Skinny foal help please!

Spot_the_Risk

Spot_the_Risk

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I've had this posted in breeding for a few hours but no response, so excuse me coming into NL2 with it, hopefully you guys can give me a few views.

I have a six and half month old colt foal, bought a month ago from a dealer, unhandled until today.

He has just started eating feed this last week, and has been on A & P Fast Fibre, high fibre nuts and apple chaff, as this is what I had in the feed room - I've tried him with mixes, he's not interested in them (has been eating haylage happily) and so I can finally worm him by putting it in the feed, I have no idea if he's ever been wormed before so have done a bit of research and asked on here a while back, and am going with Eqvalen, and then follow up in six weeks with Panacur Equine Guard - does that sound okay? I should say also that despite my sig, the plan wasn't to turn him out until he had been wormed, unfortunately he crashed the fencing and turned himself out, so of course my older gelding will follow the same worming plan, and I'll get them both egg counted.

He has enjoyed a good scratch from me today, and I've been able to handle him from poll to loins, and chest, tops of legs and rib cage, and boy is he skinny under his foal fluff, he has a wither like a sharks fin and I can feel his scapula, back bone and ribs. I want to give him what he needs without going over the top - he is a very native type, cob sire and pony dam, so in theory will be a good doer, but a lot of the feed details I look at are for TB types.

I'm hoping that someone on here will be able to point me in the right direction - I've been on a few feed sites and Baileys No 3 stud cubes looks good - but he would have to eat 4kg a day, which seems hell of a lot!

Thanks everyone!
 
Peronally if he is eating haylage I would just give it to him adlib and only introuduce hard feed very slowly.
You should see weight gain over the next few weeks, lots of foals lose weight if they are not weaned correctly.

Good luck with your new purchase.........does he have a name yet?
 
Native, you say? Don't give him much above the ad-lib haylage and a balancer. Nothing wrong with speedibeet and Hi-Fibre nuts if you feel you need to give him a bucket for his meds and the balancer. Slow and steady is the general advice for feed and weight adjustments. Natives have digestive systems custom built for sparse winters and lush spring/summer conditions. Overlook that at your peril!

Don't forget his feet (and soon teeth) need regular attention, and get his tetanus jab done asap if you haven't already
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During the weaning process the foal can experience high levels of stress... stress can cause a number of different side effects, which can in turn lead to weight loss/inability to hold weight...

The balance of microflora within the foal's gut can easily be unbalanced by stress, which can result in scouring and invasion by bad bacteria. Prebiotics and Yea sacc are two ingredients which support the hind gut and both are designed to encourage good bacteria to flourish and improve feed (protein) utilisation. (Undesirable bacteria in the foal's digestive tract can lead to it being unable to thrive.)

Secondly gastric acid irritation can be brought about by the foal not wanting to eat due to stress which can result in the foal developing gastric ulcers - This can be a viscious circle for them as the lack of interest in feed, brings on the ulcers and then the ulcers encourages a lack of appetite
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It may be worth speaking with your vet - ideally you need to find out what's going on with him and feed him something which will tackle his issues.
Kate x
 
my youngster was the same let him eat as much hay as he wants keep him wormed i just gave prince a handfull of chop a day to get him used to being aroung people and trust you it really helps good luck with him he will come round
 
I would agree with the other posters re only ad lib haylage and balancers with chaff or Hi Fi for natives.Balancers such as Dodson and Horrell Suregrow or Baileys will include the yeasts to help balance the gut at what must be a stressful time for him.
 
agree with the others, ad lig haylage and a balancer. iv so far found the better quality feed you give from a youngster the bigger and stronger your horse. we have a pure tb at our yard that was fed good balancers from the start and is the size and build of a warmblood! as for worming. you need to give him a mild wormer to start or you will do more harm than good, you dont want to wipe them all out at once if he has got a burden. if you go to your tack shop if they sell wormers ask the SQP for advice as they are fully trained and the only ones who can sell them.
 
top spec comprehensive with some chaff and a splash of sugar beet...this is what i feed my foal..she is tb x cb and she has ad lib hay. she looks fantastic and at least i know she is getting everything she needs from the balencer.....top spec is ideal for youngsters..
 
Hey. My foal wouldn't touch hard feed until he was about 4
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He'd feed happily on hay and alph alpha but wouldn't touch anything else - especially if it has molasses in it.

H's Mum is extremely knowledgeable on things tummy related and i agree with the yea sacc for sure. There is a fair bit of evidence to suggest it supports the hind gut.

If he's eating hay I'd be quite happy with that for a while but if you definitely want to give him hard feed of some kind please don't try different kinds to quickly. He'll got a fragile tum and introducing a whole kinds of feed it will keep upsetting him.

I'm assuming he's drinking okay and if so with that and the hay I think he should be okay.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies and help. I think I'll use the Baileys stud balancer with Fast Fibre, we used it for the filly we bred a couple of years ago and she did really well on it, I've just been shocked today at how thin he is and whilst I do understand that you shouldn't stuff youngsters with feed and cause bone growth issues, I was thinking that it's months until the spring grass comes through! He's happily eating grass, hay, haylage, and drinking water, so I know he doesn't go hungry.

Specifically...
anya01 - he's called Tinner, and is on the right in my sig.

Brightinsel - thanks, all ours are native type good doers, so it's a shock to feel bones under a horses coat! Feet, teeth and tet will be attended to as he 'gentles', today is the first time I've been able to give him a scratch on his neck, hopefully this is a big breakthrough and we'll be onto the headcollar soon!

H's mum - thanks for the info, I'll check the Baileys has what he needs. I think he's had a stressful few months, born June, I guess weaned October and shipped off to a dealer, and then he came to me another month later, hopefully he will find his feet soon. He is bright enough, just skinny.

AGain, thanks everyone, I love the wealth of knowlege and support on here!
 
Put my skinny youngster on winergy growth for a couple of months and then on then on the low energy as didn't want to build him up to fast as my other horses are on it, turned him out for the summer and you wouldn't reconise him, from the photo's I'd taken when I first bought him as he looked like a 22 year old pony not a 2 year old, he's not grown as fast as people said he should, but I'd rather take him slowly.
 
Hi I have had several weanlings from the sales - who wern't weaned properly and had no idea of hard feed, I got them going on Bailey's stud balancer, or d&h suregrow and, grazon, dampened down, As the suregrow and the stud balancer are tiny 2mm pellets foals find these palatable, just start with tiny quantities and build up from there. Re worming - Is he handleable??? If so give Eqvalan, I personally wouldn't bother with panacur equine guard due to resistance issues, but would worm again with equest once he has a little more weight on, good luck he sounds like fun!!
 
Your situation is exactly as mine was when I bought Howie off a dealer 9 months ago! He was really wormy and skinny and unhandles. He didnt understand what eed was. but just keep putting it in front of him and he will evetually catch on. I used to leave it in howie's stable and eventually in the mornings it was gone! He was wormed as reccomended byt the vet with a specific tapeworm wormer first. Then two weeks later by a different one (cant remember the brand) that treated completely different worms. He was FULL of bot fly larvae. Personnally I would use a wormer that is dosed orally and not in feed as it tends to ket kicked around and not consumed. I bought Howie on the 16th March and went to his first show in june and was placed in the top 4 in every class. My advice is keep the feed easy to chew if he's not sure about feeding so the fast fibre is good but add something like like a balencer to make sure he get the correct nutrients and maybe mint as this really enticed Howie- dont use the foal mixes personally I have a low opinion of them as I feel they enourage over-gorwn youngsters and he needs slow but steady. Kepp up with the haylage but till he's wormed and had bloods done to check for any other internal issues he will struggle to put on weight. Good Luck!!! PM me if you want to see any pics of Howies changes over tha last 9 months- beleive me he was rags!
 
Thanks guys, he's just decided that anything in a bucket is good stuff, and has stopped knocking it about, just gets stuck in, so I will be able to worm in the food - only had a proper stroke/scratch for the first time today, so headcollar will be a little way off yet, I'm definitely going back on the Bailey stud balancer, I'll mix it with A&P Fast Fibre, which he thinks is ace!

lilym - I ordered Eqvalan today, and was going to do after that (at the correct intervals!) Pan. Guard, then Eqvalan Duo - I've used Equest for the previous two years on the other horses, and I'll do a worm count once he's wormed too - can't see anything wriggling in his poo so far.
 
Wise words from H's Mum.

Can I add that you should have him on a specialist youngstock diet - Baileys are wonderful why not give them a buzz. Ensure he has free access to good quality haylage. Get your vet to give him the once over and seek his advice on worming, and ensure that he is warm enough in all this dreadful weather.
 
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