Feeding advice...grass belly

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Gracealton

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Ive had my new welsh D cross for about 6 weeks now. He is living out 24/7, the grass is long, he gets a few handfuls of chaff and carrots (started feeding him that from day one more as a pleasant reason for him to come in and be worked with more than anything) he is unbroken but has just started lunging etc so isnt getting much exercise yet. He is developing a big grass belly yet also losing condition. My plan is to start feeding him a balancer with the chaff and a yea saac supplement once a day. Will this be enough to rectify the problem or do i need to restrict his grazing? Just to be clear...he is NOT overweight, if anything he is losing condition. Classic grass belly. Any advice much appreciated. Thanks :)
 
If he is losing condition generally yet gaining a tummy I would suspect worms may be the cause and would target that first, if you restrict his grazing he will need some hay to make up for it, he may also benefit from having some offered now, otherwise he will just lose more weight, giving a balancer will ensure he is getting all the vits/ mins he requires but he still needs plenty of fibre to maintain the weight.

His tummy should start to lift up with regular work and his topline will build up but obviously this will take time at the stage he is at.
 
Hi thanks for your advice. I should have mentioned I'm currently waiting for the results of a worm count. Hopefully I will be able to rule that out. Maybe I will start feeding hay now as it will be better quality than the current grass. Any experience with yea saac?
 
I feed yea saac and I do *think* it makes a difference, however I am a big fan of Protexin Gut Balancer and would definitely recommend it in your situation.
 
Grass belly comes as standard with a pony living on a high fibre diet and light work.

However one that has a grass belly and is losing weight is most likely to have a large worm burden.

I'd also have teeth checked over as a retained cap can affect eating and digestion.
 
Thanks everyone. I really hope it isn't worms, will find out next week i guess. I wormed him with equest pramox when he arrived so one would hope that would be enough. His weight loss isnt extreme...i just noticed the other day his neck looked a bit skinny. Hard to tell now too as his winter coat is through and he resembles a woolly mammoth! :D
 
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