If you have a horse who "gets fat on air" in your barn, then you are well acquainted with the "easy keeper." Making sure that your easy keeper stays at a healthy weight can become a particular challenge during the summer, when pastures are lush. Need some help? Here are some ideas.Use a Muzzle

Lush pastures and an easy keeper generally mean an overweight horse. The easiest way to restrict your horse's grass intake is to keep him in a smaller pasture that is grazed down, or to put him on a dry lot or pen. Whether or not this is possible depends on the setup of your property.

Alternatively, you can use a grazing muzzle to limit the amount of grass that your horse eats. Grazing muzzles are available in a number of different styles, and it's important to find one that fits your horse correctly or else you'll risk rubs to your horse’s face or the possibility that your horse can remove the muzzle himself.

Omit Unnecessary Calories

Carefully examine your horse's diet to determine whether you’re providing him with unnecessary calories. Many horses do fine without eating grain, as long as you supplement any nutritional deficiencies that may result. Speak with your vet or an equine nutritionist to determine if foregoing grain is appropriate for your horse.

Don't forget about the little ways your horse may be ingesting more calories than he needs. Treats may seem small, but if they’re given frequently then they can quickly add up. Omitting treats altogether or feeling a low-calorie treat sparingly will help keep extra weight off of your easy keeper.

Feed Hay Slowly

You’ll likely need to feed your easy keeper less hay than your other horses. Using a hay net will slow down how quickly he can eat his hay, as he has to pull out a bit of hay at a time. You can further slow down your horse's eating by using a slow-feed hay bag or a small hole hay net. Your horse’s hay will last him longer and help keep him entertained while he’s in his stall.

Not able to access a slow-feed hay net right away? Put one hay net inside of another to reduce the size of the holes and slow your horse down.

Soak Hay

You can limit the calories that your horse is ingesting through his hay by thoroughly soaking the hay before you feed it. Soaking removes the sugars from the hay, and less sugar means less calories for your horse. It's easiest to put the hay in a hay net and soak it in a tub of water; the hay net makes it easier to lift the hay out of the tub to feed. Soak hay for about six hours to remove the sugars before you feed it to your horse.

It's important to keep your easy keeper in good health and at a good weight. These strategies can help you do so.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/tomsaint/4840982575

Original Source: Feeding the Easy Keeper