How to ascertain condition on a TB?

[Serephin]

my boy is a 16.1 medium weight TB - I have had him for a year now. When I first bought him he had no condition and resembled a hat rack with a huge belly. I managed to get condition back on him and lots of people have said he has changed shape and looks good - however, I am now paranoid that he will lose weight again. A lot of people tend to go on belly size and his is quite impressive, but it hangs low a bit and I can just see his ribs. I tend to go more on his bum to ascertain whether he is losing any condition or not as big bellies can be bloatedness. But if I refer to one of those condition charts his bum looks like it fits in the borderline good/poor category. Its all really confusing - if I ask anyone at the yard they just seem to be obsessed with belly size - I think I read somewhere that TB's bums are not supposed to be as rounded as other breeds so where it may appear to be a poor it is actually a good.

at the moment he is out 24/7 - and he is a total pig when it comes to food - he gets a small feed everyday for his vitamins and maybe a bot of hay if he has to stand in for half and hour or so. He was starving when I got him and obviously had digestive problems which I sorted out with global herbs stuff. I think I just need reassurance that he is okay.

so, what is a typical TB's condition supposed to look like???

 

[air78]

You are right about the belly, it is not an indicator of condition. Fit horses will have no belly, as their muscles are pulling it all up. Think of what a 3 day eventer looks like.
A good indication is the neck, ribs and quarters as your condition scoring guide shows. Not many TB's carry much body fat, so ribs are usually 'just' seen and 'just' felt. I think you need to look at the overall picture.
By working correctly his quarters will round up a bit more, as will his neck.
My boy is a 16.1 MW TB, and is out 24/7 at the moment. He is on two small feeds of top spec and alfa beet a day, with 1 big tub of haylage, about 3kg. He was also v poor when I got him, and I don't want him to drop condition, so will keep monitoring him over the summer.
Can you post a pic for us?

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Berlly size is not an indication of condition.....you don't want your TB looking like a Thelwell.

My lad is a Hann x TB (50/50) & when we got him he'd got no condition at all as he hadn't bee in any regular work . His backside was very angular, no muscle there & he kept clipping his front feet at he moved as he's got no chest development. His neck was also upside down. The first season we had him he filled out abit but it went onto his belly.

That's all been rectified now, he's exercised & worked 6 days a week. He has a grazing muzzle on & this stops the grass bloat. He has lost the belly. He is now sleek, muscled up & very fit. He's got what one girl on the yard calls "an apple bum". He is moving correctly & developing tremendous but controlled power from behind.

In short the backside muscle development is a much better place to see if your horse has either gained or lost condition...the belly means nothing.

 

[Serephin]

thanks for the posts - glad to see I was on the right track watching his bum!

it is so frustrating when people at the yard who should be quite knowledgeable keep going on about his huge belly and him being fat! I am working him gently as I am still getting used to him but it is my mission over summer to get him more muscled up.

I have no idea how to post a picture though - is it a relatively easy thing to do?

 

[Angua2]

TB's are a totally different kettle of fish.... so what someone who has never had TB experience thinks is always a little off. I found this in the early days with my YM who was and is a cob lady.... she deff knows the TB foiables now..... and we always took the bottom and topline as the basis for condition scoring.
With my two I have always found it is the bottom that looses condition first

 

[air78]

It is easy yes! You need to open a photo bucket account (only takes a second) then upload your pics on to there. Resize them with their edit thing, then copy and paste the 'img' code underneath the pic on to your post....... It is easy I promise!

 

[Serephin]

right, hopefully I have gotten this right.....

this was taken a week or so ago (sorry it was with my phone and the only one i have on this laptop)

 

[slimdizzy]

his condition looks good .but he looks like he does have a large belly,but you say you are in the prosess of fitting him up and if he is at grass then this belly is normal.could do with a bit more top line as his spine is slightly risen over his hind quarters,try getting him working more underneth you or pop him on the lunge for 10 mins a side .he looks good though keep up the good work.

 

[air78]

Looks ok to me too, and some more topline will really improve him. I'd carry on as you are over the summer and see how he goes.

 

[MagicMelon]

He looks fine? Certainly not what I would call underweight. Yes, he doesn't have a big butt but TB's don't really. My TB x is skinnier than yours as he events and it's simply his build. He'd never be fat (even though he's on decent grass 24/7 and always on conditioning feeds etc.).

Definately don't worry. Yes, he has a bit of a "beer belly" look about him. I assume he's wormed fully up to date? I agree, lungeing would probably help.

 

[rcm_73]

He looks well. Take a look at my TBs. The one with the growing out clip in the picture is my 16 y.o. mare and is a very good doer for a purebred. She currently has to wear a grazing muzzle as I'm working longer hours she doesn't do hardly any work. The lighter bay gelding is a TBx. He was very underweight in February when I bought him as a 6 y.o. but is now filling out nicely, he is the one I'm concentrating on working at the moment.

 

[Emma27]

This was my TB last year, he wasn`t in any work and i think he looks ok, just a bit unfit looking.

 

[Serephin]

thanks for all the posts

now I have been told that my ned is too fat and should have a muzzle on cos he is in danger of laminitus! His belly is huge but I am armed with some condition scoring charts and I am going to have a good go over him this evening and see if he is fat anywhere else. I know is topline needs work, but you need fat to change into muscle in the first place surely, its not going to appear out of thin air! What gets me is that his bum was more rounded over winter and has definitely lost a bit from there since he has been out, so to my mind he can't be fatter just cos his belly is bloated. *minor rant* (has been wormed recently as well)

Thanks for all your advice and pictures - has been far more helpful than anyone on my yard!!

 

[sandr]

He doesnt look too bad at all! My TB was much skinnier than yours!
Whats he eating??

 

[Serephin]

he is out 24/7 - he only gets one small feed a day which is a handful of ride and relax and a small scoop of alpha a - to which I add linseed oil, apple cider vinegar and his multi vitamins.