Are you familiar with the Henneke body scoring system? Instead of trying to achieve a specific weight, you assess various parts of the body for fat deposits. I find this to be more useful than a weight tape, and once youāre familiar with how to do it, itās easy to check whenever you groom or tack up your horse. The girth can also let you know if the horse is gaining or losing weight, depending on whether you need to tighten or loosen it.
You are 100% correct on all accounts!
The scales at the clinic had her weight at 729#, I taped her as soon as we got home and she taped at 680#.
This is a long game and lifestyle change.
Yes, the veterinarian said in his reply the Henneke scale should be my guide. He also said return to the clinic anytime and put her on the scales. I think Iāll do that after 8 weeks.
This is actually a standard donkey Iām talking about, 12.2 hands high. I have driven in her twice in the past week and the harness saddle girth does require using higher holes so we are slowly chipping away.
We had family here the first 2 weeks of June and the donkey was driven at least 8 times in those 2 weeks. I observed that she seemed unusually slow but attributed it to it being warm and she hadnāt been driven since Decembe so we took it easy. Maybe itās wishful thinking but sheās been lighter in her transitions and less Eeyore when hitched these past 2 time.
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I have a fat pony who tests negative for both IR and Cushingās. Iāve had him in grazing muzzles on grass for the 2-going-on-3 years that weāve been together. He had been wearing a Flexible Filly, but one morning came in from night turnout without the muzzle partā¦the halter with its sheepskin tubes was in one piece. I donāt know how this could have happened except that a human entered the field and cut it off, but maybe Iām dealing with a limited imagination. Any thoughts? Has anyone had this experience where the horse actually removed the muzzle?
Mine looks like itās ready to tear at some of the edges (itās olde but didnāt get as much used). Maybe it got hung up on one of the edges, creating a tear line and the horse ripped it off?
I would imagine ( if it was my horse( s) ) they managed to get it caught and broke a couple of the zip ties/ straps holding it in place and then stepped on the muzzle while grazing and severed it completely.
Just a guess. I have had mine come in missing a strap or the whole halter but not the muzzle itself thankfully.
I just ordered the sweetnet muzzle after neither the flexible filly nor the greenguard were working for us (eating out of the side of the FF and kept removing the GG despite an extra throatlatch). I spoke with the owner and actually ended up getting the 2.5 inch hole to try even though I was originally thinking even the 2 inch might be too big. Will report back after we have had it for a bit.
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