hi all. i have a new welsh colt i want to show

[foxymiche1]

hello everybody, im new here and am going to introduce myself in a minute on the cafe section but was just needing a bit of help with my new colt.

I have bought a sec D colt 2yr old. he is registered and has good bloodlines including Nebo Black Magic, Travallion & Cippyn. He is still entire and i was hoping that in the future we may breed from him.

For the last year he has been in a stable doing nothing, his old owner was going to geld him and break him in but thinks he is too good so ive bought him.

He is a bit underweight now and scrawny and I need help getting him back to showing standard. I really want to show him county level. As a yearling he was champion at Durham County Show and reserve champion in Yorkshire.

Here is his dad:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/vw_golf_nutter/star.jpg

here is his mum:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/vw_golf_nutter/louiesmum.jpg

and here is my boy as a yearling:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/vw_golf_nutter/Louie14.jpg

unfortunately he now looks like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/vw_golf_nutter/off-side.jpg

Do you have any tips to try and get him looking better again? Anything specific i can feed him? Should i pull his mane or leave it long? (it is really long and thick and quite manky!) I have the farrier coming tommorrow as his feet are long.

His name by the way is Nookside Llewelyn or Ralph!

Also are there are shows etc that i should be aiming for? i love in-hand showing but have never had a welshy and never been further than local level so any good advice would be apreciated.

thanks for any help.

[Mehitabel]

i would give him the winter on plenty of hay and turnout (has he really just been in a stable? :eek: ) and let him chill out before worrying - the show season is finishing now and there's no time for the last few shows of the season, so i'd work on him slowly over the winter and aim for next year.

he is a little lean, but not dangerously so - make sure he is well rugged and has plenty of hay over winter, and i would expect him to come back nicely. i';d feed him on a forage-based feed like alfa-a to give him some help as well, and a balancer like topspec. i'd always rather see youngsters lean than fat - better for their growing joints, and i actually think he looks better now than in the yearling picture - in that one he has fat pads on his shoulders, withers and bottom. he looks bulkier than his mum, presumably an adult in that picture - and that is no good for a growing pony.

he looks like a lovely pony though - i'd let him grow on naturally over winter and let the spring gras (assuming we have a spring next year unlike this!) do its work.

[rtk]

He's going to be lovely, lucky for him you've bought him.

If I had bought him I wouldn't be looking at showing before next spring so wouldn't worry about his turnout.

There are some real experts on nutrition on here but this might not be the best place to post your question. Try the general or horsecare sections.

You will probably have to start with Agricultural or County shows as most local ones dont allow colts but that shouldn't be a problem as he's experienced at it.

Look forward to seeing how he progresses :D

Sorry Mehitabel, posted at the same time

[Mehitabel]

at least we said much the same thing! :D

[foxymiche1]

thanks, glad you think he is going to turn out nice.
i wasnt thinking of showing this year- havnt got a clue about county in-hand showing so need to do alot of book reading and internet surfing!
So you think just go straight in for county level next spring as long as he is up to it?

[Mehitabel]

well, it sounds like he is an old hand already! however, i'd recommend doing some local ones for experience, so you can get to know each other and get to work well together - that doesn't come straight away. check local schedules - most will allow colts in youngstock classes.

http://rehorses.com is my site, you might find it useful as an intro to showing.

[ELWYNFLYER]

Hi

I only have welsh cobs, ive got geldings colts and stallions. I pretty much agree with the advice you have beengiven but i woul definatly only feed small amounts of straights when he is in work it keeps weight on and its not full of any of the additives and rubbish that is in todays feeds i am a modern horse girl but there is no better way to feed that oats/barley, chop, sugar beet & a touch of bran my stallion has been champion everywhere and thats all he gets!

And dont listen to the 'oats and barley send them of their head' coz all of mine are on it and every welshie i speak to feeds straights.......its a myth!!!

[foxymiche1]

thanks for the advice.

my second pony was a welsh sec D and when we bought him he was fed 2 scoops of oats and 1 scoop of chaff, he was still laid back!

might get some oats and barley in then and see how i get on.

have plaited his mane over to the right today to try and tame it over. cant wait to show him off. he must remember his showing as when you lead him he jog trots alongside you and kicks his legs out, or that could just be a stallion thing?!

[foxymiche1]

mehitabel- thats a great site- thanks :)

[ELWYNFLYER]

This is my section D stallion, he really is a sweetheart!

[eventerbabe]

i cannot abide feeding youngstes straights/cereals. It does young stomachs no good and we actually found that when our then 2 year old hit a growth spurt keeping weight on with such a diet was a nightmare. When we got him, my youngster was on happyhoof, youngstock cubes, barley and conditioning cubes plus a generous portion of sugar beet and he was losing weight on such a diet. You need to be feeding fibre and lots of it. Mine has access to adlib hay when in and gets a fibre based diet which is better for his gut and he looks far better on it too! i agree with mehitabel, a base chaff such as alfa-a (we use hi-fi) with a balancer and possibly some speedibeet and that should do him just fine :)

Please don't pull his mane! welsh D's are supposed to be au natural, minimal trimming and certainly no mane pulling! Scour the internet, see if you have any local welsh exhibitors groups near you. They can be a handy source of information and help :)

[Dinsarsio]

He certainly did some nice growing as a yearling.Sometimes when they grow so well at one they don`t look so good at two.I have always found it the case with mine.If you can get some really good grass into him and a a good broad spectrum wormer and a red wormer that should set him straight for the winter.Hay a scoop of nuts and sugar beet should be fine.Keep an eye on his teeth especially the wolf teeth coming through.

[foxymiche1]

thanks.

my vet reccomended equest pramox for him, so we wormed both my welsh colts with that.
we have been giving him ad-lib hay, as much as he will eat and spillers cool mix and chaff with a handful of sugarbeet for feeds.

I havnt pulled his mane, good job too! i have just plaited over to the right to try and tame it!

[ELWYNFLYER]

straights are NOT cereals and any nutritionalist will say the same. Straights do not cause growth spurts OVER FEEDING causes growth spurts and that has come from four independant vetinary surgeons.

According to all four of them and the feedstuff professor in scotland "Straights are for the horses and modern day feeds/mixes/balancers are for the owner" it makes the owner feel better to feed this.

It is a worldwide fact that there were 90% LESS cases of DJD/LAMINITIS/GROWTH SPURTS & BONE PROBLEMS when our horses were fed natural foods before all the fattening rubbish came out. If you want to do the best for your horse and not yourself feed small amounts of straights with a vitamin supplement and ad lib hay......and thats from the experts.

What happens to us when we eat manufactured processed food and sugar? it causes problems....u get out what u put in!

[Nik-n-Kia]

Ok guys.

We all have different opinions on feeding.

I am personally a fibre feeder. Kia does get fibre pony nuts, Alpha A origional, kwickbeet, and at the mo gets some conditioning cubes and oil as he lost ALOT of weight when injured. These will stop once the weight is fully back on. All are right for OUR horses, there are no wrong answers when it comes to feeding what suits one will not suit another etc.

FM1 take the advice given on this thread and add what you know about your boy and you should hopefully get the right result. :D

Keep us updated as he looks lush and we cant wait to see him at those shows next year!!!!

Nikki xxxxx :D

[Daffy Dilly]

But oats etc are cereals?

All horses/animals have growth spurts, fed or not, and nobody ever said feed caused growth spurts.

Incidently, I couldn't feed either oats nor barley. The former has absolutely no impact on my horse, and the latter puts weight on him.

So not every welshie you speak to feeds straights, and oats and barley send plenty of horses off their heads.

To the OP. I would just give him a handful of chaff with some balancer and ad lib hay. If he drops weight, then a little sugarbeet should do the trick. As for his mane, I'd wash it before it gets too cold and then plait it. Get some leave in conditioner/detangler, and redo it every week or so without the washing. Even if you decide to lightly pull it for the showring next year, there's no point until next year. Even when he "comes into work" I would only feed him if he needs it.

[foxymiche1]

thanks everyone.

its a nice day today so might see if he will let me wash his mane now, the plaits on heir own arnt working very well!
i put my other ponies tack on him today to see what his reaction would be and he didnt bat an eyelid, not bothered in the slightest!
i just walked him round a few times and took it off again. What do you think of how he stands? How could we improove this?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/vw_golf_nutter/P1040817.jpg

[ELWYNFLYER]

You will only do what is right for you and your horse, he is lovely and good luck with him!!!:)

[eventerbabe]

He's stood nicely in that photo. I attended a showing master class a few months ago and the judge running it said when you 'stand' them up, you want front feet to be square and the hind leg closest to the judge to be slightly back behind the other hind. If the judge moves around to look at the other side of your horse, a gentle nudge should get them to swap which hind leg is farther back by taking a step back.

[lynzi]

i have a 2 yr old welsh filly! and i have her on full turnout with a field lick (calcium n phosphurus 1 is best! helps there bones develop and grow) and i bring her in and give her a brush and a haynet for a few hours a day along with literally a cupfull of baileys stud balancer, jelly cubes (help her feet and coat!!! trick of my nutrition teacher :D ) for my benefit i give her big scoop of hi-fi lite to bulk her feed up (otherwise i feel mean because there is nothing there)! stud balancers great as its full of protein and nutrients and a cup full a day is the perfect amount so they don't put to much weight on.. (mines a good doer thou) because if they get fat it puts unhealthy strain on their joints! not guuud!!! i also trickle a bit of baileys outshine spearmint flavour! as a little taster for her! or soya oil... depends!!! lol also hi-fi is good if you can't turn out and have bad quality hay!!! good source of fibre ne hu!! x

[Soot]

How's the colt doing, Foxy? Would be nice to have some new photos of your beautiful boy!

[*-crazy-chaz-*]

i think he's standing in a good 'showing pose' there :p or is that just me lol??...

[Sam (aka SLW)]

I have to add that I am a fibre diet gal too. At the end of the day, this is what nature intended and what their digestive system is designed for. When I brought my horse 5years ago (he is not a welshie he is a NZ Standardbred), he was on a cereal diet and never looked that great on it. I changed his feed to fibre only and he looks better and better each year that goes by. He is a poor doer but VERY sharp. I feed him alfa oil, alfa beet and pink powder. Highly digestible fibre provides a great slow energy release which suits us. My welshie is 18months and he has ad lib hay (as does my SJ), and a small amount of hi fi lite as he is a little pot belly piggy. They both live out 24/7.
As has already been said - all horses are different and what works for one will not necessarily work for another. Remember to feed for what you have done, not what you are about to do and remember to feed according to SWAT (Size, Weight, Age and Temperament), this way you shouldn't go far wrong. Also check out feed supplier websites i.e. www.dengie.com where you can normally email them and they will reply with specific advice for your horse.
Hope this helps:D

[Lora]

can't really give much advice (see others have given great advice) but boy is he going to be something when you get a bit of weight on him. : ) He's beautiful and seems to love the attention you're giving him. I'm so happy for you both.