Fat or thin?

[blacksabbeth]

Do you think its best to keep a young horse chubby or slightly lean(not to the extent of ribs showing)i am just curious of what people think and if possible show any pics of a youngster at a good weight?cheers.

 

[ceiron]

same as any youngster

lean to aid joint and muscle development

 

[blacksabbeth]

Ok thank you very much,i have always thought that it was better to keep a young horse on the lean side but recently been told that its better to allow a youngster to get fat and then they will grow,if anything i always thought that it was worse for a young horse to get chubby as it is not good for there development?please tell me if im wrong as i want good facts to what is right as now im totally confused as its not the first time i have been told that?

 

[ceiron]

theres feeding for growth and then theres being fat.

anything that is fat is unhealthy really

i thought that was a given

i think the fat thing just goes back to the old ways where all show horses are fat to cover up any blemishes and stuff

i think if you went to any welfare organisation like whw they would advise a good healthy weight then extra weight

when i say lean i dont mean keeping the horse thin but at a healthy weight, so go by the conditioning scores etc ...

a horse kept healthy weight and fed properly will grow fine

 

[blacksabbeth]

thank you very much i can promise you now that my horse is not thin shes at a very good weight at the moment and i dont want her getting bigger,shes now out on good grass but shes also being excersised accordingly,but thank you for advice its much appreciated.

 

[somethingorother]

If i had to pick i would say lean.

But there is always the obvious choice of 'just right' which is neither fat nor particularly lean.