Sometimes we're not the only ones that eat a little too much for Thanksgiving dinner. Maintaining your horse's weight is a vital part of keeping her happy and healthy. Most horses' natural instinct is to store as much energy as possible, so keeping the weight off truly comes down to you. Here are 4 expert tips to dealing with an overweight horse.

1. It's All Math
If your horse is gaining weight, it's because the amount of calories they are consuming is more than the amount of calories they are burning (with the exception of certain medical conditions).

2. Diet And Exercise
Putting your horse on a diet alone won't matter if they're not exercising. Likewise, a horse that's doing a lot of exercise but eats even more calories won't lose weight either. It's important to have a healthy combination of both diet and exercise.

3. Grazing
It doesn't matter what special diet you're feeding your horse if she's overweight and grazing in a pasture all day, you should consider implementing restricted grazing or the use of a grazing muzzle.

4. Don't Feed High-Fat Supplements
Vegetable oil, flaxseed and rice brans are all incredibly high in fat and calories. If your horse is overweight consider replacing these feeds with Timothy Grass or Premium Orchard Grass.

Keeping your horse healthy is a lot easier with the right type of feed. Check out these two premium western forage products perfect for overweight horses.