Stunted colt?

[loverofminis]

I need opinions on diet plan for a stunted colt.
He is super small and I think he was just pulled off his mama when I bought him. He is pretty healthy and very pretty but he is just small.
Any thoughts on what would put weight and growth on him?

[jlquarter]

Animax which is made by Purina and Stratedgy..Add that to your feed ration for him. It's great for promoting growth

[mart]

How old is he ?? If he is six months or around that age it shouldn`t be too difficult to get him going again !! I use Gro Colt by Farnam on all my young ones along with a good diet of sweet feed and crimped oats and lots of hay !! Much of the size is determined by the parents so even though he may look small to you he may be normal according to the size the parents are !! If he wasn`t taken care of they look even smaller because they are not proportioned right !! Big belly, skinny legs ect !! To know about how tall he will be when grown do a string test !! Measure from the middle of the knee to where the hair ends above the hoof !! Each inch equals one hand when he is grown !! Its best to do this as a yearling but I have not found it to be off by more than half an inch !! And keep in mind that he will still be growing and maturing at 4 to 5 years old !!

[stuartfloridahorsetrainer]

MART: question about your "string test" i just tried that on my horses and they all came out to be the same 15 and 1/2 inches from middle of knee to hair line of hoof. the thing is they are all diff breeds and diff sizes and diff ages. my 20month old belgain warmblood came to a little more than 15 and 1/2 inches.... right now shes around 14.1/14.2 my 3 1/2 year old aqha/apha pal. came to 15 1/2 and shes about 16 hands.... and my 7 year old belgian / TB came to 15 .. 15 1/2 and hes around 17.1 hands?? im confused.

[mart]

Well, I have never tried on anything other than the typical quarter types !! I honestly don`t know if the breed type makes a difference !! I can check on it and let you know later !! There is another way to check but it is a little more complicated to me and I go for the easy route !! Let me see if I can find out for you !!

[stuartfloridahorsetrainer]

alright thanks. :)

[moodygirl]

Originally Posted by mart

How old is he ?? If he is six months or around that age it shouldn`t be too difficult to get him going again !! I use Gro Colt by Farnam on all my young ones along with a good diet of sweet feed and crimped oats and lots of hay !! Much of the size is determined by the parents so even though he may look small to you he may be normal according to the size the parents are !! If he wasn`t taken care of they look even smaller because they are not proportioned right !! Big belly, skinny legs ect !! To know about how tall he will be when grown do a string test !! Measure from the middle of the knee to where the hair ends above the hoof !! Each inch equals one hand when he is grown !! Its best to do this as a yearling but I have not found it to be off by more than half an inch !! And keep in mind that he will still be growing and maturing at 4 to 5 years old !!

Mart, my filly who was a year old in July has a big belly and skinny legs. She was taken from her mother too soon. The people I bought her from rescued her so to speak. Will her conformation improve? Is it too late for that grow colt to work? She has a beautiful gait and face. I didn't get her to show or breed so it is not of utmost importance but I want to give her the best shot at a good life. I have been wondering why she had she had a pot belly. I wormed her for tape worm thinking that might be it, but when I read your post I recognized those signs of early malnutrition in my filly. She gets all the good clover hay she wants and 12% sweet feed plus a little beet pulp. She has good weight on, you have to feel for her ribs. They also graze about 6 hrs. a day. I had already cut her grain back to 1 1/2 to 2 qt per day (includes beet pulp). I feed this in 2 feedings.

[mart]

That is a common problem if during the first year they are not fed properly or are fed hay alone !! I have several that I got at around 6 months of age and all have grown out of it !! Including Redman my cutting bred that was sold !! I would put her on a good deworming schedule every 6 to 8 weeks !! Let her have all the grass she wants, but clover hay is a legume and could be adding to the problem !! Let her grain stay at the 1 1/2 qts but stop the hay (hay belly) add the gro colt which is just trace minerals but it helps the body use what she eats for bones and proper growth !! I really see no reason to feed the beet pulp if she is on pasture with good grass !! And if possible she would benefit from about 30 minutes of trotting exercise 2 or 3 times a week !!