Am i doing the right thing??

[GLEEK]

Hello

I have 2 mares that live out and after a very hard winter i can see they have ribs on them!!!! Ive never seen ribs on them before usuallt ripples of fat!!! Our grass is slowly comming through and neither are really getting much/any exercise just now. I am trying to not pump the feed in them as my ID usualy has weight issues and the standard bred is normally ok. Am i doing the right thing or should i be trying to feed them more? They are both getting fed and im still putting hay in the field.

Neither are to the extreme of neglect case. They are just on the skinny side before anyone worries!! haha

 

[Maisy]

Assuming that they have lost weight due to the hard winter, I would think you are doing the right thing. Have you ruled out any other reason for their unusual loss of weight? (worms etc....)

 

[pottamus]

Assuming there are no health issues and they are well and bright with good movement and coats, then I would not worry if they are normally good doers. My lad had laminitis over autumn and winter and has lost a lot of weight due to being boxed and also cutting back on what he was getting and he has a slight rib outline, which the vet says is how he should be. You are better off going into summer with that situation than being overweight to begin with as the grass is coming through now. My lad is on his trashed winter paddock and only has nibbly bits of grass as they grow through and the main bulk of his diet is still hay, so I am sure they will be fine when the grass kicks in properly.

 

[GLEEK]

I do think it is because of the winter as they are both on the thin side both are moulting look a bit rough but we have still been getting flurries of snow the last few days and its -5 last couple of nights. We did have snow on the ground for 12weeks one night in our garden it was -25 so it has been bad!! Everything else worming jabs etc is up to date