Conditioning feed for warmblood yearling

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gill84

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I knew my little guy was a bit ribby but after seeing the competition at the county show he could really do with gaining a few pounds.
He's on the recommended level of mare and youngstock and a high oil chaff at the minute but he's just not thriving on it.
I've phoned a few helplines but the're all so biast that it's hard to pick what's best.
So far I've considered topspec conditioning flakes, fibre beet (instead of chaff), build up cubes, d & h build and glow and calm and condition. Any other suggestions or views on what's best just to fill him out a bit?
He's on good grazing but didn't winter very well as he was indoors most of it with his previous owner
 
You're brave, my warmblood yearling I wouldn't have dared take out in public in his yearling year!! ribby, pot belied, long long giraffe neck! haha!!! He turned out well though now!! I would not recommend personally feeding up a yearling warmblood. I would ensure worming is fully upto date with correct ones for time of year etc, good grazing and/or adlib hay/haylage, balance vits and mins, whether that's through a vit and min block/lick, supplement or balancer. And if he still looks a bit ribby, an oil based supplement like outshine or saracen equijewel to avoid starch reactions. But this is only my personal recommendations. I'd also post this in the breeding section, as lots of experience there....

By feeding too much, you risk him converting it straight into growth and then getting growth problems like ocd...
 
Really couldnt comment without seeing him, I always think grass is the best thing, feeding wise I fed my boy alfa oil, sugar beet and a young stock supplement, haylage and grass. Your youngster may just be going through a growth spurt, but id be wary of feeding for 'show condition' in a youngster, so much can go wrong if you over burden their body when growing. But as I said, I couldn't really comment on yours without seeing.
 
I'm just on my phone so I can't post a pic otherwise I would.
He just seems to lack sparkle. I dunno maybe gallons of coat shine where used on the yearlings I saw but either way he needs to put a little bit of weight on
 
I've had my 2yr old 4 months now and I weighed him today, and he was 445kg, was 395kg when I got him in Feb.

I have been feeding him allan and page calm and condition + alpha a and he's out 24-7, have just put them back out in the winter field as they grass is crazy long so he's got plenty of grass too but I really recommend it! he was on 2 feeds a day up until about a month ago and now just has one! I love the allan and page feeds!
 
But the dietary needs of a yearling and a 2yr old are different, a 2yr old can be fed in a similar way to a mature horse where as the dietary and growth needs of a yearling is far more specific. Op, youngsters have ugly bodies, and scrappy coats, the top show people will literally groom for hours to get a gleaming coat. My 3yr old has a fab coat front and back but it looks shabby in the middle and is still maulting, if you want to add anything add some corn oil, and lots of grooming and yes a good slick of shiney spray. Also look at forage, if he's in at night up his hay/haylage. Or pop a net outside for him. If you want to feed extra, go for Alan and page fast fibre, it's just fibre and won't overload your youngster, like c&c could do, look at ways to up fibre without adding extra mixes to the diet.
 
I would stay away from top spec conditioning flake. It does a brilliant job but is also a source of energy and made my mare resemble a racehorse on speed!!

I feed a youngstock mix,dobson and horrell sure grow, full fat soya powder from red mills and barley rings with chaff topped with ready grass. Coats are like glass all year round, good amount of top line without being fat....and they are all quite cheap. I would also start strapping, great for improving coats and muscle

Heres a pic of my 3yr old fed on that mixture

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A good feeding regime that I use on my Warmblood X is saraceen show improver pencils, chaff, hay(at least a couple slices a day) and grass. Try and keep him as natural as possible. x
 
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