Now it's Obese Horses

For years now we've been hearing about the fat of the land here in the United States. People of all ages are getting heavier and more unhealthy as time goes by. We've also been told as many as a third of all dogs are obese.

So I guess it shouldn't have come as any surprise to anyone that horses have an obesity problem, as well.

The problems are similar. Too much rich food. Too little exercise. For horses that means laminitis, insulin resistence and a host of other ailments.

While most of us can look at a human (usually ourselves!) and know instantly that person is just too doggone fat, it's not the same with horses. Most horse owners think that well-food look means their horses are healthy and certainly no one will report them to the ASPCA for neglect.

They probably should be reported, however.

How many of you watch the Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan on the National Geographic Channel? I love him. He could train my horses any day of the week.

He says repeatedly that the biggest problem with dogs today is that they are overindulged and underexercised. I would add the same is true for the majority of horses in our society.

I used to board at a barn that had roughly 50 horses, both stalled and pastured. On average, I would guess that six of those horses were ridden more than twice a week and another dozen or so four times a month. The rest were hardly ever ridden.

Horses go to seed with inactivity. They forget their training. They get fat and grumpy. How many horse owners give up on their steeds entirely because they get sick and tired of dealing with a rebellious equine they try to ride once every week or once ever month?

Oddly, you don't hear any of the mega-trainers who give clinics every day talk much about this aspect of horse ownership. I guess it's kind of like a medical doctor telling a patient he or she is fat and needs to lose weight. Touchy. Very touchy.

But the truth, in any regard, whether it's a person who needs to hear it about himself or a horse owner who needs to hear it about her plump mount.

For the good of everyone involved -- but especially your four-legged friends -- get out there and get some exercise. Your body will thank you for it.