fussy eating in a yearling

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hi have got a heavy coloured cob colt foal- gypsy type hes now ten months old. Through the winter hes had ad lib haylage and hard feed- suregrow and sugar beet 4-5 times a week (I only feed when I handle him) his weight has been fine- good but not fat.

Hes had a growth spurt and back end is now around a hand higher than front end. His weight has dropped off now prob a score of 2 (out of five) so lean looking:(. Still eating hay but just picking at hard feed. Vet came out and was unconcerned thought prob teething or maybe a virus but nothing seen on bloods/temp so not given anything for it and hes bright in himself. Worm count is fine. Any suggestions:confused:- do I try a different feed or keep offering this one? should I try to feed him something higher calorie? do I bring him in? or just wait for doctor green?

thanks in advance for any suggestions croissants and coffee for all :D
 
Agree with the dentist idea. You could try restricting (cutting down) his hay for a day then offer a feed; you could always try only feeding the Suregrow (they honestly don't need anything else added to it unless you want more weight on which is not a good idea with a cob) If you're sure there's nothing wrong with the feed it does look like he's just got fed up of it, it's surprising how much the new grass is coming through; even my lot (and their field resembles a rice field at present) are coming in not half as hungry as normal although they would rather leave hay than their short feeds!

He will look a bit ribby while he's so unbalanced in growth, it's perfectly normal and not to be worried about providing all else is healthy as it sounds to be. Just give him time to strengthen and level up then you'll see him pick up again.
 
Have you checked for lice? If Lice, worms and teeth are not an issue then i wouldn't be over concerned, he will ick up when the spring grass comes through.

One of my youngsters dropped a lot of weight a while ago and he is a picky monkey, i bought a bottle of mollases from the feed store and a tablespoon a day he was hoovering up his feeds!! cut the mollases out now and he is still eating well.
 
Just a quick update, dentist came teeth were fine, yearling stopped eating completely. I panicked, vet took more bloods, weight fell of him in the week, starting scouring and was very quiet. Vet came back with diagnosis of liver fluke- quite rare in horses. Has now been given a cattle wormer (!) and is eating like it never happened! Longest week of my life.
 
Liver Fluke should be tested for if a horse has liver damage without a known cause. Particularly if your paddock has lying water for part of the year it is a possibility. I *think* you may need to check your paddocks to make sure they are not affected. I'm sure its all online somewhere or your vet has advised.

Good news your youngster has been sorted!
 
Hi yes we have low lying land and it drains off sheep pastures which is where we will have got it from. Advised to treat horses twice a year for it and its likely just because Its so wet this year- been here five years with no issues previously. Yearling will be going out on a different pasture when better. Vet diagnosed through second set of bloods and extensive faecal tests- took a lot of head scratching!
 
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