Is my pony terribly underweight?

Baggybreeches said:
What I am actually disturbed (and yes I do mean disturbed) by is the number of people who think the pony looks like it needs x amount of feeds and ad lib hay.
It's no wonder the horses in this country are off their legs by the age of 5 or 6.
:(
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It certainly needs ad lib hay.
 
Baggybreeches said:
OP FWIW I don't think he looks bad for a youngster. I would agree that he has probably had a growth spurt and the odd weather will have used up a few of his calories. I would get a worm analysis done and check him for lice (or just treat him anyway).
Please resist the urge to overfeed him and also be careful about changing his grazing (I know you have no choice) but this is coming up to prime time for grass sickness and he is at an age which puts him in a higher risk category.

What I am actually disturbed (and yes I do mean disturbed) by is the number of people who think the pony looks like it needs x amount of feeds and ad lib hay.
It's no wonder the horses in this country are off their legs by the age of 5 or 6.
:(
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Completely agree. I dont think its a good idea to be stuffing a 2 year old (2 yo old anything, much less a native) full of conditioning feeds.
 
Capriole said:
Completely agree. I dont think its a good idea to be stuffing a 2 year old (2 yo old anything, much less a native) full of conditioning feeds.
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I agree regarding the condtioning feeds. But it does need ad lib haylage or hay.

In the last photograph he looks really tucked up too. I would be getting the vet out in case there is something going on if he still looks poor after having ad lib haylage.

I am actually concerned that a few people think he looks okay! :confused:
 
We must be looking at different photos, Wagtail. I doubt the pony I can see would condition score much below a 2, which is fine by WHW standards. I think he looks tucked up in the last photo due to the angle of the photo - as he doesn't look the same in the other shots.
 
JFTD said:
We must be looking at different photos, Wagtail. I doubt the pony I can see would condition score much below a 2, which is fine by WHW standards. I think he looks tucked up in the last photo due to the angle of the photo - as he doesn't look the same in the other shots.
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I would score him 1.5 - 2 which is too thin. I like to see them 2.5 - 3. In my book, anything under a 2.5 or over a 3.5 is concerning. I don't think we should be encouraging people with skinny (or fat) horses by saying they are all right. Often poor horses look far worse in the flesh than in photographs too.
 
Wagtail said:
I would score him 1.5 - 2 which is too thin. I like to see them 2.5 - 3. In my book, anything under a 2.5 or over a 3.5 is concerning. I don't think we should be encouraging people with skinny (or fat) horses by saying they are all right. Often poor horses look far worse in the flesh than in photographs too.
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Well, as I say, a "2" is considered fine by WHW, so with the greatest respect, I would rather go by their standards. A 3.5 would be as bad as a 1.5 if you take their traffic light system literally. I personally don't think the pony is a 1.5, but the OP is in the best position to judge that - and I wholeheartedly suggest that she downloads the WHW condition scoring guide, uses it, gets a sensible friend to score him too, and acts accordingly.

In my eyes, a 3.5 is carrying too much weight and I wouldn't want to encourage them either. Given that this is spring, and the pony is moving to better grazing, I honestly don't think that stuffing it full of haylage will do any good whatsoever.

for the OP

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...sig2=INicmww0gsxe_WFGg542rw Condition scoring
 
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I think we have to be very careful when offering advice over the internet. We don't know the full story or situation. Photo's can be very deceptive and it is difficult to be accurate on condition scoring via photo.

I remember my last horse going into winter as a late 3yo, about 16hh and nicely rounded.
He emerged in Feb/March, rising 4yo, 16.2hh and looking horrific. I was mortified! But a massive growth spurt can do this to a horse.

The OP has a native. I am horrified at the suggestions of lush grass, luceren (high protein levels), compound feeds etc. There is no argument from me that the horse is less than ideal in weight but the last thing he needs is inappropriate overloading of his system.
Adlib hay (not haylage) and let him pick up gradually.
 
ihatework said:
The OP has a native. I am horrified at the suggestions of lush grass, luceren (high protein levels), compound feeds etc. There is no argument from me that the horse is less than ideal in weight but the last thing he needs is inappropriate overloading of his system.
Adlib hay (not haylage) and let him pick up gradually.
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Never mind it being a native. It is a youngster. The worst thing to do is pump it full of feed. You want to aim for as steady a rate of growth as possible to avoid problems with joints caused by major growth spurts. I thought everyone knew that.

Lots of hay if grazing is poor and vet to do bloods if he's lost it suddenly. That's all I would give.

And, for the record, whilst I would like to see a little more on him to bring him to 2.5 I think where he stands at the moment (hovering on or just below a CS of 2) is not the end of the world! I wouldn't have any youngster of mine about 2.5 frankly.
 
jesstickle said:
Never mind it being a native. It is a youngster. The worst thing to do is pump it full of feed. You want to aim for as steady a rate of growth as possible to avoid problems with joints caused by major growth spurts. I thought everyone knew that.

.
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I do know that = confused.com

You are preaching to the converted
 
I have a native in a worse condition than that (long story). And I'm absolutely :eek: at the suggestions to pump him full of feed! Please don't!

He's just a baby, and babies get worms and all sorts (lice etc), so your port of call needs to be a good wormer (pramox is excellent), and a dusting with louse powder, followed by a worm count (£4) a week later and then a week after that another lice powdering. Lice suck the blood and cause condition loss.

Mine's had the above and is now on low cal nuts and a bit of molassed chaff (we're talking a pinch of each)and a wee bit of sunflower oil. Literally enough to pop a good multivitamin in. He's on rubbish hay when it pees it down and the rest of the time grazing a small already grazed paddock. He looked better within the week.

The other liveries and I agreed to keep a lightweight on him just to hide his body condition from passers by. I have also notified the vet so she knows that he's poor and it's being dealt with just in case someone calls the ILPH!

Please be aware of the risk of laminitis, getting condition on this youngster needs to be a slow thing. Do not use lots of hard feed and lush grass to get quick results.
It is ribby, but I've seen a lot worse this year, and I think the weather conditions have played a huge part.
 
ihatework said:
I do know that = confused.com

You are preaching to the converted
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Not aimed at you IHW :) Just quoting you as not only is it young it is also a native (which would normally do well we assume!). I was agreeing and adding some more rather than trying to preach.Just too lazy to explain properly on rubbish net book in the lab with my gloves on. Makes typing very hard work! :D
 
All the babies [cobs] have access to ad lib hay, whether they're out in the field or inside. They pick and choose what they want and when they need it. They're not stupid and they don't scoff it either. They go through about a bale every 2-3 days per 8 horses approx.

During the really cold spells, they have oats and maize on top for extra warmth.

They get a full tube of wormer routinely changed. If any aren't picking up, then they then come into the barn and put on hard feed/5 day wormer/dectomax injections and just left in to pick up again.

Even now, the ones turned out have a 3 feeders full of hay. They're still choosing the grass over the hay mostly, though have come up for the hay during the really wet days and finishing it off.

Ad-lib hay is never a bad thing in my view. It's forage, not fat.
 
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Not read all the post but yes he died look poor.
But be careful giving him too much lush grass and hard feed, he needs fibre but the right sort!

Get a worm count done, he may have s large burden and be immune to some workers.
Also if he has lost weight quickly turn best get a vet to look him over and take s blood sample.


I hope he improves quickly.
 
He looks poor and coat really looks like he isn't getting what he needs, it's dull and horrid.
Ad lib fibre and a mineral block to start with. I would still wonder if he has worms so I would worm him for everything. Wormcount is a good ideal ( and that's coming from me who don't think they are great) but might give you some ideas but please remember there is a lot off worms they don't cover so isn't a true picture.
 
ihatework said:
Yes he is poor and yes you need (and should have done) something about it.
But I think your YO kicking you off is a bit harsh, unless they have been urging you for a while to do something and have been ignored (there are always 2 sides to every story).

If this was my horse I wouldn't be rushing to pump hard feed and fresh grass into him I'm afraid, you have a native and a youngster possibly going through a growth spurt.

My priorities would be to get him access to adlib hay, and a small quantity of something like suregrow (I wouldn't be stuffing conditiong cubes into a 2yo native). I'd pop a rug on in the bad weather as he doesn't have the body fat to help keep warm. I'd also get the vet to quickly check him over and run a fecal and blood worm test.
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This!!
 
Yes a bit I'm afraid. Ditto all the rest (haven't read whole thread). Get him ad-lib hay/lage until the grass comes.

I am a bit concerned that you have a youngster and need to ask if it is underweight, which is where I would have hoped your YO to have been more supportive. I would be putting on a LW rug also - I have had to do this with my aged TB broodmare as my neighbours were commenting on her lack of condition (which is not as bad as your one).

I used to rescue horses from Southall Market as a kid. Main problem is that once they get to that condition, any rapid feeding can cause problems with bones/colic etc so be very careful.

Good luck.
 
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