Weight Management

Obesity remains prevalent in the UK leisure sector of horses and ponies and is now also commonly found in the sports and elite horse sectors. It is of great concern to all equine communities from both veterinary and welfare points of view.

Despite the increasing information that is available to horse owners and carers about the health risks of obesity we are still struggling to gain control of an increasingly fat population of horses and ponies. It has been identified that there is an inability among horse owners to recognise obesity in their horses, thus exacerbating the situation and delaying the implementation of sensible weight-loss strategies as discussed by our Senior Nutritionist Lizzie Drury and Dr. Katie Young from Kentucky Equine Research.

Rewatch our seminar as Lizzie & Katie explain why body condition scoring is a valuable tool for every horse owner and handler to have and can tell you a lot more about your horse than using a weight tape or weighbridge can. This hands-on approach to assessing your horse's body weight is vital for managing good-doers and those that may be more at risk of metabolic issues.

Many people admit to feeling confused and lack confidence in knowing where they can go for honest and practical feeding advice and management strategies, which I feel is a poor reflection on the horse feed industry today.

At Saracen Horse Feeds we are taking this very seriously and want to work hard to do our part at helping clients to regain control of their horses’ weight, health, and fitness and to know that they have our full support. They can gain confidence in what they are doing, knowing that they have our ongoing support and encouragement.
Lizzie Drury MSc RNutr - Saracen Horse Feeds Senior Nutritionist