My horse is 'seriously underweight'

amymay said:
Did the fellow livery say she expected to see the horse in show condition, or that she was just concerned about the general lack of hay.......?
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Did fellow livery ask OP if she could feed her horse? no. This to me says she clearly thinks said horse is underweight (she told her mother this much!) and clearly also was concerned about general lack of hay.

The point is that you should not feed someone else's horse without permission, as I have just pointed out there could be reasons as to why horse gets so little as there is with my horse. If someone was feeding my horse behind my back and she gained weight this would more than likely cause lameness issues. If you do not know the ins and outs and have not had permission then said horse should not be fed by others!
 
He looks just fine and he is rather handsome too.

As someone else pointed out - for how long has he been getting this extra feed and how much? If it is has been happening for some time then you may need to considerincreasing his feed a little.

Id there any reason he can't stay out 24/7 at this time of year? This will save you having to feed extra food. Then you can use work to maintain his correct condition.
 
I'd agree with those that are saying they wouldn't want any less weight on him. If anything I'd like a touch more, as well as a good source of protein to help build muscle.

I certainly would not call him fat or cut any forage out. If anything I'd increase it, so what the livery's been feeding him and a little more.

I would however be concerned at what his weight would be like if the livery hadn't been feeding extra. Despite this, I wouldn't impressed with anybody feeding my horse's behind my back, I'd rather they told me what they thought. At least then I could explain my view and they theirs.

I have my own horse's on a constant diet by the way, and certainly do not endorse fat or "Show Conditioned" horses ;)
 
Holly Hocks said:
I agree with the above. Not sure what sort of yards some of you are on, but on ours we all keep a look out for each others horses. If one is kicking the door as it has been brought in from the field by someone else (ie last horse not to be left on it's own so has been brought in) and has no hay, then someone will chuck some over. I brought in a friends' horse from the field the other day but as she wasn't expecting it to be brought in (another last horse in the field thing) she hadn't left it with any hay. So I chucked a section over the door. The owner was grateful , not "apoplectic with rage" as some of you seem to be. TBH I would rather someone chucked some over my horses door as at least I know that someone is looking out for my horses. Our yard is in no way perfect, but on reading some of your comments I really wouldn't want to share a yard with some of you!!
I think this is little bit different to someone willfully feeding a horse which THEY HAVE DECIDED is underfed without consultation with the owner. There could be all sorts of extremely valid reasons why the horse is on restricted rations, potentially under veterinary advice, of which the 'feeder' could not have been aware because she chose not to discuss her concerns with the owner like a grown up and rather resorted to subterfuge.

I would rather be on a yard where others respect my right to feed my horse as I see fit and address any concerns they have to my face rather one where people fed my horse behind my back :mad:
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He looks perfect, the woman must be mad!!! I'd be fuming!!!! I f yours is seriously underweight, then mine must be too!!!
 
OP, I think your horse is lovely, and I am very struck by his wonderfully strong looking legs and large frame. I have read through the post, but I must have missed his age, but from what you say he is young. He is not underweight, nor overweight, but I would not like him much leaner. If he were mine (and I wish he was) I would be working him more to build up muscle and then, quite justifiably, feed him more. He has got a large frame to mature into - I should imagine in a few years time he will be a strapping beastie.
 
I think it is totally unacceptable to feed someone elses horse without their knowledge and she should have spoken to you if she had concerns HOWEVER

I think he looks poor, he isnt seriously underweight at all but if he was mine I would up his hay and up his slow steady work to get a nice powerful (not fat) looking horse. He has good chunky legs and his body (especially his neck) look wrong. I'd be giving plenty hay, lunging long and low and lots of walking up hills then he would look special
 
Rueysmum said:
Photographs always seem to make horses look a little better covered than they are in reality - therefore I would say that this horse is a little on the lean side.
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I can vouch for that. My retired mare's ribs show all the time (she is Cushings and prone to laminitis). This is a photograph taken 6 weeks ago, still in her winter woolies. Every rib could actually be seen, but you wouldn't think it from the photograph.

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i certainly wouldn't say he was seriously underweight but if you are trying to improve his condition with work he is going to need extra 'fuel' to be able to build muscle:) he looks good now but not 'perfect'.
I can understand why you would be angry at this woman feeding him behind your back because she feels he should be carrying more weight, she should have raised her concerns with you and discussed it rather than taking it upon herself to mess with his feed routine.
 
For those thank think it is acceptable for another livery to be giving him extra hay would you think it acceptable for someone to go in an overweight horses stable and remove some of their food?

If its not your horse don't feed it. If you think there is something wrong with the horses weight then talk to the owner, don't go feeding it without permission.
 
I would say the horse a little lean -- exactly as he should be at this time of year and after a long winter. He could easily go the other way in a couple of weeks on grass. Horses are meant to be lean at the end of the winter!

As for the other owner's concern, that is something she should have taken up with either the horse's owner or the YO. To just go ahead and decide that she would feed someone else's horse is both rude and possibly criminal damage. She does not know all the facts and the horse could very well be under veterinary supervision and on a special diet.

If the horse was mine, I'm afraid I would tell a white lie and say that was the situation and she has very probably caused my horse serious damage by feeding more than is allowed and the wrong type of food. I'm afraid I would lay it on and try, as best I could, to make her feel guilty! Hopefully, that would make her think before doing it again.
 
Toast said:
No, you should be able to FEEL the ribs but not see them.
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Agreed.

However, I would not be at all unhappy with this horse's weight - better to be "moderately thin" (condition score 4 on that webpage) at this time of year than "moderately fat" (condition score 6), imo. I would want to see his profile from behind before coming to a final judgement, but from the photos it looks like it would be fine.
 
Lady La La said:
At the risk of getting shot down by the Fat Police, I'd like to see a touch more on him if he were mine. That doesn't mean I think he is 'severely under weight' by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think he's 'perfect' either.
As others have said, the lack of muscle doesn't help the over all imagine either.
I'd be livid if a livery at my yard were feeding extra rations to my horse behind my back, though. If the lady in question had concerns over your horses weight, she ought to have addressed the issues to you personally before taking such drastic action.
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I agree with La La.

If he were mine I would want a smidgen more on him.
 
He's not thin by any means but he is very lean and I personally wouldn't want him to lose anymore (but it certainly wouldn't do him any harm to gain a bit of weight and muscle!).

I am failing to see what the problem is with the other livery giving him some extra hay....if my lad was stood there in a stable having eaten all his haynet I would be grateful for someone to chuck him a bit extra until I came up - UNLESS he was over weight which he isn't. However saying that if you have specifically told her not to give him any extra then she should respect that, but would you honestly rather him being stood there with nothing to do and going a few hours with nothing in his net or give him an extra net/permission for someone else to give him a few extra handfuls to keep him happy.
 
Ah the good ol' livery yard busy body!!

OP your horse just looks lacking in topline and muscle. That being said if he has been getting a lot extra from this busy body then maybe you should up his rations to match it so he sticks at this weight. Then, tell her to **** off and mind her own!

I actually had someone who was taking my horse's fly rug off (she is severely sensitive to bites) because she said it 'looked dirty' (she wears it 24/7 outdoors so of course it is mud stained!). She then started telling people that she was going to move other people's (including mine) horses to different fields (without asking or even telling them) so that she could put her horses in their fields. Not to mention the poor soul who got 'told off' by her for feeding her horse coarse mix in the winter!
 
Okay for those of you saying that if i cut out what the woman is feeding him extra he would begin to lose the weight ect ect. But if you read my last comment how am i supposed to moniter his weight when someone is feeding him extra i am totally unaware of how much she has been feeding him and it's not being every night, only every now and again! So for me to maintain his current weight (which i am very happy with) i need to know exactly what he's being fed and adjust as and when i need to!
Thankyou to all you who seem to agree with me that his weight is just right, comparing these photos to him in real life tthere is not much difference i dont think his ribs are any clearer in real life
 
BillyBob-Sleigh said:
He's not thin by any means but he is very lean and I personally wouldn't want him to lose anymore (but it certainly wouldn't do him any harm to gain a bit of weight and muscle!).

I am failing to see what the problem is with the other livery giving him some extra hay....if my lad was stood there in a stable having eaten all his haynet I would be grateful for someone to chuck him a bit extra until I came up - UNLESS he was over weight which he isn't. However saying that if you have specifically told her not to give him any extra then she should respect that, but would you honestly rather him being stood there with nothing to do and going a few hours with nothing in his net or give him an extra net/permission for someone else to give him a few extra handfuls to keep him happy.
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ditto, he looks on the lean side to me, its not just topline, he looks thin on the shoulders and I dont like the fact you can see the ribs. Personally I would want a little more on him, besides, he will never be able to gain good muscle/topline always being so lean, he needs a bit more on him to turn into muscle!
 
You Wont Forget Me said:
Okay for those of you saying that if i cut out what the woman is feeding him extra he would begin to lose the weight ect ect. But if you read my last comment how am i supposed to moniter his weight when someone is feeding him extra i am totally unaware of how much she has been feeding him and it's not being every night, only every now and again! So for me to maintain his current weight (which i am very happy with) i need to know exactly what he's being fed and adjust as and when i need to!
Thankyou to all you who seem to agree with me that his weight is just right, comparing these photos to him in real life tthere is not much difference i dont think his ribs are any clearer in real life
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I fully agree with you. These are the sorts of people who hinder investigations by charities with regards thin horses/neglected horses (not that I am saying FOR ONE MINUTE that you and your horse fall into this category because you clearly don't - I am just talking about the sort of busy bodies that interfere when they think they know best! :) by refusing to stop feeding them themselves - and then demand for the horse to be removed even though it is healthy because they are feeding it!

Forgive me if this has already been mentioned and answered -but have you had a word with the YO to get them to intervene? I did this when this particular woman was causing havoc on our yard and she got told under no uncertain terms to back off.
 
pixiebee said:
ditto, he looks on the lean side to me, its not just topline, he looks thin on the shoulders and I dont like the fact you can see the ribs. Personally I would want a little more on him, besides, he will never be able to gain good muscle/topline always being so lean, he needs a bit more on him to turn into muscle!
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He isn't 'very lean' at all IMO - just under muscled. I wouldn't even say he was 'lean' and I see horses of all different weights on a daily basis - from severly emaciated to grossly and morbidly overweight.

There is nothing wrong with being able to see the first three ribs slightly - particularly at this time of year. Far more preferable to having too much on.
 
You Appear to only be hearing the people that agree with you. A huge proportion of posts think he is really lacking in muscle and that he could do with at least more hay
 
Countrychic said:
You Appear to only be hearing the people that agree with you. A huge proportion of posts think he is really lacking in muscle and that he could do with at least more hay
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Certainly not!! I have already stated in one of my previous post that he is still young and still has alot of muscle to develop but no one seems to have took notice, either way feeding up a horse isnt the right way about getting muscle it comes with time and work.
 
amymay said:
If you want the horse to develop muscle then you will need to feed and work him appropriately.
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Yes and as i have said he is getting hard feed and is getting hay (enough imo) but i need to be able to monitor his feed and adjust accordinly to allow him be be able to work and build up muscle whether that means increasing hay or hard feed
 
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