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One of your geldings is on good pasture all the time, gobbles up three daily feedings of grain, does very little work, and always looks thin and ribby. Another horse in your stable wears a grazing muzzle, gets no grain at all, is ridden for an hour a day, and stays a bit more than pleasingly plump. What’s going on?

A recent study conducted by Simon Bailey, an associate professor of preclinical veterinary science at the University of Melbourne in Australia, confirmed what most horse owners have always suspected. Some breeds of horses just naturally tend to gain weight more easily and have a harder time shedding extra pounds than other breeds. Andalusians, Morgans, and many warmblood and pony breeds are often easy keepers, while Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds may stay on the thin side.

Bailey and his research team allowed a group of ponies, Standardbreds, and Andalusian-cross horses to gain weight. Then they started the equines on controlled diets and exercise programs designed to help them lose weight. In spite of dietary restrictions and daily exercise, the Andalusian-cross horses and most of the ponies kept the extra weight on. In contrast, the Standardbreds lost weight quickly after being switched to hay-only diets.

As the study continues, the researchers are looking at the locations where fat is deposited on the horses’ bodies as the animals consume a high-calorie diet. They are also probing the relationship between various hormones and weight gain or loss in the different breeds. They hope to find out more about the links between nutrition, metabolism of different breed types, obesity, and equine metabolic syndrome. This information may lead to management strategies to help horses lose excess weight and avoid the health problems related to obesity.

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