The growing youngster??

charliesarmy

charliesarmy

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I have a 20 month old who is growing at the rate of knots..was expected as his mum is rather tall...now I have tried to restrict (be aware) of his ammount of hard feed as knowing he is gonna be big OCD has always been on my mind..well when he grows in height he always looks abit hollow ie his flank looks dipped his quarters spine look angled, now in these times I have never upped his feed, he levels out and starts looking good again...well he recently had a growth spurt and a "horsey person" said i have to up his hard feed at growth spurt time...now I feel bad...as should he have really ever looked hollow,and should I have been upping his feed at these growth spurt times...he always has access to haylage 24 hours a day :)
 
well my 21month old filly is the same and she lost so much i got the vet out to check her over take bloods etc. All was well and told she was just growing as ellie is also a big girl and i am worried about OCD i asked the vet about her diet and the vet told me not to change her diet or amount i am giving as she will come right. so i have not gave her any more hard feed and she is starting to look a bit better now.

if i was you i wouldn't change anything and your lad will come right in time
 
Mine are the same, and there is no way in hell I would be upping their feed! I expect youngsters to look weird at times. If they started to look poor, as in genuinely poor, not as compared to an adult horse then I would up their feed, but not massively. I conditon score them most days, but as youngsters not adult horses. If their ribs are visible but their bellies and bums are well covered then no probs. if thier ribs are covered but their hips are sticking out then I would take a closer look.

Youngsters cant be judged by the same standards as adult horses, and unforunately most people are used to looking at adult horses. Use your judgement, and if your in doubt get someone who is experienced with babies to give you a second opinion :)
 
Just to add, a week ago my 8 month old maxi cob foal was starting to look slightly thinner than I would like. I was especialy worried as he'd lost conditon Dec/Jan time due to the weather co inciding with him having a big growth spurt. Having thought about it, I went against my gut instinct and held fire (he gets full wack of Suregrow, Alpha A and a small amount of fibre beet). Hes now looking positively chubby as the grass is coming through and hes out on 13 acres with 3 others.

I have no doubt hes due another growth spurt and will look scrawny again anytime soon, but I'm tryng not to worry too much about it :)
 
Thanks for your POV I think I am doing the right thing, he gets his vits and minerals, has a nice shiney coat,is still perky playful...just have really kept his hard feed intake minimal...he also doesnt eat all his overnight haylage...and isnt stood next to the haylage all day so not starving..just wanted to makesure i shouldnt up the feed when he spurts :D
 
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