Bringing on a slightly underweight horse.

[Iwantthemall]

Hi all, just looking for aome advice on bringing on a horse that is slightly underweight.

He is a 15.2 lw cob.
But at the moment looking slightly like a blood type.

Any other horses ive had have bein good dooers so didnt need much.

He is a 5yr old who was broken as a 3 yr old and bein left out he is now back in work a few months, is ridden daily and lives outside, im currently feeding him twice daily col and cooked...as this is what he was getting in his previous home....but he was never permanent there they just got him to sell on...any advice greatly appreciated....jo x

 

[be positive]

As he is a cob type I would not be rushing to get weight on, give him 6 months of work and a sensible diet, not forgetting ensuring his teeth and worming is kept up to date, he is sure to look like a different horse, even if he drops back a bit over winter he will pick up next spring and you will probably be dieting him by this time next year rather than worrying about him looking lean, I would rather see a young cob a bit underweight as long as they are well in themselves, so many are bordering on obese before they even start work and spend the rest of their lives being dieted which could be avoided if they were not allowed to become fat in the first place.

That may be a bit of a sweeping statement but they tend to be good doers by nature and do not require much feed to stay in good condition, let the weight and muscle build up slowly and he will be far better for it in the long run.

 

[Iwantthemall]

Thanks for the reply, so just stick the way im going then, the other cob i have is such a good dooer but like you said was overweight when i got him and had to do the opposite as he was borderline obese(previous owners leaving him on good grass 24/7 and feeding him a ridiculous amount while he was in no work) and he only turned 4 last month. Atm the lw cob( harvey) is in great form and is full of energy so i dont think he is lacking in anything just me probably bein a fuss and bein worried 🐴