Today I went to the barn and found Steen and the pasture herd were back out in 15+ acres of grass. He and his buddies had clearly been gorging themselves for many hours, and as a consequence he was a bit gassy and grumpy when I brought him indoors. He was also stiff in the hind end from our ride yesterday, so I took it easy on him today.
It is really interesting for me to see how Steen has changed in the 2 years I’ve had him. When I bought him I didn’t know nearly as much about horse nutrition and weight. I thought he was on the thin side, but it didn’t quite register with me that he had been at least somewhat malnourished for a significant period of time. I had this vague thought that he’d fatten right up on a good pasture.
Steen on the day after he arrived. The main thing I find shocking now is how big his head used to be in comparison to his neck.
As anyone who’s read this blog knows, it has not been that easy. But today I looked at my horse and realized he’s actually starting to resemble other horses with quarter-horse/paint bloodlines.
The other benefit – he’s now a lot more comfortable to ride bareback.
I think it just takes a long time to change a physiology, and we’ll see how he does this winter, but I’m hopeful the worst of our weight problems are behind us.
Grats on two rides in a row!
My horses have definitely put on weight since moving here too. Trekker is even tending to the slightly overweight side (mostly because I don't ride him enough, so he's out of shape as well).
Steen is looking good. Some of it may have been malnutrition, but some horses just need some extra help maintaining weight. Although starting out winter in good shape will probably make it that much easier to get through in good shape.