Is my baby too lean?!

C

Callies.mum

Active Member
Joined
22 February 2025
Messages
33
Visit site
Sorry if this has been asked before.

I have a 10 month old warmblood filly who I need opinions on, regarding her weight. I understand babies are better to be on the slightly ‘leaner’ side but do you think this is too Ribby?
Always had a long neck and super long legs.
She lives out 24/7 with plenty of company, rugged and constant hay. She has no interest in any feed that I have tried her with, won’t entertain anything and is wormed up to date and seems pretty happy.
I will try and attach a photo 🙈IMG_7732.jpeg
 
Callies.mum said:
They have 3 big round cattle feeders so no issues accessing it but lots of horses share so may not get enough possibly.
Click to expand...
If it is turned out with older horses, or even ponies the chances are it's at the bottom of the pecking order, and they will move it off the hay. I think you need to think about giving it a high DE/calorie feed at least once a day, perhaps a conditioning mash because you will not have to feed a lot and they are based on fibre.
I have two who tend to lose weight in winter even with free access to hay and just 0.5kg a day just keeps them topped up.
 
Oh, I doubt she's getting her fair share. She looks a poppet, who may not be holding her ground round the feeder. If she were mine (we have had big, tall youngstock) I would cover a few question marks re worming and teeth with the vet. I would ask the vet to check teeth with a gag and do worm testing, not just ask "how's she looking". I wouldn't expect a young horse to look like that on adlib forage of any quality. Nor would I rely on spring grass to help her. I always remind myself, with puppies and youngstock of any kind "you only get to grow them once".
 
She looks a bit too lean but I've had youngsters who went through a stage of looking similar and nothing I did made a difference...I still have one and he's now built like a tank!...it seemed like everytime they grew taller they went through a skinny, fugly stage. I would do a worm and teeth check just to rule out any issues there though.

You said there are 3 round cattle feeders but are they used for round bales or is loose hay put into them? I noticed the builders sack in the photo so curious as to whether the hay is truly adlib or if loose hay is put into the feeders.

The spring grass will be coming through soon so if she's still looking lean in 4/6 months then I'd ask the vet for further investigations.
 
Spiritedly said:
You said there are 3 round cattle feeders but are they used for round bales or is loose hay put into them? I noticed the builders sack in the photo so curious as to whether the hay is truly adlib or if loose hay is put into the feeders.

The spring grass will be coming through soon so if she's still looking lean in 4/6 months then I'd ask the vet for further investigations.
Click to expand...

I think that's the horses rug on the floor.

I don't think she looks too skinny, but I wouldn't want her any leaner. I think I'd try and get her to eat feed, perhaps starting with a mash, or some treat nuts or even an apple chopped in a bucket, until you find something she'll eat. Eating hard feed is something she'll have to learn eventually, so may as well start now. You can then add calories as needed.
 
meleeka said:
I think that's the horses rug on the floor.
Click to expand...
Looking at the photo again I think you're right.

I think for some youngsters they grow up then out then up and so on and during the 'up' stage they appear lean which is why I'd give her a few months to see if there's an improvement as she should be entering an 'out' stage of growth by then.
 
meleeka said:
. I think I'd try and get her to eat feed, perhaps starting with a mash, or some treat nuts or even an apple chopped in a bucket, until you find something she'll eat. Eating hard feed is something she'll have to learn eventually, so may as well start now. You can then add calories as needed.
Click to expand...

most of mine got the bucket feed idea very quickly but the last one who came at 7 months didn't. Just couldn't or wouldn't get it. Finally, at long last, he got the idea of eating something, I think it was nuts, that came out of a feed sack. It took a very long while for him to get the message that all feed didn't come in a feed sack. He refused treats such as carrots and apples for very many months. I think he was about 2 before he would eat them.
Come feed time he watched the rest eating out of their buckets but it still didn't click.
 
She's on the leaner side, isn't she.

I wouldn't panic because I can see obvious reasons for it - age, time of year, pecking order re food access.

I'd make sure I kept an eye on the basics, do a worm egg count, check that she isn't cold under her rug.

What's your grazing like? We are already getting some grass growth here already, although this is definitely "fools spring" isn't it! If your fields are going to be a long way off recovery then you might need to take bigger steps to change her management but if the grass is likely to bounce back quickly, then she should bounce back with it.

Have you tried her on a nice quality chaff in a bucket? It's very recognizable as food for them, and once she's cottoned on to eating it, you can add to it.
 
Having had 2 horses that had been short of food as babies, who had gut issues later, I wouldn't want to think that it's just 'pecking order problems'. They do grow in fits and starts but they need enough food to do that. She, personally, needs access to truly ad-lib forage, which might mean configuring your feeder/herd arrangements differently.
 
She’s got constant access to hay, (let them eat it down to make sure we can throw any away that doesn’t get eaten before new one in) big round bales put in, and always got her head in there, literally 😅 Attached photo from different angle, she doesn’t look as bad?! WEC ordered, will keep being persistent with feed. Thanks all.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_7737.jpeg
    IMG_7737.jpeg
    393.5 KB · Views: 215
  • IMG_7738.jpeg
    IMG_7738.jpeg
    388.1 KB · Views: 215
Callies.mum said:
She’s got constant access to hay, (let them eat it down to make sure we can throw any away that doesn’t get eaten before new one in) big round bales put in, and always got her head in there, literally 😅 Attached photo from different angle, she doesn’t look as bad?! WEC ordered, will keep being persistent with feed. Thanks all.
Click to expand...


She looks a lot better there weight wise but the pot belly is a concern. Hopefully just worms and you're onto that, so good luck she looks a nice sort.
.
 
Callies.mum said:
She’s got constant access to hay, (let them eat it down to make sure we can throw any away that doesn’t get eaten before new one in) big round bales put in, and always got her head in there, literally 😅 Attached photo from different angle, she doesn’t look as bad?! WEC ordered, will keep being persistent with feed. Thanks all.
Click to expand...
She's fab and spring is round the corner (...apparently...!)
 
Callies.mum said:
She’s got constant access to hay, (let them eat it down to make sure we can throw any away that doesn’t get eaten before new one in) big round bales put in, and always got her head in there, literally 😅 Attached photo from different angle, she doesn’t look as bad?! WEC ordered, will keep being persistent with feed. Thanks all.
Click to expand...
Do the equisal test too - FEC doesn't pick up tapeworm and I can speak from experience that tapeworm can be hard to shift.
 
I had a 2 rising 3 year old looking poor at this stage of winter, so long as there’s no teeth issue, worms are not an issue or anything else of concern, I’d be waiting for the spring grass and assessing from there.
 
Amymay Again said:
Should they be looking poor though?
Click to expand...
No harm coming out of winter looking a bit poor. Means they can eat the spring grass and put the weight back on naturally with a lower risk of laminitis and obesity related diseases. I had my vet look at my horse who always comes out of winter looking bad and he said that's fine, that's what they're supposed to do, you'll have an easier rest of the year than everyone else who has to restrict grazing and calorie intake. ...and he's right, my other horses are much more work the rest of the year!

Plus youngsters, like teenagers, usually go through a gawky, gangly stage before filling out 😁
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top