would you say he is in poor condition?

JFTD said:
But a horse with a condition score of 2 is not thin - it is described as "moderate" by WHW condition score - that is unrelated to whether he is a welfare case. To be described as thin, again by condition score standards, he would have to score at 1 - which he is nowhere near.

OP, he is not thin, he could use some extra hay, but does not need, nor will he benefit from, you ceasing to work him within reason.
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Actually, rereading the WHW guidelines, I would put him under a two as his spine is not well covered. He is thinner than most racehorses you see in terms of his spine and ribs. He is not meant to be built like a racehorse and as tucked up and thin as they are as he's a big boned WB.
 
Fransurrey said:
lol, me too. :D

At this time of year, I wouldn't be worrying about his condition, OP. Maybe a little extra hay as people have already suggested, but he's only ribby when he puts his head down, so is slim, but not poor. If he's still got the energy, then a bit of extra hay will give him some more condition. Not sure I'd go as far as build up cubes/mixes, especially with summer (allegedly) coming.
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The issue with this particular horse, though, is not time of year - it's about a change in management - hence the loosing of condition.
 
He is slightly underweight, i would up his hay and keep him well rugged to keep him warm. I would continue to work him but perhaps not compete until he has put some more condition on.
 
Wagtail said:
Actually, rereading the WHW guidelines, I would put him under a two as his spine is not well covered. He is thinner than most racehorses you see in terms of his spine and ribs. He is not meant to be built like a racehorse and as tucked up and thin as they are as he's a big boned WB.
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In which case you can describe him as thin at a condition score of 1 (.?) and I'll agree to disagree on his condition score :)
 
The grass/weather has caught me out this year also. My older horse always comes out winter looking a little leaner which never bothers him nor me as he normally piles the weight on with the grass and come the end of April is looking fantastic. This year not so. He is at the same stage as yours where i don't want him to loose any more so have started plying him with hay over the past couple of weeks and his ribs are looking better covered and upped his fibre feed. Needs the forage to put ont he weight. Hoping the grass will come through soon :)
 
JFTD said:
In which case you can describe him as thin at a condition score of 1 (.?) and I'll agree to disagree on his condition score :)
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Don't be silly. I said under a two, not a one. If I were to be precise I would say he is a 1.5 - 1.75 using the WHW criteria.
 
Wagtail said:
Don't be silly. I said under a two, not a one. If I were to be precise I would say he is a 1.5 - 1.75 using the WHW criteria.
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Yes that's why I put 1(.?) presuming you meant somewhere in between 1 and 2 but not liking to presume whether you meant 1.2 or 1.8 :)

I think that whether he's a 1.75 or a 2 or a 2.25 is very difficult to judge from the photos - I personally think (again by WHW criteria) that he is a 2, as I don't see any major lack of coverage over his spine or quarters. As I say, I'm happy to agree to disagree on the exact score as it is to some extent debatable in those sorts of ranges - unlike debating a 4 vs a 2.5 vs a 1 etc.
 
wagtail i would be really interested to see a pic of one of your horses that you consider to be ideal weight to give us an idea of what your benchmark is:)
FWIW i certainly wouldn't label the OPs horse as poor, on the lean side yes but not thin or poor, the weather so far this year has played havoc with the living out horses, one minute i was thinking i could stop feeding hay and then the next i was doubling rations:rolleyes:
 
Over the winter, I have had three of the horses on a strict diet of 1.5% of their bodyweight as two of them were fat (3.5 and a 4) and the other was a 3 but had laminitis. The reason I have said to refrain from riding is because these fat horses could maintain or even gain weight on 1.5% of bodyweight in forage, but riding them four or more times a week resulted in a loss of as much as 15 - 20 kilos in one week. Hence, if you want horses to lose weight, then exercise was the number one contributing factor and had more of an effect than diet in these horses. Therefore, if a horse is underweight, the more exercise you give them, the more calories they will burn and it will hamper the weight gain. Once the horse is over a 2.5 body score, which would not take long, then more aerobic exercise can be introduced again.
 
They probably got fat cos they were fed too much with not enough exercise to start with!!! Look at bottom pic of OP horse, on more food in work and looking good. I get the impression that OP horse in work throughout therefore nothing wrong with continuing as long as calories in exceed calories out! It's like those fatties on the BBC fat camp show, they loose masses to start with
 
Is he rugged?! That would go a long way to helping. If he is relatively fit already light work will keep him limber, keep his head right and not cause too much drastic weight loss. Ad lib good quality forage and some oil will go a long way. If you are still not happy in a couple of weeks I would take bloods just to make sure there is not something else going on that has just coincided with the grass no coming through!
 
Wagtail, you're encouraging the OP to treat this horse as though it's severely underweight - which it isn't. We all know that exercise uses energy - who on earth doesn't these days. The point is that this horse's energy imbalance, which has caused it to lose condition, can be easily counteracted by adding in some hay to stop the weight loss (and if the OP feels necessary, put a small amount of condition on).

If the OP stops working him, and ups his feed by provision of hay, he will put more weight on more quickly, coupled to the fact that the grass is (probably) coming through more in his field now - all making it more likely that the OP's horse will put on too much weight, too quickly.
 
Op i forgot to mention, mine went a tad too ribby for lack of grass in the fields so i put him on Alan & page fast fibre, 2 small scoops a day (then add water)it works as a hay replacement and it's worked wonders, just covered his ribs without giving him any excess weight! :)
 
Ibblebibble said:
and completely ignoring my request for a pic of what she considers a 'correct' weight horse, now there's a surprise :rolleyes:
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Why on earth would I want to post a picture of a horse just to please you? I couldn't care less what you think. I think it odd that you even ask to be frank. :confused:
 
pixiebee said:
I dropped the feed because he was well covered and with that lovely spell of weather we had, I assumed the grass would have shot through and he can get a bit hyper this time of year so didnt want to over feed him!
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not related to the thread but I love the painting in your sig, did you do it?
 
Wagtail said:
Why on earth would I want to post a picture of a horse just to please you? I couldn't care less what you think. I think it odd that you even ask to be frank. :confused:
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because i was interested to know what you considered the correct weight of a horse lol you usually have a lot to say on the matter of horses weight. i find it odd that someone with such a high opinion of their own feeding methods, condition scoring and overall horse management wouldn't want to post a picture of one of their own perfect horses to back up their point........... unless they're talking out their butt of course;)
 
Yes they are all porkers ;)

It's a silly thing to ask because I could pick the most shining example possible and post that when really they are all starving or fat. Proves nothing. :confused:
 
Ah first time venturing into NL in quite a few months...glad to see nothing changes! :)

OP - yes he looks a 'little' poor but he's an older horse who looks like he needs a little help after this awful spring we have had. If he's prone to being a bit hot on hard feeds why not try a conditioning fibre feed, with some oil? Will help with coat condition too. Also bulk such a hay/haylage and warmth from a rug will help. Work will make sure he stays active and mobile. Make sure your on top of teeth in his senior years, as this can have an effect on weight gain. Also have a think about worming - on the whole he looks very sweet.

There are quite a few 'senior' supplements on the market which may help :)
 
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