What to feed an underweight yearling gelding on 24/7 good quality grass?

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suzyqet

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Sep 4, 2008
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The last of the grass liveries turned up today.
A very scraggly underweight yearling gelding.
The girl has just bought him and is fully aware he is underweight.
Can anyone recommend a good feed to help him put on weight please?
You an see all his ribs and his hip bones.
He is now turned out on good quality grass 24/7.
I left him tonight in his own paddock with some hay too but only had happy hoof to feed him tonight :rolleyes: (didnt realise he was quite that underweight). Anyway, off to feed merchants tomorrow to get him some feed but does anyone have any recommendations please?
He's on Full livery by the way, hence why it is me going to buy the feed not the yearlings owner.

(Doing worm count tomorrow but will be worming him too just in case but apparently his worming is fully up to date)
 
My yearling colt is rather ribby too, its just a phase I think between getting chubby and growing tall :rolleyes:

I would be keeping him on a high fibre diet with maybe a stud balancer or vit/min supplement. Youngersters are much better 'thin' IMO because of developing joints, the grass should be enough to pick him up at a nice steady rate without adding lots of concentrates and upsetting his tummy ;)
 
Sexy Sietske said:
My yearling colt is rather ribby too, its just a phase I think between getting chubby and growing tall :rolleyes:

I would be keeping him on a high fibre diet with maybe a stud balancer or vit/min supplement. Youngersters are much better 'thin' IMO because of developing joints, the grass should be enough to pick him up at a nice steady rate without adding lots of concentrates and upsetting his tummy ;)
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His previous owners havent been feeding him at all :confused:
I've just found one on Countrywides site - Stud and Conditioning mix - might give that a try it says "for breeding and young stock, and those needing to add condition - enhanced levels of vitamins and minerals - contains Yea-Sac for improved digestion and Bioplex minerals to combat deficiencies" but what do I feed it with? Basic Chaff or just the Happy Hoof? (Never had an underweight youngster to feed before)
 
hey

i have a skinny yearling well had one i have been feeding her allen page youngstock mix and allen page fast fibre, she is doing great now.

i would also get her to do a worm count as no point pumping feed into him for worms to eat, i got my belle counted and she came back with a high worm count of 2750 once the worms are gone i will drop the fast fibre as its great for putting weight on and i am hoping she doesnt need it anymore
 
vikkig said:
hey

i have a skinny yearling well had one i have been feeding her allen page youngstock mix and allen page fast fibre, she is doing great now.

i would also get her to do a worm count as no point pumping feed into him for worms to eat, i got my belle counted and she came back with a high worm count of 2750 once the worms are gone i will drop the fast fibre as its great for putting weight on and i am hoping she doesnt need it anymore
Click to expand...

I gave him a little bit of fast fibre tonight but mainly to bulk it out a little as I thought fast fibre was fed to good doers (thats what I've always used it for anyway) wasnt aware that it works for horses who need to add condition. Does it really do the trick then?
 
I would just feed him hay with possibly a bit of fast fibre or a handful of chaff and vit supplement. I bought a very underweight yearling a year or two ago and he came right very quickly with good grazing, hay and a vit supplement.

I wouldn't feed a stud mix as you could give him more problems then it solves as most are high in protien.

NAF do a good youngstock powdered supplement. If you wanted to feed a stud type feed I'd suggest Suregrow but to be honest I wouldn't feed any.

Hope that helps
 
The good grass should do the trick so long as he is getting enough vits and minerals. I would probably get him on something like SureGrow to start with, then make a call in a few months as to either keeping him on that or going onto a basic vit and mineral supplement if he is gaining too fast/much.
 
IME there is nothing better than good grass to get the weight on them. They are not interested in bucket feeds when they have grass to go at.

Even horses on death's door through neglect and starvation will pick up in no time on good grazing.
 
The only problem with stuffing youngsters full of protein is excelling growth to the point where it is actually bad for them!

My babies have never been fed youngstock food and they have grown nice and steady (and 4 year old still growing now!) If they needed weight on I used alpha oil and speedibeet with extra oil if neccessary.
 
Most youngsters at this age look skinny and really shouldn't be given bucket feeds, except in exceptional circumastances. The grass and maybe hay/haylage will be enough. make sure he gets a mineralised salt lick too.
 
Thanks everyone for all your replies.

After talking it through with the new owner of the yearling and talking to several feed merchants etc, he has been put on a small quantity of youngstock conditioning mix with Happy Hoof to bulk it up along with a vit and mineral supplement. Already you can see a slight improvement in him. His coat is no where near as dull now and he no longer looks like a walking skeleton.
Although he is still very much underweight, you can see that he has gained weight already.
We are keeping a close eye on him weight wise and he is due to have his feet done soon so will be speaking to farrier too!
Oh and the best bit, is I have put hay out for him but he hasnt touched it and the grass is actually growing around him :eek:
He's obviously got plenty to eat bless him.
He started to play and buck today which is the 1st time since he's been with us so obviously starting to get a bit more strength. :rolleyes:
Anyway, thanks again for all your replies. Really appreciated.
 
Hi, you didn't say what breed he was but i'm guessing a TB/warmblood bigger breed?

I would recomend feeding him D&H mare and youngstock it's not as high protein as alot on the market so will encourage a nice steady growth but keep him topped up with the vitamins and minerals he needs. adding some barley rings will help put on a bit of weight, then bulk it out with a bit of chaf to slow down the food as it passes through him so he can aborb all the goodness. Try to split it don't in to 3-4 feeds a day and you'll see an improvement in 2-3week.

Try not to put him on lush grass as this will just go straight through him, i'm not sure weither you meant he was on good grass or is now, but could be the reason for being skinny, too much good grass can make him go the other way especially if he's just come off farm land with alot of nitrogen.

Good luck:D
 
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