff twice a day!
Slowly replacing the mix with balancer so should be on the new feed in a week!