Colt too skinny? What do you think?

Question

This is my 6 month old colt. Is he too skinny?

http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa312/SarahEsen/?action=view¤t=CIMG1145.jpg

http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa312/SarahEsen/?action=view¤t=CIMG1157.jpg

http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa312/SarahEsen/?action=view¤t=CIMG1144.jpg

These pics were all taken at the same time.

Im just worried if he is considered too skinny. He's just been wormed but has quite a pot belly on him.

We've had a job trying to get him onto grain, but have finally managed to get him to eat some.

Over here you cannot get bagged horse feed. You can only buy barley, oats, cotton pulp by the kilo and Ive been trying to find out the right amount to give him. If you could let me know how much you give your weanlings, Id be greatful.

He has access to free chaff all day aswell. Cant find hay easily here either..

Thanks guys.

Sorry if I seem primitive, I live in a developing country whereby you cant even buy a headcollar!

Answer 1

yes i think he is to skinny and looks a little small

Answer 2

no, she looks fine, my therys always been if u can see there ribs ur not giving them enof, but she looks fin

Answer 3

he's pretty thin for a colt. with good nutrition he'll fatten up and lose the pot belly after being wormed.

Answer 4

Actually I think she does look a bit thin. Is she weaned? If so, you may need to talk to your vet about some foal feed for her, and her little belly looks a bit full which would lead me to think she may need worming. To be safe, I would have her vet checked to make sure you are headed in the right direction with her.

Answer 5

I agree with the first answer. Give him some corn oil or vegetable oil...it really helps. He isn't amaciated, just a little thin. I am glad you gave him wormer because (like you said) he is quite potbellied, which of course probley means worms.

I would keep working on feeding him...I am not familar with kilos so I can't tell you exactly how much just ask someone in your area what they feed there weanling if possible. If not give him like 10handfuls a day? Like 5 in the morning and 5 at night? Probley more than that...do you have coffee cans...try using one as a scoop if you don't have one. I would give him half a can twice daily. along with some oil. and I mean like cupped hand not one hand :D

Fatten him up and have fun lol

Answer 6

Yes he is thin, and small.  Great that you have rescued him. His belly is not necessarily caused by worms, although I am in complete agreement with starting him on a regular deworming program.  Those pot bellies are caused by improper nutrition.  At this point, he needs all the grass type forage he can eat, but I understand that is almost impossible for you.  Are there any forage pellets available?  Also as another post suggested adding fat to his diet will help get calories into him.  Be care not to add too much as it can cause diarreah, and I think it can cause his gut to get coated with oil and cause him not to be able to absorb nutrients through his gut.  Could you explain what exactly is the chaff that you are able to get for him?  If I were starting him on grain, I would like to see him eating 1 lb per 100 lbs of body weight per day, and then maybe up to 1 1/2 lbs per 100 lbs.  I am unsure about the cotton pulp, I know here in the U.S. it is fed to cattle, but not usually horses.  If you have any access to molasses you could try adding a little to his oats to make them more appealing.  I hope this helps.  It will take a long time to bring his body condition up to the point that you want it, and it is just as important or maybe more so to NOT overfeed him.  That can cause so many more problems.

www.shallowbrookfarm.com

Answer 7

He looks very thin in my opinion. I would hand walk him for sure twice a day fro like 15minutes. I would also add three cups of rice bran, one cup or beet pulp, and a small flake of alfalfa hay, and free chice bermuda grass. he does look very thin and if his weight does not increase then i would try to get a vet check.

Answer 8

yes he dose look thin you can see his ribs.

Answer 9

I agree, he does look a bit underweight - you can see his ribs and he has what we call poverty lines on his hind quarters. Also, his hind quarters shouldn't bee too bony and need to be more rounder in appearance. My old boy struggles to keep weight on and he is fed plenty of chaff, sugar beet pulp, and oil. Barley is a very good conditioner although you must make sure you don't overfeed it as it can make some horses too hot headed. Soya oil, corn oil and omega oil are all good sources of fat, and alfalfa chaff is high in protein and fibre. If possible, you could also do with a vitamin and mineral supplement suitable for youngsters. Try and weigh him or use a weigh tape to measure his progress. You don't want him to put weight on too quickly!

Answer 10

I would try to get more weight on him. He is showing more rib then I would want on my colt. What breed is he? He looks small also. I know oil can help with fat. Canola oil is better then say corn oil. But seeing that you are limited on your resources you probably don't even have that, but if you have some kind of vegetable oil that might help.

I think since you have wormed him and you have gotten to start eating grain I think he will gain some more weight. If he does have worms in him manure make sure to worm him again a month from his last worming using a different wormer and do it again a month after that. I got a colt last year that had worms, I figured he did because of previous care and once I cleared out those worms it made a huge difference in his apperence and health he was much happier. I also would just give him crimped oats with alfalfa and grass, but seeing you don't have those then I would just keep him on the free fed  Chaff and some oats a barley. I would probably give him a whole 1lb coffee can full of oats at least once a day it wont hurt him