Pot Bellied 5 month old filly

T

trishmcd86

Member
Joined
15 July 2011
Messages
20
Location
South Carolina
Visit site
I just purchased a 5 month old filly today. She is 1/8 quarter horse and the rest Percheron. She has a massive potbelly, you can see some of her ribs, but not her spine. The previous owner said that she was wormed with the 5 day panacure and she had a fecal test done on her that was nn.

What suggestions do yall have to getting rid of the potbelly and bringing her weight up safely so i dont risk joint problems. She had her on omolene 400, which i am switching to Purina Equine Junior. She will also be given coastal bermuda hay 2x daily to keep her occupied as PEJ is a complete feed and it does not recommend feeding much hay with it.

I should probably add that this foal was a suprise to the owner as she did not know the mare was pregnant when she rescued her. She said that when she rescued the mare back in august the vet said she was 750lbs underweight and that she almost lost her 3 different times during the pregnancy. The mare is up to weight now, but i dont know if that

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...64678705.23160.100002585269583&type=1&theater
 
Last edited:
she's also likely to drop off a bit of weight in weaning which should help. I've noticed with my boy he usually looks pot bellied just before a growth spurt, though he spent most of his yearling year pot bellied and growing all the time!! As long as the appropriate worming is upto date I wouldn't worry, you could try something like naf pink powder or possibly brewers yeast for bloating issues.
 
I'm assuming she is out on 24/7 grazing? If not then I would get her outside, if your grazing is poor then I'd give her addlib hay or haylage as well as a bit of the vitamin stuff you're giving her - am not sure why a hard feed would not want hay fed with it - horses are designed to trickle feed 24/7, without a gut full of forage the hard feed will go through much more quickly with less absorbed and you increase the risk of colic and ulcers - don't forget feed companies are out to make money so advise to feed as much as possible - don't believe everything you read on the packet!! She is probably just a bit pot bellied from worm damage if she wasn't wormed until recently - it will sort itself out as she grows and her gut heals, and you keep up a good worming program, plus don't forget youngsters go through some pretty awful looking stages as they grow until they are 4yrs old - more with the heavier breeds, like the percheron, as they don't mature until they are 8 or so!!

From the pics she doesn't look too bad at all - well done for giving her a home! - I would avoid too much hard feed anyway given her breeding, especially high protein ones as it can risk OCD, vitamins and good quality forage are the 2 most important things, it is better to put the weight on gradually rather than all at once, being mostly percheron she will be hard to keep weight off as she gets bigger!!!:D I never feed my friesians and friesian x's hard feed at all because of the OCD risk - they just get a vitamin lick and good quality haylage addlib and are out 24/7 unrugged, and they have always done really well!!
 
As above, feed forage (= hay ) plus a vitamin mineral lick.
Much better for a growing foal and cheaper for you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top