Before & after pictures - rescue ponies

nikkianddave said:
I thought the same, but from behind his bottom is still very square, I think his position on the black and white photo doesn't do me any favours. But I am very proud with how far we have come, and how well he has done.
He also has a very petite head, something the girls and guys round here are raving about and think he will make a fantastic native show pony when he is big enough.
Vet is estimating him to finish at around 15hh
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So he has gone from being a heavy weight cob (which he is not) to a native show pony (which he is not)!

From what the pictures show he looked scrawny and with a poor coat when you got him but I wouldn't call it emaciated.

I do think you have taken a bit of a battering though - he clearly looks happy and healthy to me now. I would caution you on the weight thing though, for a 2yo cob he would be on the upper limit of acceptable weight. He will continue to grow and fill out for years, don't try and speed things along too quickly.
 
cobgoblin said:
I think he looks great now....and very relaxed and happy. I wouldn't want any more weight on him at the moment.

I can see his vertebrae and ribs in the first pics....so he was underweight.
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I agree with this. He looks great now and as he grows in spurts he may well slim out again.
 
nikkianddave said:
Hi!

he was a gypsy cob rescued from a quarry, the people who rescued him paid for his passport and to be gelded and I took him for a mere £200 contribution to that soon afterwards, so for those who are querying whether he is a rescue, he really is!

he is 2 years old, he's gone from 13.1 from when the vet first assessed him in July to just over 13.3hh on the 6th October when he last saw him, and still has weight to gain. He recommended the fast fibre diet, it's done him the world of good and he is impeccably behaved for a 2 year old.

He ill be a ridden pony, vet estimates he will turn 3 in spring next year, in winter next year we will be starting to lunge and long-rein, tack up and then he will be sent away after summer next year to be professionally broken and schooled by John Leigh in the north west

plans for this year are just being a pony, next year we are going to do some in-hand shows

thanks for your kind words, I am going to stop posting on here all together, just seem to get rinsed every time I do. I am proud of my baby and how far we have come. He is very dependant on me and doesn't like anyone else messing with him, but we are bringing him around slowly, he's accepting being caught by different people and being groomed by different people too, we are getting there! but he still wont take a carrot or an apple of anyone but me haha
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Don't stop posting OP, some of us enjoy looking at others photos rather than continually critqueing them! Will try and remember to post some photos of little WHW later... Right enough he was never emaciated etc as WHW had done a fab job before I got him:)
 
He definately looks much happier and settled in your 2nd pictures :)

I would also caution his weight, I wouldn't want anymore on him just yet. He is still a baby and he is still growing, they go through these "ugly duckling" phases where they look ribby and awful. They kinda grow up, then out, then up, then out! It wouldn't suprise me if he shot up again and looked lean as he was growing upwards.

What you want to watch is that if too much weight is put on, and he is fed too much, he will grow accordingly, BUT that growth can be unnatural and cause issues with joints down the line as the growth was too fast before his body is ready for it. (Is that makes sense?)

ETA: For that reason I wouldn't actively put more weight on him just yet :)
 
Well done on taking on a lovely rescue horse. :D

My now 5 year old, I got when she was a yearling and no sooner had I got weight on her she would grown and become lanky again. The joys of youngsters. If you trust your vet that you are doing what is right for your pony then carry on as you are and enjoy him.
 
nikkianddave said:
Hi!

he was a gypsy cob rescued from a quarry, the people who rescued him paid for his passport and to be gelded and I took him for a mere £200 contribution to that soon afterwards, so for those who are querying whether he is a rescue, he really is!

he is 2 years old, he's gone from 13.1 from when the vet first assessed him in July to just over 13.3hh on the 6th October when he last saw him, and still has weight to gain. He recommended the fast fibre diet, it's done him the world of good and he is impeccably behaved for a 2 year old.

He ill be a ridden pony, vet estimates he will turn 3 in spring next year, in winter next year we will be starting to lunge and long-rein, tack up and then he will be sent away after summer next year to be professionally broken and schooled by John Leigh in the north west

plans for this year are just being a pony, next year we are going to do some in-hand shows

thanks for your kind words, I am going to stop posting on here all together, just seem to get rinsed every time I do. I am proud of my baby and how far we have come. He is very dependant on me and doesn't like anyone else messing with him, but we are bringing him around slowly, he's accepting being caught by different people and being groomed by different people too, we are getting there! but he still wont take a carrot or an apple of anyone but me haha
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Sounds like you've got a great plan for him and lots of professional input. It's hard to judge weight and shape from a couple of pics on a forum! And it is a nice idea for a thread. Don't be put off posting. :)
 
For future reference, this is a useful condition scoring chart. 1-3 is underweight, 4-6 is ok, 7-9 is overweight. It's trickier to use with youngsters, but it's a good general indication :).

ybGpBtZ.png
 
Tiddlypom said:
For future reference, this is a useful condition scoring chart. 1-3 is underweight, 4-6 is ok, 7-9 is overweight. It's trickier to use with youngsters, but it's a good general indication :).

ybGpBtZ.png
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when he came he was more 2, now I would say he is between 4 and 5 :) depending on how he is stood you can slightly see some ribs, hence the vet saying a bit more until January then we will re-assess his diet!
 
nikkianddave said:
He definitely has the angle on his hind as 4 and 5 do too x
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You need to remember that he's young, not in work and not using his muscles properly yet. He's not going to look perfectly round in all places and you shouldn't be substituting that with fat. There's nothing wrong with a youngster looking scrawny - they do as they're growing. It's much better to be a bit too trim than too fat.
 
This is my proper rescue mare. Hoping the link allows you all to see the three photos. There’s two before and one now photos.

https://emmapearson.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-XFKX9Sd/A

Peteareta was found by myself loose at the edge of a farmers unfenced field by a main road! After police showing no interest or a local rescue and it getting dark I took her the stallion and yearling that was with her back to my yard.

My vet put her overall body condition at a 0.5 under the manky matted coat! She was crawling alive with lice, riddled with red worm and thread worm and very aggressive to any form of human touch that went behind the shoulders!

World Horse Welfare and police was involved. After three weeks after trying to do everything we could to try and locate an owner (owner would have been prosecuted) it was deemed no owner was going to come claim them and that as I was happy to keep them they because my legal properly to passport, chip and do with as I wished.

Peteareta as my friend named her is still living with me today. The stallion unfortunately is no longer with us due to a neurological problem and the yearling is in a wonderful home.
 
nikkianddave said:
He definitely has the angle on his hind as 4 and 5 do too x
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This is why I deleted my comment. I am sure you are very proud and I didnt want to spoil that for you. We all love our ponies very much.

But your pony is far too fat. The angle you are talking about is a sloping croup and low set tail which is very common in these sorts of cobs. The fact that you think that shows that you are very novice, and therefore no doubt doing these things with the best of intentions. But that doesnt change the fact that your youngster is overweight and you are continuing to feed it up while standing it in a stable 24/7. This isnt the first thread you have posted where you have been told the way you are keeping him isnt suitable for a youngster. I am absolutely horrified that you think he needs to gain weight and that you will be keeping him somewhere with no turnout

You may have "rescued" him, but what use is it to rescue something then keep it in a way which is totally unacceptable and is storing up massive health issues for the future?
 
well done Nikkianddave, I wonder what would have happened to him if you hadn't given him a home and your care? I will not share photos of my boy(who looks very similar to yours but is a bit older) as I would not enjoy being ripped to shreds. My boy lives out 24/7 never rugged, no hard feed and is on sparse pasture, all his health issues have been met. As a typical Gypsy cob, I think it is in his DNA to just keep on eating in case hard times turn up again. Thankfully in the spring he will be ready to start his ridden life and hopefully this will help to keep control of his weight. He is fantastic in every way, easy to shoe, clip, bath and dry with a hairdryer, bombproof when out and about. Fantastic picking up aspects of groundwork and listens to me. He makes me proud that I have the privilege to help shape his life for the better. I paid for his castration and passport through a local charity. I wish you good luck with your lad and thank you for caring for one of the abandoned.
 
OP- you've done a super job and are obviously very proud of your pony. I think he looks great on the colour photo underneath. The black and white photo I think tricks your eye a bit and the lack of definition perhaps makes him appear fatter.
Good luck for the future with him.
 
I haven't got proper 'before' pics of my two foster ponies, because the RSPCA had already put a lot of work in and had restored them to a healthy weight before they were put up for foster.

Here's RSPCA Lucky Charm, age 3. I'd had her for over a year when this photo was taken.

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But she's too fat, I hear you say, TP must have double standards! You're right, I had let her get too fat, she had ballooned up after just a couple of weeks munching on a rested paddock. She was mid controlled weight loss at this point. She went on to be rehomed by the RSPCA after they took her down to the rescue village at Your Horse Live 2013. Cracking pony, I'd have kept her and broken her to drive if my lanes were safer.

She had been take in by the RSPCA as a yearling, after being abandoned in winter and left to starve. Her companion had already died.

This is RSPCA Salsa age 2, after her first proper bath. I had primped and preened her to meet her future adopter for the first time. She wouldn't want to be any fatter. She had been so feral when first taken in that even the experienced RSPCA staff couldn't touch her for months. They had to herd her from place to place.

NY3sdHb.jpg


Earlier, as a rising 2yo, I did a lot of handling work and introducing her to new people.

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My lovely horse dentist went in with her after rasping my other horses' teeth. He just got her confidence (you can see how worried she is, but she's trying!) and handled her head and felt around her mouth. For her, it was better to be loose in the stable so she didn't feel trapped.

And the farrier...

SNzXFoS.jpg


Salsa wasn't with me long, about 5 months, as there was a lot of interest in her. She's in a lovely forever home, and her adopter keeps in touch.

It's very rewarding helping these equines who have had a poor start.
 
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Dancing_Diva said:
This is my proper rescue mare. Hoping the link allows you all to see the three photos. There’s two before and one now photos.

https://emmapearson.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-XFKX9Sd/A
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Oh goodness....what a state she was in! What a good thing for her that you found them.

There are fields and roadsides full of scrawny traveller ponies around us (not that I'm saying that's where yours came from), and I do wonder how many of them would scrub up into nice riding/driving ponies, given proper attention and care. A couple of years ago I looked out of our office window and saw one ambling down the main road through the university campus. Nobody was stopping to do anything about it so I ran outside and caught her by the headcollar - as this happens semi regularly the campus security people were able to find her owner to take her away again. The police really don't give a stuff, another time I rang them to say that a loose (and aggressive - I quickly gave up on catching that one!) stallion was cantering towards the main road, but they said it wasn't anything to do with them and they couldn't help. I don't really understand why people want to own them in the first place if they can't be bothered to feed them / fence them in / handle them etc. Ah jeez. Rant over. Sorry. Anyway she looks a lovely pony, does yours.
 
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