Is my TB fat?

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Licheeowls

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Hi, so I got my 5YO TB back in April and he was in a terrible condition- ribby with rain scald and scars all over him.

Naturally I put him on a basic hard feed to bulk him up also for with hay and now he lives out. We’ve not got a huge amount of gras sin the fields so I do still give him a hard feed when I ride him. And I’ve not been riding him too intensely due to the heat so he’s been having a nice easy time.


Thing is now everyone keeps saying ‘oh, he’s filled out’ but not in a good way. One of them told me that he was almost obese and I’m so confused because as far as I can tell his ribs are not only easy to feel but the top four are faintly visible beneath his coat.

Am I wrong to assume that ribs = not fat?

Pic included

https://m.imgur.com/a/dlk4uA9
 
Difficult to tell from one photo, but looks fine to me.

Looks to have a hollow behind the ribs, not cresty…

There may be a fat pad each side of the tail? Can't really tell without a rear on view, but the rest looks FAB.
 
I wonder whether they are confusing having a belly with being fat. Certainly doesn't look obese in that photo, but does have a little bit of a belly which is to be expected giving the fact he is not in hard work and is living out. Show them a conditioning scoring guide so they can see that they should be looking at neck/crest, ribs and hindquarters, not the belly!
 
https://m.imgur.com/a/Uadw6YC

This is the only image of his rear I have. I don’t personally think it’s particularly fat or anything but like I said several people (with chunky ponies may I add) have told me I should be watching what I feed him.

Thank you for your answers :)

Think the grass belly must be confusing them!
 
They might be working on the basis that he has gained a lot of weight in four months, and if he keeps gaining at the same rate he'll be too fat.

It is very, very easy, if you take on a skinny horse, to keep stuffing feed in without necessarily stepping back and reassessing.

He looks fine to me, but I wouldn't want any more on him - I would leep the hard feed under review, and cut it if he's still gaining.
 
Well he's certainly not thin any more, so if you're still feeding him up, it's probably time to cut back. He does look quite porky in the first photo but it may be an illusion of how he's standing. It's very hard to tell from one photo. If in doubt, condition score him (and / or ask your vet next time they're out).
 
I think he looks lovely and definitely not obese. Everyone has an opinion on weight and we all think differently. The bear thing would be to keep an eye on him yourself with a weigh tape and adjust feed accordingly.
 
He is certainly not obese.
He is at about the right baseline weight to aim to maintain and would now benefit from some work to improve muscle tone
 
Hes what I would call soft condition. Not hugely fat, but a little bit over ideal and needing to tone up a bit. I wouldnt be feeding him up anymore.
 
Licheeowls said:
https://m.imgur.com/a/Uadw6YC

This is the only image of his rear I have. I don’t personally think it’s particularly fat or anything but like I said several people (with chunky ponies may I add) have told me I should be watching what I feed him.

Thank you for your answers :)

Think the grass belly must be confusing them!
Click to expand...

Having seen 2 photos, he looks fine to me.
 
he looks grand. TB twiggy legs always make the belly look bigger! His belly has dropped as he's no muscle from work, but hes grand.
 
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