Is my yearling overweight?

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Bryony&Ty

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I'm a bit worried that my 14 month old cob x is overweight.

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History: His sire is a huge gypsy vanner, mum is a working hunter type pony. He's expected to reach about 16hh although his full brother who is 3yrs is 16hh already and still has a bit of growing to do so he may get a bit bigger.

I think he has a too fatty bum. He also has a huge pot belly which he's had since about 9 months old. The vet saw him at 10 months when he was gelded and wasn't worried about his pot belly. he said it was probably a hay belly and to up his protein which i have done. But he still has this belly! He has been wormed up to date and i check his poo so its not that.

He has a scoop (1 scoop is about the size of 1 and a half cupped handfuls) of soaked sugarbeet, a scoop of Spillers Stud Mix and scoop of sugar free Alfa A with some chopped apple or carrot. This is the feed that was recommended by my BHS instructor (who hasn't actually met him) and also the feed store. The grass is pretty poor where he is right now so he has a bit of hay in the morning.

He lives out 24/7 and does plenty of playing and running about with his pony friend.

Is he overweight? Am i feeding him wrong? I may get the vet in to put my mind at rest as i am well aware of the dangers or youngstes being overweight.
 
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definately not overweight at all. could even take a bit more weight and still be ok. you can see the ribs and there are poor mans markings on his behind. neck is slight too. most definately not overweight at all.
ETA , lovely horse by the way.
 
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Your youngster doesn't look overweight, even if he were a tad overweight I wouldn't worry about that on a yearling, they fill out then have a growth spurt and get a bit skinny then they fill out and go up again! I am a bit confused by what your local feed store has advised you to feed, sugar free alfa a with spillers stud mix???? Whilst mollasses free alfa a is fantastic (high in fibre, calcium and protein) I wouldn't bother going sugar free if I was just going to top it up with a mollassed feed.
 
Horsesforever1 said:
definately not overweight at all. could even take a bit more weight and still be ok. you can see the ribs and there are poor mans markings on his behind. neck is slight too. most definately not overweight at all.
ETA , lovely horse by the way.
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I agree. Could do with a bit more weight on and a good worming.

What are poor mans markins??
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

He is definately wormed up to date but i may get an egg count done to be sure he's not wormy somehow. I can't think of the type of wormer i used but ill check my records when i get home (am at work at the mo).

I don't know why they advised those feeds, i asked their horsey person and they said sugar beet, stud mix and Alfa A would be good. Then the girl at the counter was chatting to me and when i said it was for a 9 month old she suggested the sugar free / lite version so he wasn't given too much sugar? Maybe she was wrong!

I'm happy to take any advice regarding feed though, i did a lot of research regarding feeding youngsters before i got him as he's my first baby :)
I've heard all the scare storie on over-feeding and causing growth problems so have been erring on the side of caution - again, please tell me if im wrong!
 
As far as feeding goes, I imagine that all he's going to need through this summer is decent grazing and hay if not.

Do get a worm count done and blood test for tapeworm.
 
To me, he's just a typical angular yearling, poverty marks and all and typical of his sort but he does have rather a round rib cage as part of his conformation which you have to take into account; if he didn't have the round rib cage, you'd probably not notice much and would just think he's slim but you don't want a yearling carrying too much weight, it's bad for their limbs and growth and to me, without that rib cage, he looks pretty well spot on what you want a yearling to look like (apart from the gangliness, it would be nice if they grew evenly but very few do)
I'm actually horrified at what you are feeding him. His grazing doesn't look fantastically good (plentiful) but it does look clean with enough of it, so having to move around more to find more, he will be using up the calories which will keep him toned and I wouldn't be happy feeding him a stud mix, particularly such a mollassed one as Spillers because of his type, he just doesn't need it at all and personally speaking, any chaff is a waste of money at that age unless it's needed to slow him down eating. I would prefer to give him something like D & H Suregrow which is especially formulated for all growing/breeding stock so that you know he's getting everything he needs but without the bulk (which he doesn't need) as you only need to feed him very little. I wouldn't feed anything else with it either, give it a chance to do the job properly without adding to it. If you ring D & H they are very helpful too.
Will look forward to more pics as he grows, he's going to be a nice type; good luck with him.
 
He does look like he needs worms sorting out- mine was the same and egg counts came back negative but there were juvenile pin worms in her. My vet advised five days of worming with the one that doses everything and that did the trick. NOt what vets usually advise but there you go!
He looks like a fine boy!
 
My 16 mth yearling looks same height n build as yours to make 16hh+ shes out 24/7 n everyday i give her 3/4 scoop suregrow,2 small handfuls alfalfa and scoop garlic.
 
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