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  Discussion on Too thin?
Author Message
Member:
mandrie

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 22, 2008 - 9:51 pm:

I have a 4 year old saddlebred, just returning to work after treating whiteline. I have read the article on estimating condition, and I would put him around a 5. He is naturally more a basketball player than a foot ball player, but I worry he is a bit underweight, though he is bright eyed and bushy tailed. Is it better to err on the side of underweight or overweight. He is about 16, 1 hands, 980 lbs, is fed 3 1/2 lbs safe choice, 4 flakes hay, and 1 lb alfala cubes, plus hoof supplement and vitamins.
New Member:
lrhughes

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 22, 2008 - 10:40 pm:

That sounds light to me. I work my horses pretty hard and at 16+ hands I'd think he should be 1050 to 1150 depending on build. Otherwise he has very little reserve if he becomes sick... Of course if he's been lame, light weight makes sense. It does sound like he's getting plenty of food for an average keeper. He must have a fast metabolism.
LRH
Member:
freshman

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - 3:16 am:

It's hard to say how he looks with just the numbers to go on; photos would clear that up. Just guessing, but 980 sounds a bit light for a horse over 16 hands, but asb's can be fairly fine-boned as you say, so that may not be the case at all.

I see that he's on safe choice; is he a metabolic horse? That would make many suggestions invalid. Otherwise, I think his current diet sounds quite modest, and an increase in both hay and grain would be reasonable if the horse is underweight. Otherwise, increase his hay first and bump up the grain a pound or two over a week or so, then see where you are.

Very hard keepers will need dramatically more to maintain, but if he doesn't have a history of such, then I'd consider the possibility of parasite or teeth problems. It's worth the small amout of money it costs to give your vet a fecal sample to know for sure what his parasite status is and to have a vet check his mouth; may need to be floated.

I'm used to hard keeping TB's, and these guys sometimes need a ton more fed, added fat, etc, than seems normal to the average stock horse owner; this can really shock owners that aren't used to these sorts. I've seen asb's that have to fed similarly. It's pretty individual.

It's all hard to say w/o seeing and knowing your horse. Good luck with him!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - 7:17 am:

Hello marie allen,
Why error at all? Pick the condition you want your horse and go for it. There are general and specific recommendations in the article based on the horse's endeavor and the article on Nutrition Overview explains how to achieve this.
DrO
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