Does he sound very underweight?

[amycov]

I recently weighed (with a tape) my 10hh Sec A colt and was a little shocked at the result. He came up as 103kg although he's very fluffy so I think without the fluff he would have come up at just under the 100kg mark. He has a very prominant breast bone and spine. You can feel his ribs, but not as much as when I got him in December. I know he's not going to have much muscle due to his age and he was unfortunately not able to go out for about 2 months due to fencing issues which didn't help the muscle tone that he had!
He gets two feeds a day which consist of the recommended amount of D&H foal mix, half scoop of honeychop with apple, and a cup of pony nuts. He also gets 50ml of oil per feed. Didn't want to give him more than 100ml of oil per day due to his immature organs. He is out for approx 9 hours a day and has ad lib hay at night.

Does he sound underweight to you or am I just worrying? I'm hoping the spring grass will pick him up a little. Do you think I'm feeding correctly?

Any opinions greatfully received

Thanks

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

I would reassess his weight once the spring grass comes through - some people say you always want your horse to be a little bit skinny going into summer and a little bit plump going into winter. If his weight doesn't pick up you could try giving him some conditioning feed.

 

[lhotse]

From your description, he sounds poor. Look up a body condition score sheet and compare. Can you feel his ribs easily? I have had plenty of welsh youngstock around and I can say that you should certainly not be able to feel the backbone and sternum as you describe. Young animals should have a bit of weight about them, not overweight but they will not develope correctly if they are underweight. Forget the weight tape and use your eyes and hands to access his body condition. I have never used one. Has he been properly wormed? Get in touch with D@H who can give you plenty of advice on feeding him. Have a word with your vet as well, if you are concerned.

 

[amycov]

Yes I worm him regularly. He did have a bad infestation when I got him though but we managed to zap them! Wormed with Pramox a few weeks ago.
He's almost old enough to come off the foal mix so when he's ready for different feed I'll ring up a few different companies I think and see what they suggest!

 

[lhotse]

The spring grass is coming through now, so he should start to put on weight. Definitely give the feed companies a ring though, as they have equine nutritionists who can give you expert advice. Good luck.