Saturday, April 18, 2009

I'm Just Sayin'.....

Those of you who have followed me for awhile know the whole story behind Bo (and if you don't, just ask and I can direct you where to go). You also know that he has been getting a senior feed for about one year now, and that he gets blanketed in the winter.

And...when he was younger, he was the easiest keeper ever-he ate two small flakes of alfalfa daily along with his vitamins-so it really shouldn't come as a surprise that he now appears to be getting his old metabolism back...lol!!!! I mean, just look at him in the above picture!!! Eeegads he is huge!!!! Oh, and he is also really wet, because we had just gotten back from a long trail ride that ended in a hail storm during the last 10 minutes of our ride.Obviously the above pic was shot last June, and that was about six weeks after we had gotten him back. You can see how scrawny he was, especially when compared to his enormous size right now!!! See here for some other pics of Bo last summer (if you want!).


Amber said that she has cut his senior feed back to every other day, and that he is getting two small flakes of alfalfa again. Maybe his system has adjusted to getting food again? We shall see, and as it gets warmer we will stop his senior feed all together and see how he does.


So anyway, as a person who tends to have a slower metabolism, I am really in no position to judge poor old Cabalero, but I am just sayin'!!!

21 comments:

allhorsestuff said...

oh yea man..he is rather large and in charge at present...so am I for having too much time off!
Wa, on the other hand, has lost since my move and I am trying to put the gain on her again.
have some good riding days ahead Mellie...get the bookwrok done and get out there!

Pony Girl said...

It seems like he is able to carry more weight than most Arabs? I rarely see overweight Arabs! :) At least he's an easy keeper, it'd be harder to have a horse that was hard to keep weight on, I imagine! Can't believe you got hailed out on the last bit of your ride. Crazy!

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Awwww, you leave my BoBo alone! :)
I love seeing a fat and hapy horse in the wintertime. Just means they are well cared for and loved :)

I bet he feels good and even shows his oats when you take him out? Does he act like a young guy on the trails?

When summer comes and he's getting more ride time, he'll be burning off all those calories lickety split, though.

I think BoBo looks adorable, even muddy and wet. (If he had been able to come for Baby Doll's birthday party, I would made him an extra special cake with extra cookies on top! hehehe)

Smooches!
~Lisa

Paint Girl said...

Bo looks great! Better to be on the heavier side! My Arab gets a hay belly, she always looks pregnant.

Grey Horse Matters said...

He's adorable no matter what size he is. Maybe he's just big boned or all muscle!

Dressage Nomad said...

Wow, he looks like a different horse! You've dong a great job figuring out the right program for him.

Paige said...

Wow big change! I wish my old goat was that easy--he goes through 15-20 pounds of senior a day, plus beet pulp, soy oil and all the hay he can shit on, and still never looks GOOD.

I guess that is what being 29 will do for you. Even I was kinda skinny when I was 29

Chelsi said...

LOL...just gotta say it...

You feed an Arab alfalfa? And you are alive to tell the story?!!!

LOL

I am just teasing... It is just that my old Arab would go crazier than a loony toon when I fed him even a treat of alfalfa!

Given that I just polished off a whole bowl of custard and a two pieces of fresh french bread...I am not going to be callin' anyone (horse or otherwise) fat! Not in my current condition... pot..kettle.. black...

cdncowgirl said...

That's great... its nice to see him bounce back
(and bounce he must with that alfalfa & being an Arab lol)

Melanie said...

Kacy-I hear ya' on the getting my homework done and hitting the trails!!! I hope you get Wa amre back up to par soon. :)

Pony Girl-Ahhh yes...the hail!!! Not fun at all!!! In my experience, Arab's can go either way (weight-wise) and a lot of that depends on their breeding. As a general rule of thumb, most Polish and Crabett bred horses can lean towards being rolly-poly, while Russian and Egyptian bred horses are leaner. :)

Lisa-LOL!!! Okay...I'll back off a bit! :) Bo always has lot's of frenetic energy, and that is one of the reasons I love him so (it is also the reason he is not a kidlet or beginner's horse though).

Paint Girl-I agree!! We like our horses to have a little bit of substance to them, right?? LOL!!!

Grey Horse-Well I don't know about Bo, but that is DEFINITELY my problem...lol!!! (That's my answer and I am sticking to it!!) :)

Jester Jigger-Good to see you are out and about!!! He does look completely different, doesn't he??

Paige-LOL!!! I must confess that Bo has only been getting about six pounds of senior feed a day. And 29??? Yeah, I looked pretty good back then too!! :)

Chelsi-LOL!!! Believe it or not, he is crazier on grass or timothy hay, because he won't eat it and he becomes frantic for food. I know what you mean though...some horses go ape-shit on alfalfa...lol!!!

Cdncowgirl-How is your old gal doing???

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

Are you sure that is the same horse? Bo looks like he is trying to imitate a QH, he musta heard you was looking for one-LMAO.

Anonymous said...

LOL @BEC!

And, I was thinking the same thing as Chelsi! My Arab would be singing show tunes in the rafters just from the SMELL of alfalfa!

Casey, on the other hand, gets a flake every evening. He's perfectly fine on it.

Gail said...

What a beautiful doll...looking good.

I know this winter has been rough on cattle and horses even with full feed.

Anonymous said...

Mellie, I don't know Bo's whole story. Point me in the right direction?

Anonymous said...

Oh I'm so glad Bo came home to you! Better to be a little chunky than be in horrid conditions.

Andrea said...

I have to say, even when he was skinny, he really wasn't all that skinny!! I am glad Bo is back with you and feeling his old self again!! I think Bo and I have the same metabolism!! LOL

Anonymous said...

I think that the old guy will muscle up with some more trail rides and will look great. He is a bit heavy, but sure is a nice looking pony.

allhorsestuff said...

Haha!! Just read your comment about Wa's mane and your hair! very diverse consistancies there! Wa's does hold a nice curl though!
I am considering hacking it to hunter length again...jsutm have not brought myself to do it...it actuall jsut about goes into a "Running braid" now..that was my goal...guess i should give it thwe full year ..which is May, since I cut it!
See ya!
Kac

C-ingspots said...

Oh, I think Bo just looks a little on the fluffy side!! That's his winter look...he'll slim down to perfection for the swim suit season in no time at all!!

Paint Girl said...

I have something for you over at my blog!

Unknown said...

He heh.... I actually did kind of giggle when I saw him. Stretch would do that if i gave him a chance to fatten up - I suspect anyways.

Not to worry you'll have him back in shape in no time. And if not Who Cares? Rather see him big than little! Though we all know too big is bad but slightly on the round side? No problem!