Quick growth in youngster

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Tizzy

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So my boy is coming up 18 months (clydesdale gelding) and in the last 4 weeks has gone from 14.1h to 15h bang on. Now to me that's quite a growth spurt!? Bearing in mind the 4 weeks before that he was 14h and in those 4 weeks only grew to 14.1h.

In this time I have changed his feed slightly. He is on Dengie Alfa-A-Oil and Spillers stud & young stock mix twice a day (morning and evening). The grazing he is on isn't the best for a youngster so I make sure he has a decent breakfast and dinner with plenty of hay to chew on in his stable when he comes in for the night.

I have sent photos over to a couple of horse nutritionists of when I first got him to now and they have both said he is on the correct feeds for his age and is looking really good so to carry on with what iv been doing.

I'm just surprised at his sudden growth spurt in the last 4 weeks. I had to measure him 4 times as I was sure I had been resting the tape measure on something on the floor. Even got someone else to measure him (just to be on the safe side).:o

Is he growing too fast or is this a normal thing?:confused:
 
I really have no idea how fast they should grow, but when I collected my new youngster having not seen her for 3 weeks she had grown loads!! I was wuite surprised actually. But then for the past 2 weeks she has pretty much stayed the same.
 
Where I see him every day I don't really notice the change until at the end of the 4 weeks I measure and take a photo to compare to the previous 4 months. This is the first time he has grown this much though and I'm wondering if its his feed which iv altered slightly, since doing that he has shot up!

He will probably grow slow now iv brought it up:D
 
I would cut his feed right back and just give him a young stock balancer. Over feeding and rapid growth can lead to OCD.
 
Ha ha who knows - I have good grass so mines only having a handful of chop really to just get her used to a routine in prep for winter. Shes got licks & stuff but doesnt bother with them. I'll have to try & measure my girl to keep an eye on her! Already think shes going to be a big girl though!
 
Stop all the hard food! I would just give him hay, grass and a vit/min supplement. OCD is a horrible thing and I had a very expensive op on my youngsters hock as a result of it.
 
Hmm, Im no expert but I wouldnt want a youngster of mine growing that fast and thus putting strain on the limbs... Id be looking to try to slow it down by feeding a small amount of hi fi or even alfa oil, and adding just a supplement not a stud mix. this will provide all the nutrition needed but should slow the growth rate down, your horse will still reach its maximum growth potential but not so quickly. Its how I would approach it anyway.
 
I don't know...warmblood baby went from 15.1- 16hh that age quickly with no hard feed, ended up 17.3hh at 6! Baby cob however started off at 12.3hh at that age. Now 3, he's only 13.1/2hh lol but three times bigger in build.
 
BlueSocks said:
Ha ha who knows - I have good grass so mines only having a handful of chop really to just get her used to a routine in prep for winter. Shes got licks & stuff but doesnt bother with them. I'll have to try & measure my girl to keep an eye on her! Already think shes going to be a big girl though!
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The grass he is on is rubbish, this year the grass seems to be struggling and he isn't getting what he should be from it, nor is he getting enough. So half my problem is trying to keep the weight on him as he is still slightly 'ribby' as the vet called it.
 
Maybe you could cut out the stud mix and just feed a decent amount of simple but good quality chop like hi-fi, and then put some vit/mineral licks out if you are worried hes not geting enough from the grass and see how he goes?
 
Also he isn't on a huge amount of hard feed, he gets a couple of scoops of his 2 feeds a day, and his scoops are only the small ones, not the big round ones.

The grass at this livery isn't very good this year and everyone's been moaning about it. I will be moving elsewhere in the next year and taking him somewhere where the grass is better (I have nowhere else to move him at the moment either). So at the moment if I was to cut out all his hard feed completely the grass in which he is on isn't enough to sustain his weight and condition. He is still slightly ribby so I'd be a bit concerned about cutting out his hard feed completely whilst he doesn't have much else to eat.

Will this not be a problem?
 
Tizzy said:
Also he isn't on a huge amount of hard feed, he gets a couple of scoops of his 2 feeds a day, and his scoops are only the small ones, not the big round ones.

The grass at this livery isn't very good this year and everyone's been moaning about it. I will be moving elsewhere in the next year and taking him somewhere where the grass is better (I have nowhere else to move him at the moment either). So at the moment if I was to cut out all his hard feed completely the grass in which he is on isn't enough to sustain his weight and condition. He is still slightly ribby so I'd be a bit concerned about cutting out his hard feed completely whilst he doesn't have much else to eat.

Will this not be a problem?
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Nope cutting it out wont be a problem, Ben was always on 'rough' grazing as a baby, he had one scoop of hi fi split into two feeds and an added supplement (I used equimins) he also had adlib haylage but pretty much only in the winter or whenever stabled. 'Good quality' is not designed for horses, they are far better on poorer quality.

I'd have him off the hard stuff completely and only feed fibre and supplement, if you think he needs more... Meet that need with additional fibre.
 
Queenbee said:
Nope cutting it out wont be a problem, Ben was always on 'rough' grazing as a baby, he had one scoop of hi fi split into two feeds and an added supplement (I used equimins) he also had adlib haylage but pretty much only in the winter or whenever stabled. 'Good quality' is not designed for horses, they are far better on poorer quality.

I'd have him off the hard stuff completely and only feed fibre and supplement, if you think he needs more... Meet that need with additional fibre.
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Ok that's good to hear thank you for your advice:)

*tootles off to go and amend his feed*
 
I'd take him off hard feed as well, and just stick to a mineral lick and 24/7 grazing, I wouldn't be stabling a youngster at all if possible so they can keep moving and aren't spending 8hrs or so just standing still as that's bad for their joints and muscle development. If you're really worried that he's not getting enough grass then leave some hay/haylage out for him in the field, it's better the larger breeds are on the ribby side than fat while growing, as long as they have topline and are well covered over their bum and spine then they are fine.
My yearling TB X friesian is a tiny bit on the ribby side at the mo, as in you can see the last few when he breathes in just about, you couldn't see them 2 weeks ago but he's put on a growth spurt in the last few weeks so I'm not worried at all, he must have put on a good few inches too, he's on pretty good grazing as well and no hard feed just a salt lick as am worried about OCD! We've done this with all our youngsters over the years and never had a problem, they get add lib haylage and a vitamin lick all winter and only in the worst winters do they get a tiny bit of hard feed - maybe 3 handfuls of stud mix and some speed beet and alphalpha with a supplement twice a day - or if like last winter the haylage wasn't very nutritious, it's far easier to put weight on than loose it!:)
 
Alexart said:
I'd take him off hard feed as well, and just stick to a mineral lick and 24/7 grazing, I wouldn't be stabling a youngster at all if possible so they can keep moving and aren't spending 8hrs or so just standing still as that's bad for their joints and muscle development. If you're really worried that he's not getting enough grass then leave some hay/haylage out for him in the field, it's better the larger breeds are on the ribby side than fat while growing, as long as they have topline and are well covered over their bum and spine then they are fine.
My yearling TB X friesian is a tiny bit on the ribby side at the mo, as in you can see the last few when he breathes in just about, you couldn't see them 2 weeks ago but he's put on a growth spurt in the last few weeks so I'm not worried at all, he must have put on a good few inches too, he's on pretty good grazing as well and no hard feed just a salt lick as am worried about OCD! We've done this with all our youngsters over the years and never had a problem, they get add lib haylage and a vitamin lick all winter and only in the worst winters do they get a tiny bit of hard feed - maybe 3 handfuls of stud mix and some speed beet and alphalpha with a supplement twice a day - or if like last winter the haylage wasn't very nutritious, it's far easier to put weight on than loose it!:)
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Thanks for replying!

Unfortunately I have no option for grazing 24/7 - as much as I'd like it! My yard doesn't allow it at all during the year.

He also doesn't sleep standing, soon as he has had his dinner, had his brush down and tickles he goes straight down. I mean properly lays flat on his side, legs spread all over the place. He stays like this all night and even when going down in the morning to feed and chuck him out for the day I have to coax him to get up. Lazy doesn't come close to this boy when it comes to his bed!

When I have moved (within the next 12 months), il be looking for 24/7 turnout as the breed he is he really doesn't need to be in! He has a big enough fur coat in the winter to cover all the horses on my yard.

Unfortunately until then I'm limited.
 
My just 2 year old has had rapid growth spurts. He is a Shire x Irish cob.

Through the winter I fed ad lib decent haylage with Dodson and Horrell Suregrow at the correct amount for his weight, he is around 485kg at the moment.

He is now on poorish grazing and has hay morning and evening, no hard feed. He is ok with he weight but his field companion, another 2 year old RID x Irish Cob is like a butter ball, she has grown evenly and slowly from foal hood.

I like the suregrow product, it is easy to feed and is just a small quantity in the bucket for a young horse to eat. The youngstock mixes, if fed at the recommended levels, is a huge amount for big young horses to consume.

My shire x is the same as the Op's clyde - eat - sleep -eat- sleep. torment his girlfriend and sleep some more.
 
AdorableAlice said:
My just 2 year old has had rapid growth spurts. He is a Shire x Irish cob.

Through the winter I fed ad lib decent haylage with Dodson and Horrell Suregrow at the correct amount for his weight, he is around 485kg at the moment.

He is now on poorish grazing and has hay morning and evening, no hard feed. He is ok with he weight but his field companion, another 2 year old RID x Irish Cob is like a butter ball, she has grown evenly and slowly from foal hood.

I like the suregrow product, it is easy to feed and is just a small quantity in the bucket for a young horse to eat. The youngstock mixes, if fed at the recommended levels, is a huge amount for big young horses to consume.

My shire x is the same as the Op's clyde - eat - sleep -eat- sleep. torment his girlfriend and sleep some more.
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AA... Can I just say... 'Butter Ball':D:D. I love that description made me giggle:D
 
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