What is a good doer?
People refer to their horse as a good doer if they maintain their condition well and have a tendency to put on weight easily. This can often be a problem in the summer months when there is plenty of grass around, leading to unwanted weight gain. Overweight horses can be more susceptible to problems such as laminitis and so keeping them at a healthy body weight is crucial.
Tips to help manage ‘good doers’ and prevent unwanted weight gain:
- Provide low calorie forage- this will help maintain hind gut health and satisfy the horse’s need to chew without providing them with lots of calories. Whilst some horses may need to have their diet restricted to manage their weight you should never starve them.
- Keep them in regular exercise
- Monitor their body condition regularly- often as owners, we see our horses every day so it can be difficult to notice our horse’s body condition changing. Using a weigh tape, body condition scoring chart or weigh bridge regularly can help you monitor any changes to your horse’s weight.
- Provide a balanced diet
- Avoid over- rugging your horse
My horse maintains their weight on just grass, do I need to feed them anything else?
Often ‘good doers’ will maintain their weight easily on just hay and grass. However, this doesn’t necessarily provide them with a balanced diet. Grass and hay is often lacking in key nutrients and so it is important to feed them a balancer alongside their forage. This will ensure that they are getting the important daily nutrients that they need including vitamins, minerals and amino acids in a low calorie way.
Customer Testimonial:
Pure Feed customer Aimee knows exactly what keeping a good doer is like. She bought her pony Beyonce earlier in the year and she could easily be described as a ‘good doer’.
However, the difference in Beyonce in just a few months with a diet change and new exercise regime was brilliant. Beyonce was fed on our Pure Balance alongside her forage. The first photo above was taken in May, the second (below) in August.
