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Obesity

Canine Obesity: The Most Preventable Disease

One of the most devastating and potentially serious diseases to affect our dogs is that of obesity. Thankfully, it's also one of the most easily prevented and treatable diseases. Usually the result of neglect or misinformation, oftentimes all it takes to reverse the adverse affects of obesity is education and a willingness to help your dog improve his or her quality of life. Obesity is a condition in which your dog's percentage of body fat is significantly higher than it should be, resulting in their carrying around a lot of extra weight. This extra weight affects the entirety of your dog's health. It places them at a much greater risk during any surgeries that might be necessary for other diseases; weakens their joints and cartilage, leaving them prone to injuries; and creates an incredible amount of stress on organs and bones that are surrounded by thick walls of fat. [...]

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Overweight Horses Are At A Greater Health Risk

Overweight or obese horses are at the same types of health risks as overweight humans, dogs and any other type of animal. Since in the wild horses would be continually required to graze and forage, the chance of a horse in the wild becoming obese is almost non-existent. In captivity, horses are restricted to small areas, fed high carbohydrate, protein and fat diets, and only exercised for small periods of time per day, all leading to obesity problems. Obesity puts more strain on all the various aspects of the horse's body from breathing and respiration through to digestion and cardiac functioning. The more weight the horse is carrying the greater the stress will be on the cardiac and respiratory system, especially when the horse is being exercised. Since obese horses rarely get routine exercise, this difference in respiration and heart rate, especially in hot or humid weather can quickly lead to heat stroke and heat intolerance. The excessive body weight will also prevent the dissipation of heat in the natural body cooling process, further leading to problems with heat stroke and stress. [...]

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Managing Weight Loss In Overweight Horses

For any number of reasons horses can begin to gain weight. Often horses that have been hard working or regularly exercised horses that suddenly find themselves turned on pasture, retired or even recovering from an injury will begin to put on weight due to the body's inability to change the metabolism to account for the decrease in calories burned. Ponies are often very prone to weight gain due to being bred to have slower metabolisms. Many of the pony breeds excelled and thrived in areas where horses would have starved and over generations have adjusted to be able to live on very small amounts of low quality feeds. In modern, domestic environment with lush pastures and daily grain, these ponies simply pack on the pounds, even with regular exercise. Some horses and ponies are also given a huge number of treats, supplements and feed additives that are simply not needed or even healthy for the horses. Sugary treats, treats high in carbohydrates and fats can all lead to adding weight to your horse if they are fed in moderate to excessive amounts. [...]

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