Help Yearling dropping weight.

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FairyLights

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my 9 month old colt is growing up ,hes turning,rather quickly into a yearling and is more of a horse than a foal now. He is coltish [LOL] but the vet will sort that out in April when he comes to remove certain parts...........However, this last fortnight I have noticed that the colt has dropped weight. He has been fed all winter on ad lib meadow hay and 2/3 the recommended amount of Spillers stud and Youngstock mix with balancer to make up the difference. Because of the growth spurt and the weight loss I have,the other day, upped the stud mix to 3 kg which is the maximum it states on the bag. Worming is up to date. He is out at grass with a companion,another colt, for 9 hrs a day an stabled over night.
The colt is rather stressy,due to hormones presumably but maybe the feed too????????? I am concerned as 3kg of the stud mix is,presumably what thoroughbed race horses are fed and he is part TBx arab part connemara x sec D, so I dont want to over do it, but he obviously needs more calories. I realise stud mix is balanced and I am reluctant to add this and that incase I unbalance the diet. Also ,do horses put on this growth spurt around 9 months? Is this normal,and if so will it last til hes about 1 yr old then tail off? I dont want to "hot house him and then he out grows himself with terrible consiqunces.
Thanks for reading, many choc hobnobs and mugs of coffee if you have got this far,your thoughts please.
 
I'd pop this in Breeding because you'll get a better response.

But it may well be that it's just a growth spurt and nothing to worry about at all.

Does he have access to hay during the day - and why not get him chopped now, before the warmer weather and flies???
 
I never fed my foals at the full recommended amount (I used A&P stud cubes and then switched to yearling pencils at about 9 months of age) as I didn't want them to get too well done with the risks to their long term soundneess, etc. I also fed Alfa A with their feed and ad lib haylage.

I would imagine he is probably just having a growth spurt. Most yearlings go through a pretty hideous stage when they are growing. The grass is starting to grow so I am sure he will soon pick up.

If you are worried I would look at upping his hay rather than hard feed. How much turnout does he have?
 
I would check for mites first thing, especially if you feel he shouldn't be losing weight. We had 2 youngsters drop weight a couple of winters ago and on closer inspection found they had been riddled with them, one was fairly new and he had brought them with him I think!
 
I think you'll find it is his growth spurt that has made him apear to have lost weight. PLEASE DO NOT increase his feed. Particularly mixes / balancers. This will only encourage him to grow upwards FASTER which could lead to problems such as physitis and OCD.

In fact I would be tempted to swap him onto more fibre - high fi lite (or molasses free which has more oil in it for calories) with speedi beet is ideal and give him a broad spectrum or youngstock vitamin and mineral supplement to make up the nutrients. Removing cereals and reducing the protein and starch will mean that he grows more steadily and you will find he gets a covering over his ribs he will probably also calm down considerably.

Also increase his hay.

As others have said it is completely normal for them to drop weight about now so I wouldn't be overly concerned...

This is just my opinion from hard experience. it is up to you as to whether you use it :)
 
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I notice a growth spurt in my 8 mnt old colt every day ! if it's not his knees ever increasing its his cob sized head or his legs !! Like you I have noticed a change in his attitude over the last 2 weeks and hove dropped his foal mix by half as its a bit like turning out a drunk rugby player in the mornings!! the grass is coming through and I think he will pick up from that. He just gets a scoop of D&H suregrow and 1/2 stubbs of D&H foal mix between 2 feeds with a sprinkle of hifi light ! You could swithch your mix D&H is formulated for natives and warmbloods rather than TBs if you are worried about blowing his mind

Hay in the field maybe ?

Has he grown upward recently I always think Fitz looks gangly and more poor when his going up then he goes out again and up etc a bit like a toddler. it could be that the change in his hormones are winding him up and if he's full of oats that can't help. Maybe chop him sooner ! I am currently saving up for our snip snip day £££ I tell him about it every time he jumps on my head !

Edit to add : he also gets a big glug of sunflower oil in each feed which I started feeding when he was weaned and dropped a load of wieght !
 
Thanks everyone for the replies. I suppose this should be in breeding, I'll see if I can cut and paste. re gelding, I tried to have him gelded last month but the vet wont do them until they can be turned out 24/7 after gelding in a mud free paddock. This is why he's being done next month. I am worried about him going up and up on extra feed. I have emailed the Spillers nutritionalist and await the reply. it might take a week! hes on a decent 2 1/2 acre field which has been shut up all winter. he's not eating much hay at night,the grass is coming through and both my colts are filling up on that they have the stud mix with hi-fi and a little soaked sugarbeet,also a handful of carrots.
 
I never hard feed mine, as I don't want joint problems, they just get add lib hay/haylage and a vitamin lick and mine are out unrugged with shelter 24/7.
It is perfectly normal for him to put a growth spurt on now and go ribby, it is what they are designed to do - they have the least amount of weight on them at this time of year so less pressure on growing joints. He will do this for the next few winters and should be kept on the lean side to avoid OCD etc.
By ribby I mean you should be able to see and feel the last of his ribs, although he should not loose too much topline, the neck is also somewhere where weight will go too - hence the giraffe look! But if he is loosing alot along his back and bum and he has a hollow either side of his spine and his hip bones are sticking out then I would get the vet out to check teeth/worms etc!!
Do not, as others have already said, up his feed, you are feeding an awful lot of hard feed for any youngster let alone a TB x native type - it's more than I would feed an in-foal broodmare!! I would try and phase it out and add more fibre as has already been mentioned as this is what keeps the nutrients you are feeding him in his gut longer. The vitamins are the important bit so I wouldn't worry about him not eating much hay either especially as the grass is coming through so he will have that in his gut too - mine are bored now of their haylage and just pull it out the feeders and poop on it!!!

Beware what the feed company says/has on it's packaging - they are there to sell feed and make money and are not worried what happens to your horse long term, besides horses have a very small stomach for the size of animal - so the more you force into it the faster it goes through unprocessed and the higher the colic risk - they just aren't designed to eat that much in one go!!! It is easy to put weight on a youngster when the grass comes through than try and loose it!!
I always aim to get mine leaner at the end of winter no matter what age but certainly their first 3 or 4 winters - a few months on the grass and they are little butterballs again!! So don't worry, he will start to look more like an adult by the end of summer and less like several giraffes glued together, this is their worst winter looks/proportions wise - think gangly teenager phase!!!:D
Post a pic if you are really worried so we can see his condition.
 
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Thanks Alexart I appreciate your reply, and the others too.He's in the bottom paddock here,he and his companion have access to a paddock with more grass on it than this as well.
 
Seriously. He looks absolutely fine!! He will pile meat on them bones in the next month or so and you won't recognise him! I was expecting a hat rack the way you were talking earlier.

I can only re-inforce what I and others have said since. Fibre, Fibre and more fibre. Maybe the reason he's not eating much hay is because he's getting such big bucket feeds? That said, mine didn't eat a hell of a lot of hay at that age considering their size.

I wouldn't be ringing feed companies for advice... last time I did that I regretted it.

My CB has been on hi fi lite, high fibre cubes, speedi beet and hay and was looking worse than yours when I got him. he was a changed animal within a couple of months.

Please be reasured that he looks fine :)
 
I am no expert but mine looked like that last year as an 18 month old. I asked my vet on a routine visit if she thought his weight was ok as I thought he looked lean. He was and still is growing like a string bean. Vet said she would not want anymore weight on him. Looked again last month on a visit (I am paranoid and always ask her) and she said he was spot on. So I would say yours looks rather like mine and my vet says he is just right!
 
Having seen your photos I definitely would NOT worry. In fact I would be happy to see him even a little leaner and not worry.
 
THANKYOU all, He does get hay ,good quality hay in the field but isnt eating it since I upped the bucket feed. I feed 1 kg of stud mix and a big double handful of hi-hi with a little soaked sugarbeet to moisten it,3 times a day. hes not eating much hay at night and the field hes in most of the time during the day has plenty of grass in it. the photos were taken near the stable block where theres not much grass as they have been on there since October. I guess he looks slight as my other colt is a heavy sort,lots of bone, part sec d part shire pat gypsy cob. I have the other problem with him,keeping weight off, he has ad lib hay,hi-fi and stud balancer 3 x a day and that seems to suit him fine.
 
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He looks perfectly normal to me - in fact, as Eggs said, I'd be happy for him to get a bit leaner yet so I'd be weaning him off the hard feed all together now and just have a vitamin supplement, he'll blob on the spring grass very quickly!!:D
 
Dont up his hard feed it can cause many problems if anything just up his haylage, at that age they grow out then up, then pop on loads of weight again then they go up again and when they go up they look like they have lost weight.
I would check for lice but bar that dont worry. do not over feed with hard feed, forage and the spring grass coming through will be plenty
 
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