Pictures How's he looking..??

[SatansLittleHelper]

Rex is living out and has started to get his winter coat with a vengeance now. He's not rugged and no hard feed, literally just grass.
I can feel his ribs but not see them, he's not fat but I feel he looks poor...?? He lacks muscle as he doesn't work but should I feed him something now..?? I'm not sure if it's just the fuzziness that makes him look rubbish ?? He's 6 next April and 16.1 (measured on stick today) if that helps.
Possibly I'm paranoid or comparing him to the two fat cobs snd Shitland but he looked like this last year too.

 

[rabatsa]

He does not look underweight to me.

 

[hobo]

My horses are way to fat so to me he looks a little light in the middle. I also think he looks adorable and more like a pony with his very sweet face. Are you able to give him some hay or would that mean all your fatties end up with it as well. I would not panic to much yet but just keep an eye on him.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Bit lean for my taste going into winter. Fine for coming out of.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Just looks like a horse out of work. Ok weight, just lacks the condition he would get being in work. Which is fine, since he's not in work after all.

Winter coats can make them appear shaggy or a little duller since I swear they really hold the dirt and grime. As long as his nutritional requirements are met vit/min wise, I wouldn't worry.

 

[scats]

I wouldn’t say he was poor or underweight at the moment, but I would keep an eye on him given we are just headed into winter.

 

[ycbm]

I wish my mare looked like that!

I'd be happy with that but starting to add food now.

 

[AmyMay]

I’d start to give a little grub now too. He certainly doesn’t look poor, just a little light.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Can he work? He would look better with muscle.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Thanks everyone, he can't really have hay yet as we still have a fair bit of grass. I could start doing a bucket feed though...maybe some speedibeet speedibeet and grass nuts..???
He's turned away til early spring now so won't be doing anything til then, he was started this year but covid put the kibosh on doing too much. I'd be happy to do some in hand stuff though..??

 

[Gloi]

He's got plenty of weight on his neck but looks a little tucked up.maybe give him more low sugar forage to provide more fibre to fill his belly to keep him warm rather than put on weight.

 

[ihatework]

He's got plenty of weight on his neck but looks a little tucked up.maybe give him more low sugar forage to fill his belly to keep him warm rather than put on weight.

Id agree with this. He looks like he needs a bit more fibre rather than condition. Always difficult to assess accurately from a photo but he looks to have some crest and shoulder fat. He is light behind but I think that’s partly conformational.

Id say feed him more hay and start working him

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

He won't be working til spring now but I can start using hay...the fatties have lost enough that I can likely get away with it. I will supplement him with some Speedy Mash and grass nuts to give him some extra fibre. I've wondered about popping a 50g rug on at night....

 

[Sandales]

Sorry I'm just drawn to the field of geese behind ( I hope they are geese now I've said it?). I'll be watching this thread with interest as I would say he basically looks fine but would add forage to the ration now but I also acknowledge that some of my horses are a little on the plump side.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Why isn’t he working? I would be tempted to start longlining, go for big walks.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

I'm not riding him as I decided to turn him away over winter while I work on losing some more weight. I can certainly start long reining him out though, good exercise for us both..!!!

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Sorry I'm just drawn to the field of geese behind ( I hope they are geese now I've said it?).

Yes, they are geese, I love them lol. There are literally HUNDREDS of them....free range...for Xmas

 

[Lois Lame]

Nice for the geese that they are free range, though. And they probably don't know about Christmas, so all good.

 

[Trouper]

I wouldn't want him any lighter going into Winter so I would be giving him something of your choice but I would be adding a balancer to make sure that he got all the vits/mins he needs as he is still growing and the value in the grass is fading now.

 

[Pinkvboots]

A bit of micronised linseed in a feed will help as well, but I would imagine just giving him a bit of hay would be enough to pick him up a bit.

 

[Cortez]

He just looks like a roughed off horse to me, and I wouldn't be feeding him anything at all until those fat rolls on his front end were gone. Have people forgotten (or perhaps never seen?) what a normal weight looks like?

 

[splashgirl45]

he looks fine to me, if he has a decent coat i wouldnt rug.. i used to mainly rug mine so i could ride first thing in the morning, i would just feed a balancer with a bit of chaff for now to stop him losing any more . if they are out 24/7 and we get lots of heavy rain he may lose a bit so either give hay or a lightweight rug to keep him dry, i think they can cope easily with cold weather but when it rains continually its not so good. long reining would be good to both build him up and educate him so i would def do that as often as you can..

 

[Tiddlypom]

He just looks like a roughed off horse to me, and I wouldn't be feeding him anything at all until those fat rolls on his front end were gone. Have people forgotten (or perhaps never seen?) what a normal weight looks like?

That’s what I was thinking. He’s carrying blubber at the front and it needs to go. Work would be the ideal thing for him, ideally ridden, but long lining would do.

 

[popcorn1]

He looks exactly as I would want him to look this time of year. Well done on managing him so well that he isn't entering winter fat! I wouldn't rush to feed him personally, a token amount if you are going to start long lining.

 

[RHM]

I personally think he looks fine and wouldn’t be feeding yet. I think all fluffy horses look a bit shite this time of year. If he isn’t looking great once properly in winter and had dropped off further I would give him some hay and linseed with grass nuts. Such a cute face though!

 

[Slightlyconfused]

He looks fine, once the bits on his neck and crest have gone then look at it again but for now just carry on.

Longlining will be good exercise to get the rest of it off.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Thank you everyone. I feel a bit better about him now....we are going to start feeding hay before long as the grass is getting a bit churned up with the rain etc.
Going to get him out long reining this week

 

[P.forpony]

Sounds like a good plan ?
nothing new to add just agreeing with others who have said he’s absolutely fine/sneakily carrying a bit of weight in front. Definitely not under and will start to look marvellous with a bit of work.
I don’t add feed except a balancer unless ribs are visible, feelable is spot on.
It can be tricky to adjust your eye between types and it sounds like you have quite a difference between yours.
I try and take photos of them stood up properly on the yard once a month or so for reference and looking back on which helps ?

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

That's a good idea, will do the taking pics thing ???

 

[HollyWoozle]

I agree with those saying they wouldn't feed him anything extra at this point. I'm sure he would look better in work but that could be said of many a horse and person to be honest.

Edited to add that he looks like a lovely boy, what a sweet face!