Advice please on what to do .

[SAL66]

Right new horse being vetted on Tuesday, so being positive he passes and he's collected tuesday evening.

He has just come over from Ireland and has dropped weight, he needs alot of muscle all over so is not in the best of shapes, but we can see the potential.He has just turned 5 and tried very hard when under saddle.

Areas that I am needing help with are as follows.

Grass, whilst I want him to fill out I don't want to bombard his stomach with lots of grass so I am aiming to restrict his grazing and gradually increase over the following weeks, is this correct?

Hard feed- I again don't want to pump him with lots of calories, but am conscious he needs vitamins, would something like Topspec be ok fed with a normal chaff?

Saddle- he lies the blooming problem, I had just purchased a new saddle for my old horse who is a totally different fit to my new lad, I'm hopeful that it can be altered, I have my saddle that came with my old lad which is a narrower tree so again it might fit.
I have had such a nightmare with sadle fitters the thought
of doing all over again makes me want to cry but hey its got to be done.

As he is going to fill out and change shape, I'm not sure what saddle to go for with him, I really can't afford to keep buying saddles to keep up with him, so I am looking for a saddle that can be changed with him , have mixed views on the wow and possible at this stage too expensive, are the saddle company ones interchangable or have I dreamt this?

My instructer has said that I need to go and do as much with him in the first few weeks to establish the ground rules on who's boss, ie get him going in and out a trailer and horse box, show him as much outside the yard as is possible.

Stable manners , tying up, hose pipe etc etc.

Am I missing anything, can anyone help with the questions above, he is sooo different to my existing horse in every possible way so a big learning curve for me , just want to get it right from day one or as much as possible anyway.

He has a fantastic jump which incidently is not the reason I bought him for, but it seems a shame not to let him carry on as he clearly loves it ears forward and makes a lovely shape.

Eeek better invest in some jumping lessons then the fun posts will start, its been bl**dy years since I did any and a bit of a coward if I'm being honest.

DDx

 

[SAL66]

Anyone?

 

[Flame_]

Regarding saddles, try Saddles Direct. There's a great selection of second hand saddles you can take to try. If you find one that fits and then the horse changes shape, you can take it back there and she'll either give you cash for it or sell it for you at a commission.

 

[daisycrazy]

Hi, I'm also in Derbyshire - whereabouts are you?

I can't say I've ever had any problems turning horses out on grass and letting them get on with it. Once they've stuffed themselves with as much as they can eat they come into their stables and sleep it off. If you're worried turn out for an hour or so, depending on how much grass you've got, then see how he copes. If he's fine, increase the time he's outside. Give him ad lib good quality hay whenever he's stabled.

Unless he's lazy or you're working him hard he shouldn't need lots of hard feed. I use Alfa-A, a bit of quiet/herbal mix and Equilibra (plus carrots) and the horses all do well on it.

As for saddles, what sort of shape is he? My saddle problems and trips to the back man/physio/osteo have been all but non-existent since I bought saddles with foam panels rather than flocking. I like them to have plenty of room for the spine and plenty of wither clearance - and the result seems to be that the saddles I've got fit different horses remarkably well. It also depends how much money you want to spend. Either way, much better to get a saddle that fits and change it later than to end up with damaged back muscles and bad habits under saddle.

He sounds like a good and enthusiastic horse - good luck!

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

With a horse that was changing shape (with my case because she was a youngster), I got a GOOD secondhand treeless saddle to use for the first few months, mines a Dartmoor Treefree (still has a gullet and stirrup bars not horrid rings). It was great, and now is my spare saddle, and it fits both my 17h IDxTB and the 14.2 Haflinger, both v happy in it.

Or consider a synthetic, only about £200ish new, less secondhand, go for Thorowgood not Wintec, and then you can at least adjust gullet width. So go for one where it currently fits on the narrowest it will go on the gullets, and then remove them as he fills out. Again, if thats not enough due to total shape change they are easy to sell and light to P&P!

hope this helps!

 

[YorkshireLass]

LOL, I buy horses like that all the time, it is my business!

You are quite right not to bombard the gut with feed.

First, get his teeth floated and give him a bloomin good worming. That way you can be sure that he gets the best out of what he eats.

When you want to condition a horse, remember that it is different from fattening them.... you want correct muscle, not fat.

So, I would feed a balancer like Top Spec, or Bluechip etc and a little chaff. I would give maximum turnout and adlib hay. There is a saying about scrawny horses 'he needs the summer on his back' meaning, that even if you did nothing the horse would look a whole lot better just for having the summer grazing.

As far as a saddle goes, I would definately get a Wintec with cair and changable gullets. You can pick one up 2nd hand, and simply change the gullets as the horse muscles up. Then you can sell it for pretty much what you have paid for it when the horse is hard fit. I find wintecs indespensible for youngsters and wouldn't use anything else.

Remember not to go at things like a bull in a china shop, it is tempting to fling the horse a load of feed.... but it would be silly to end up having to put it on a diet in the back end.

Also, it is far easier to establish the correct relationship with a horse if it is a bit run down. You will have far fewer problems than you would if it was in peak condition and showing you how great it was feeling.

 

[SAL66]

Thanks for the replies.

YorkshireLass- yes that is what my instructer said establish the ground rules while he is on the "quiet"side and he'll be easier to handle when he's fit.

I'm conscious not to over do the feeding because I don't want a hot head or a fatty ( we are a long way of that at the mo !), but want to feed for muscle and top line.

Seems a wintec or thorowgood saddle is on the cards he comes with absolutely nothing not even a headcollar poor thing, but there is something about him, he rides lovely and I hope fingers crossed he'll turn out a treat and we'll have some great years ahead.

Daisycrazy i'm near Uttoxeter, whereabouts are you?

 

[Natch]

I'd back the Treeless route, at least that won't get in the way of him muscling up correctly and I believe there is a very good second hand market for them if you want to sell once he has filled out and get a "proper" one. I think you're being very hopeful if you think either of your existing saddles will fit even with adjustment, but I don't know any of your hores so fingers crossed for you that they might do!

I know the trials and tribulations of saddle fitting, and for exactly that reason my next horse is getting a treeless, at least to start off with!