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sam72431

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Hiya

Not sure if this is the right forum or not but I went to a small show yesterday, I took my yearling he was really well behaved in the ring, we were pulled in last which I wasnt too bothered about because I didnt buy him to show, but the judge said he needed to put weight on which I know because he dropped off alot after gelding and he had very mild pyrosinitis and the vet advised to keep him lean, which I thouhg in yearlings you should anyway as long as he has a good diet which he does as I've had advice from a nutritionist they are constantly growing anyway so they keep fairly lean themselves. But the judge actually asked me if he was and RSPCA case which I was quite shocked about, all the other horses were pretty fat in my opionion they would be fat for fully grown horses. I went outside and the judge told me it was a waste of time to show him as he was too gangly and not to bother just to feed him up. I feel a bit disheartened really but here is a picture from yesterday what do you think I cant pile too much weight on him but does he really look like an RSPCA case?
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and couple from about a month ago
Photo-0233.jpg
Dont mind honest opinions!
 
It is difficult to tell as the photo is taken at an angle, but it does look like you can see most of his ribs quite clearly, even through his winter coat, so I would say he is too thin. What you want to aim for is to be able to feel his ribs easily, but not see them.

What are you feeding him at present - is he getting adlib hay?

ETA: Here is a link to a guide to condition scoring, which you may find helpful in assessing your horse's condition in the flesh:

http://www.mvol.co.uk/paragonvet/equineinfo/ageing/body.vm
 
Ok I know he needs more weight on but is he that skinny I should be worried? That is usually how he is you cant see his ribs but you can feel them but he got quite tucked up at the show I took a picture of him this morning which is better
Photo-0331.jpg
. He is having two feeds a day of a scoop of yearling cubes and alfafa, half a scoop of speedibeet and yearling supplement and vegetable oil and tons of hay he is out all the time on good grass for the time of year he has access to a stable for shelter and he is rugged up in a middleweight, he eats up really well and has been wormed. I dont want to overfeed him but he keeps putting it on then growing and dropping it off. He is growing really quickly. So should I worry?
 
It does look like you can still see his ribs in that photo but photos can be very deceptive, so you are best to condition score him yourself using the link I have just added to my last post. How many other horses does he share the hay with? Any chance he is being bullied?

I wouldn't be too worried if he was like that at the end of the winter, just going into spring, but being like that now I would worry that he would drop more weight throughout the rest of the winter. I can understand your caution about pumping lots of bucket food into him though, which is why I think you need to check whether he is getting his fair share of his hay in the field. However, he could just be going thought a growth spurt and will look better once that is done!
 
He looks a bit thin to me but some of them run thin - particularly TBs. I wouldnt worry too much as he is growing but why not try increasing his feed slightly and see if it makes a difference. But he doesnt look like an RSPCA case (not that they do anything for horses anyway) so there isnt much to worry about. He looks perky and happy in himself so just ignore silly mean judge!!!
xxx
 
Thanks, he has just had an increase and his feeds look massive tbh, also him and a pony have a bale of hay a day between them, I think he is just naturally thin but when he puts weight on it goes under his stomach and no where else and then goes as soon as he grows which is quite odd i thought. Thanks
 
He looks rather lean bu with a large belly.
If feeds look large and he is not putting weight on, have a worm count done and keep on top of encsysted worm dosing. Youngsters can be very vulnerable to parasites.
 
I can see from the first pic that it looks like you are rugging him.

I would make sure that you are using a thick rug at the moment, as thin ones often stop the coat from working effectively and make it worse from a horses point of view.

Thick rugs are also cheaper than hard feed, I would also check your worming program in case the little wrigglers are stealing his food.

With my yearling you can feel his ribs, but he is so hairy you cannot see them! He is barn kept with a herd (like cattle) on ad lib hay, but no hard feeds.
 
Yep he has a rug on he has a 200g on during the day with a neck cover if its raining and another rug of 100g on at night underneath, I did worm him a while ago when he was due but i think I will have a count done just to make sure he is due to be wormed in the new year he has put on alot of weight since i've had him he looked really bad when i first got him tbh but he has just recently slowed down the weight gain and just seems to be shooting up all the time. Thanks for your help
 
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