The weight debate

Equine obesity is on the rise — but is it recognised?

In good condition — or fat? An alarming number of horses are overweight, often without owners realising it. Representatives from key areas of the horse world converged for the National Equine Forum’s Great Weight Debate, where obstacles faced when tackling obesity were raised 1 Vets have a duty of care, but fear losing clients

BEVA president Lucy Grieve MRCVS says a lack of understanding about obesity — being able to recognise it, accept it and know what to do — is a problem. A good relationship between vets and their customers is essential, but it’s not straightforward.

“A GP can tell someone they’re obese and won’t get an op until they’ve lost three stone, but vets won’t, as they don’t want to lose clients,” she says.

Lucy adds that efforts to overcome the stigma of a horse being diagnosed as fat — with vets giving advice in a non-judgmental way and owners being open to listen — must improve.

“Fat slowly poisons a horse’s body, and vets have a duty of care,” she says. “For owners who really won’t listen, perhaps it needs a firmer approach.”

2 Peer pressure and social media

“I frequently see people posting a picture on social media asking how their horse looks and for advice on what to feed instead of seeking professional help,” says marketing consultant Helen Gale, who owns three horses.

“There’s also peer pressure at livery yards: reducing a horse’s feed and taking off his rug could appear to be uncaring.”

Conversations with other owners about managing a horse inclined to put on weight needs to become the norm — just like managing a poor doer already is.

“I’ve got a friend who left a yard because her cob is laminitic and other people didn’t understand why not rugging and feeding him less was right for him. That horse is now 28 because she’s managed him correctly,” adds Helen.

3 Understanding that obesity is a welfare issue

Lucy Grieve states that “if we’re honest, obesity is neglect.

“I doubt many vets would walk away from an emaciated horse or an infected wound, so why are we so willing to walk away from these ticking time bombs which are actually a real welfare issue as the animal is potentially at risk of losing their life?”

Penny Baker, an equine field officer for World Horse Welfare, agrees.

“Owners of underweight horses are seen as cruel. Those of overweight horses are seen as kind. I’ve been challenged for commenting on the weight of horses who appear to be well looked after,” she says.

Penny added that rehabilitating an underweight horse (with no other underlying problems) is easier than an overweight horse. Obesity has long-lasting health effects, too. She has seen an increase in overweight horses being admitted.

“We’ve been called to horses reported as underweight, only to find that they aren’t,” adds Penny.

4 The yard and horse owner relationship

Beth Maloney runs a livery yard and is responsible for every horse’s diet. Her challenges include: providing a correct diet when an owner believes their horse is in good condition, not fat, and managing owner perceptions that she is altering feed levels for the horse’s good rather than to save money.

“I’ve found more owners are keeping horses for leisure and they are happier to have them carrying more weight,” says Beth, who offers three solutions:

■ Six-monthly visits from a nutritionist to weigh and body condition score each horse, with results discussed with owners.

■ Working with vets and nutritionists to provide impartial advice so that “it’s not seen as me telling the owner what I think, but a professional”.

■ Achieving a good relationship with owners so that they can have honest discussions. “They’ve got to feel that I’m not doing this for the good of my business, but for the good of their horse’s health,” adds Beth.

5 Using effective terminology

Lucy Grieve adds that the terminology used when talking about obesity is important.

“There are inflammatory words which switch people off and they don’t listen, while if you’re too soft some people don’t take it on board. It’s about gauging the individual owner.

“I talk about weight rather than condition because condition can be interpreted as a good thing, and I say, ‘these fat pads here’ [and point]. Fat is the key word.”

Tailoring advice to solutions that are achievable is important.

“If an owner is on a livery yard with no control over turnout it’s no good telling them about strip grazing. Focus on what they can change, for example diet and exercise.”

Knowing exactly what calories are being fed and how much work is given, whether rugs are really needed, and how to feed smaller, balanced feeds, were also factors discussed.