Getting horse to loose weight..please read

I have an overweight horse. I got him about 5 months ago, and that is how I got him. He is an easy keeper, because he is old. He gets fat off of anything. He doesn't get any grain. We don't ride him a lot because he is old, and the people we got him from let him sit in the pasture for 6 years.

So right now we are only doing ground work with a short ride mixed in every now and then.
Running only helps a little bit.(like I said he would get fat off of a blade of grass).
Do you think teaching him how to jump and doing jumping while leading him, would make him loose weight. Or at least help.
Could you also give me other ideas, besides penning him up.

If he is too old to ride consistantly, he is too old to jump on a lead. How old is he?

I've ridden horses into their 30's. Its never too late. If he is lame or sore, that's another thing but age alone shouldn't keep you from riding him.

Get him a grazing muzzle if he is turned out on lots of pasture. It will slow down his weight gain.

Do lots and lots of walking and trotting. Either on a lead or undersaddle. Cantering is fun but will only build his stamina. It wont shed the pounds any faster. If he is at your home and not at a boarding stable...its best to do 2-3 short works a day than it is to do 1 big work a day. Lots of exercise and not a lot of food is the best way to get him to lose weight.

He is somewhere between 20-30. He isn't to old to ride, but he hasn't been ridden in 6 years. So lots of riding to get him to loose weight isn't really an option. I was wondering if you think jumping on a lead would help him loose weight or do you think it would be pointless.

I think it would be pretty pointless. There is more exercise in just lunging than in jumping.

Why are you only riding him every now and then? I would think that for an older horse, too much lunging would be as bad for them as a young horse. Just riding him and giving him excercise would help, even if he hasnt been ridden in 6 years, unless there is a health reason. We had a 33 yo horse ride and COMPETE in a hunter pace just held this weekend....

We only ride him every now and then, and it is just for a little bit. Because we got him as an overweight horse. And he is still an overweight horse. When I say not ridden in 6 years I mean, turned out to pasture and didn't even get fed, they didn't even work with him. So I got him leading good and basic ground work. Also he is to fat to really be ridden, I need to get him to loose lots of weight. He could stand to loose 50 pounds and he is only 15hh. I think that he would actually enjoy jumping small jumps, so I was wondering if it would do any good or am I just wasting my time.

You should be riding him more then if he is too fat. Start him slowly, mostly walking and some trotting and gradually increase the load. That's how I would go about that.

So does that mean that if I was anymore out of shape then I am, I should just eat less and expect to get skinny? No, I need to eat a proper diet AND excercise. Not just one or the other.

Your horse needs to be excercised on a regular basis to start to get into shape. And if he is overweight, then you probably shouldnt be jumping him until he is in shape or it will be added stress to his joints. Start with short rides, then slowly build it up.

Jumping is not good for older horses. Make sure he's dewormed properly, in case his "belly" is from parasites instead of fat.

Just keep working him daily at the walk and trot, building up slowly over time from 15-20 minute workouts to 45-60 minute workouts. Do more walk than trot at first, watching his beathing to make sure he doesn't get too winded. Make sure he's turned out in a good sized paddock or pasture with a "friend." If you feed hay, spread it out in many small piles so he has to walk to eat it all.

Just like people, some horses have a hard time losing weight as well. Keep working him consistantly and he'll slowly shed the pounds.

50 lbs is nothing to a horse. For a horse to be "really fat," they need to be 100-300 lbs overweight.

If you do not have a saddle that will fit him, teach him how to lunge on a line or in a smallish pen. Work him at the trot for 5 minutes in each direction, with walk breaks as needed. Slowly increase the time until you have a solid 10 minutes of trot each way. Work him on the lunge 3 days a week.

Once he's working well for you in-hand and on the lunge, ride him bareback. Ride him 20-30 minutes at a time, just walking. Work on his turns, stops, etc. until you're comfortable riding him bareback, then try some trot work. Keep riding him 2-4 days a week.