Underweight rising 2 year old?

bryngelenponies

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This is my rising 2yo filly, Welsh D. She has 2 feeds a day, using d&h mare and youngstock mix as well as supplements. She lives out and her field has good grass, but I do put down some hay in the evening.
I personally think she is OK- yes she could have slightly more condition but I don't want her fat. Bearing in mind spring is (supposedly!) nearly here and she has good food I wasn't too worried about her. However someone has told me she needs more condition, so my question is does she and if so how much?
She is my first 2yo so I would really appreciate an experienced person's eye on her. Thank you :)

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HBM1

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I definitely wouldn't want more condition on her at that age. I am only looking at the photo on a phone but her condition looks good for older too.
 

Purple18

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I wouldn't want her any fatter than that she's about right for the time of year. your better off with her little under than fat :)
 

Alexart

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I wouldn't want any more weight on her either - my rising 2yr old looks exactly the same as does my weanling, which as mine is a fatty friesian, hitting spring grass with any more weight would mean restrictions for the majority of the summer!!:D She looks fab so I wouldn't worry and tell your friend that you don't want an obese show horse with joint problems!!:p
 

bryngelenponies

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Thank you for all your replies, I appreciate them. I normally would have ignored the original comment I was given but it came from someone I really respect and who has had far more youngsters than I have. I'm just glad that I am seeing the same horse as others on here are 😊.
 

CBFan

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She looks absolutely spot on to me. I HATE overweight horses - youngsters especially.

One thing I would suggest is that you start swapping her from a mix to a fibre based diet as mixes are not as easily digested and tend to be very high in sugar and starch which should be avoided from the POV of laminitis and associoated conditions as well as from a growth perspective ;)
 

ihatework

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Absolutely not underweight. To be honest with her breeding I wouldn't be feeding mix either, just hay and a basic vit/min powder in some chaff
 

bryngelenponies

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Thanks for your replies. That's interesting regarding the mix. I thought that since the d&h mare and young stock mix was specifically designed for native or part-bred animals that it wod be suitable for her- is this not the case? What alternative feed would you recommend?
 

CBFan

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It's not that it's not suitable for her perse it's more that it's not ideal for horses full stop! Mixes tend to be heavily coated in sugars and packed with nice smelling stuff - it is like giving a child a bag of sweets everyday or crisps and packet of biscuits for tea... Feed companies are very clever with their marketing but just take a moment to think about the sort of diet these horses would have in the wild - rough scrubland, high in fibre and relatively low in everything else!

I would personally have her on a small feed of mollasses free chaff, some speedibeet and a broad spec / youngstock vitamin and mineral supplement with access to good quality hay.

I would be very careful that she doesn't get overweight and or cresty as she matures and her metabolism slows down as this type are prone to doing and thus at greater risk of laminitis... at the moment it looks like you're doing really well on this front :)
 
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