Shyloh is going on a strict no more sugar diet! Holy cresty neck, Batman!! I discovered it the other day when I was messing around with her mane. Normally, I can't see her neck because her mane falls on both sides, but whoa! This is where all the fat has been going!
This is strange because I took Shy off of her 1/8th scoop of grain one time a day a few months ago, and I have been getting comments that she was looking a little slimmer in the sides. Guess it all went to her neck. There are no other fat deposits anywhere else on her, which is good and the cresty neck is not hard. I know I need to be careful because Haflingers are prone to Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS), so I need to be real careful. EMS can lead to laminitis and Insulin Resistance. I want to nip anything that can increase this risk in the butt.
Here is a great link on EMS from My Horse University. Scary for me! Another thing to endlessly fret about.
The worst part is that it is totally my fault! I love feeding Shy. She loves being fed. I truly see pure joy in her eyes when I give her treats. Although, she does not get processed treats, mostly apples, bananas, carrots, berries, granola. According to the article, I might have to cut out the apples and carrots. I did go to the store and get some dried split peas (which she loves) and sugar-free mints. Gotta get that cresty neck down!
Shy might have to be one of those pitiful looking horses with a grazing muzzle on come spring time. But for now, enjoy some photos from the weekend. I have some exciting news for tomorrow!!
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| Shy and Casi munching on some grasses |
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| Shy playing with the cone |
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| Shy, Chick, and Casi. . .she looks so little! |
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| Me and Shy chilling outside |
Roxy foundered in her neck. It's actually quite a worry of mine that she'll get fattened up and founder again. It's not a huge deal, but still upsetting.
ReplyDeleteHow did she founder in her neck? Is that possible? I have no idea, that is why I am asking.
DeleteOh my goodness - Shy is so stinkin' cute!!! And I hear you on the neck thing. I need to watch mine for that too. (Fjord and a pony)
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
DeleteShy and Moon can have matching muzzles come spring ; ) Better that then EMS/Founder! She still looks uber cute though. I'm gonna have to try that dried peas idea. Hmmm...what about wasabi peas??! ; )
ReplyDeleteYes, silly grazing muzzles are much better than that!!
DeleteWasabi peas would be interesting to try! Not sure if she would take a second bite though! My barn owner told me that her horse with IR loves raw unsalted almonds.
There are a lot of sugar free substitutes for treats. I've been trying to find one that works for us for a while, but Chrome is sort of picky. He liked the split peas, but they were too hard to feed for clicker training. Sugar free mints work, but it gets expensive if you're doing a lot of clicker training. I've been told fresh green beans are good treats. Chrome wasn't crazy about them though. You can also try hay pellets (probably not alfalfa - we can get timothy here), but again Chrome doesn't really like it. I think he's a sugar addict like me lol.
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