On the other end of the spectrum, I am constantly asked how to deal with overweight horses that do not thin down during the year. Here is the problem. Horses are designed to get fat when the grasses are plentiful, and get lean when the grasses die off in the winter months, so they use up all the excess condition they have accumulated during the times when grasses are plentiful.

Now that's what nature intended, horses have massive powers of re-generation, but that does not sit well with horse owners, we like to keep them in ideal condition all year round. We keep our horses at the same weight in the winter by supplying stored hay and increasing their calorific intake all through the normally hard winter months. The horses never loose condition, and arrive at the next spring/summer period at a normal body weight. They eat the rich spring and summer grasses, naturally full of energy, and able to replenish a depleted body, and they get fat on it where normally they would just get back into ideal condition after being leaned off during the winter months. If you look at the natural laws of nature governing how animals survive all becomes clear.

What to do. Several options may help you achieve a healthier horse. Consider letting your horses lean off a little in the late winter, or limit grazing on lush summer grasses, and most definitely exercise them. Horses constantly need to move, their whole being needs that process to work efficiently. Cyclic weight change is a very normal part of a healthy horses yearly vitality.