Is my baby too FAT?!

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EquestrianFairy

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Someone mentioned today that my 'just turned' yearling was looking very portly and i should put a grazing muzzle on her?

What do you lot think?

Shes around 12.2hh (give or take) and is 100% cob with lots of bone, currently she has the most amazing coat which is extremely thick (like sheepskin) but its moulting well with the warmer weather.

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(and one of my new girlie!)
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I would say she does have a slight crest. But i wouldnt personally put a muzzle on a yearling, i would just restrict the grass by sectioning off.
 
Thats the problem i cant section it off, it'd be restricted grazing by bringing her in or a muzzle.

Her mum and her are still very close so shes well looked after which could be why shes done so well.

Shes not greedy either bless her!
 
She is not fat, shes a baby!! I have a just turned native yearling too. I think you have to bear in mind they are only babies so there shape is so odd at the moment and forever changing. They have really thick winter/ baby coats too which make them look bigger, and there not going to look like perfect little horses yet, which I think some people find hard to understand. If you think she's fat I daren't post a piccy of Archie
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! I really wouldn't worry too much, just keep a record of her weight every week with a weight tape to see if she's putting it on and then restrict her grazing if needed, I wouldn't muzzle her tbh.
She is a sweetie though and a your new girly is gorgeous!
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Of course she isn't fat - she's a yearling! All 9 of my Quarter Horse yearlings look exactly the same as your little girl and I can assure you, they aren't fat, they're just normal, chunky little QH yearlings.
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The someone who mentioned she was "very portly", have they any knowledge of youngsters? In particular, knowledge of cob youngsters? Sounds doubtful.

Don't worry one bit, she looks perfectly normal for the type of horse she is.
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It's not that easy to tell from the photos, partly due to all the hair (my boy is the same).

If you can easily see the top of her ribs under all the hair then she if fine but she shouldn't be the same weight as older horses, it looks like she might have extra flesh on which you would want to get rid of.

However I am very sympathetic to the problem as my boy (now rising 2) was overweight this winter as well (though he is now the right weight).

I wouldn't muzzle her but maybe stable her a bit and don't coddle her if it gets miserable weather (she can be out minus a rug at her age and breeding).

Also come spring proper when she grows you could well find all the weight dissapearing and her taller.

Are you feeding her a supplement as she should really be getting something like Suregrow (D&H) which basically has no calories but does have all the mins and nutrients for growing?

Good luck
 
am at work pc so cant see pics.
i muzzled my yearling-its no big deal.i felt she was better out exercising than stuck in.
she wasnt fat but she was out on cow grass in the day and she actually got a pulse|(very very low)in one foot.
after my older mare getting lami a few weeks earlier(she'd never had it) i wasnt going to risk it but i didnt want to keep her in as she had been stuck in most of the winter too!
YO wouldnt let me put either horse on sectioned off bits or on the winter fields so, until i moved to somewhere with unfertilized HORSE grazing, i muzzled them both.
they were fine.
got a few rather nice pics of the yearling with her muzzle on actually.
i just put a carrot in the bottom and she was fine to get it n and worked it out within 10mins.i wasnt worried about her fibre intake as she had adlib hay at night(soaked) and she had a youngstock mineral and vitamin suppliment with hifi.
 
Im afraid to say shes not on any hard feed- she gets a vit and min lick for ten mins a day but shes not really a 'hard feed' eater- she doesnt seem interested in it so o havent pushed it mainly because (clearly!) she seems to be doing very well on her own.
Shes in the same field as her mum and mum looks after her exceptionally well.

It was actually a vet that mentioned it, although she wasnt critisizing- i think it was more of a 'oooh, shes rather fat- perhaps look to muzzle her'

I can sort of feel her ribs but tbh her hair is so thick- i can actually put my hand on her belly and her hair covers my hand completley so my hand isnt even visable!

Shes never been rugged and never will be for the moment, she lived out all winter and coped well (which is not surpising considering her coat!)
 
Just a thought, has she been wormed? I wouldn't be overly concerned with her weight at this stage, you are obviously keeping a close eye on her which is the important thing.
 
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