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| This is what 1130 lb looks like on 13.2hh. |
The other thing is I started this whole thing because Pancake was too fat to jump around. Now she's slimmer. And now she's too tired to jump around (or do much of anything else) ... Because she isn't eating anything.
Last summer, I kept her in a similar program. She worked once or twice a week, got a cup of feed and flake of hay once a day, and went out for 3-4 hours. She was fat. And she was fine. She motored around XC like a little wind-up toy, including the super hilly course at Champagne Run. This year, I don't think she'd be able to hold a canter all the way around that course, nevermind jump anything.
So what's different? She's working a little more. Her 3-4 hours of grazing is now 1-2. I decreased her feed even more. I'm soaking her hay. She's somehow holding weight on this but has no energy for performance. I asked Dr. Kathleen Crandell at KER for some help. Here's what she said:
"This kind of horse is the hardest to deal with because there are so few options for them. Your having to restrict her intake is why she doesn't have any energy and endurance for the work. She may be lacking in muscle glycogen stores. My recommendation may seem contrary to what you would normally do for an obese horse but it is addressing the glycogen issue. You may want to consider feeding her 1/2 to 1 lb of oats a day. Not so much as to add a lot of calories to the diet but enough to help her energy stores. As long as you are exercising her, that amount should not be much of strain on her diet (and she will really like you for it)!"
So, happy birthday to Pancake: Girlfriend's getting some oats in her life. It might be early to see any difference, but we'll be testing this out at a clinic this weekend. Here's hoping for a raving lunatic runaway. That would be progress.
