Weight reduction will only occur if the horse’s energy expenditure is greater than its energy intake. Weight loss can only be accomplished by reducing the number of calories going in and increasing the number of calories expended. So a combination of diet and exercise is in order to shed extra weight from the easy keeper.
Don’t feed high-fat supplements. Vegetable oil, flax seed and rice bran are high in fat and they are high in calories. Eliminate these supplements from your horse’s diet and you can cut out a large number of calories and prevent excessive weight gain. Limit access to pasture by using a grazing muzzle and replace legume hay with grass hay. Legume hay, such as alfalfa and clover, contain more calories per pound than grass hays. Instead of alfalfa, feed a high-fiber, good quality grass hay free of dust, mold and weeds. Commercially available “balancer supplements” are ideal for these horses as they provide the animal with its mineral and vitamin requirements without adding excess calories.