Weight should be taken off gradually. This will help the horse psychologically and will not affect the integrity of the horse's digestive tract. Some steps to weight reduction are:
1. remove a portion of the grain diet and continue exercise program;
2. remove all the horse's grain; restrict eating time of the horse (grazing, etc.);
3. make sure the horse gets at least one percent of its body weight in forage each day (an 1100 pound horse should get at least 11 pounds of hay daily)
This, along with an exercise program, will cause weight loss.
