Not sure what to do about feeding my boy.

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shadowboy

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I have a rising 5 year old new forest- 13.3hh 379kg. Was 432kg this time last year. He has soaked hay that's been soaked for 10hours. It weighs 4.5kg dry weight and is double netted. It goes in at 7pm and he's finished at about 10pm. Breakfast is fed at 6.30am. I know it's a long wait but he's a greedy eater- ive tried everything! Breakfast is a 150grm dry weight of fast fibre with pro hoof and happy tummy and enough hifi lite to mix in to prevent it looking like mush. He's worked 4 days a week for about an hour of a variety of activities. I can really easily feel ribs. There are no fat pads on him but he has a big hay gut. It makes him look fat even though he isn't. He gets a wedge of hay in his field as there is no grass - really and truly as he's stood by gate waiting to come in by 3pm (I turn him out at 8am) he works correctly over his back and has put on some top line muscles but not as much as he should have and the belly just won't go away. Any ideas why and if there is something lacking in the feed?
 
You haven't mentioned worming?
If you think he finishes his hay too quickly, mix it with decent straw, that will slow him down and give him some fibre instead of an empty stomach. Straw takes more calories to eat than they gain.
 
I tried the straw for well over a year- he just became more and more effective at pulling it out! Don't think it's worms- he was wormed with pramox end of November and has been on own paddock with me poo picking since
 
Send for a worm count kit from Westgate labs, you never know.
At this age teeth need to be rasped as often as required rather than once a year.
At rising five, depending on his early history it may be that he is slow maturing, if he is not strong and in proportion, I would not expect him to "develop a topline". He has to grow.
He should not weight less than a year ago, assuming he was not overwight. Try to calculate rather than using a weigh tape which can be wildly inaccurate. Google "body weight estimation of horses"
I am not clear whether you think he is too light [possibly you are not giving him enuff to eat] or he is too heavy?
My NF age 2 and well grown 13.1 weighed 300kg
Bandit: March 2008 est weight 300 kg: condition good+
"Bandit gets 5kg haylage plus 1kg safe and sound and 0.25kg conditioning nuts Plus daily turnout"
 
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Mine can get a bit bloated looking from grass so she gets yea sacc, seems to keep her in better condition too. Worth a try, I get it from Progressive Earth on ebay, very nice people.
 
Im a trickle net convert for greedy pony :D

Wee S is a guts and a door kicker to boot so as soon as the food is gone shes booting the heck out of the door :rolleyes: I had to take her off straw as well as she was eating it, the full bed minus the wet even if I mixed some wet into the new stuf she ate around it :o disgusting mare :o

I have a trickle net for night time and small elimanet for during the day if stabled, a shes out she just gets hay in the field and then whatever she can scrounge from the field.
 
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