How's he looking now?

This is Moose, a 5 yr old TB gelding. He's 16hh, and my current project. We brought him home the first Saturday in June looking like this:

moose in june2.jpg

moose in june.jpg

I'm sure you've noticed he's extremely thin here, due to being paddocked between two studs and chased up and down the pen constantly, and we got to him just in time--- the track was going to put him down because the owner had abandoned him and mutilated his tattoo. He has never been started. (I've seen the videos from security cameras at the track.) I see that he has a little bit of joint displacement between his spine and pelvic bone, and under my 265lb brother's weight, struggling a little, and he seems kind of cupped under, but that's due to his semi long back and high wither, which my farrier is currently treating.

How do you think he's coming along, comparing those pictures from early in June to pictures I took today?

moose in aug2.jpg

moose in aug1.jpg

He's on a great mix of feed, I mix myself. I use a premium 40 lbs Mare/Foal feed, 50 lbs Performance 14%, 40 lbs Senior 12%, Alfalfa pellets, and supplement him with GrowColt, Omegatin, biotin, MSM, and Glucosamine, and all the Teff/Teft grass he can eat.

I notice that he's more glossy, and putting on some weight nicely! Granted, he's got a long way to go, but this is progress over a course of 9 weeks. He is heavy boned for a TB, I must say.

Any other suggestions? I'm really looking for a good, hard critique, but support would be great too! Thanks!

he is looking really good! we are trying to put weight on an old horse right now! =]]
Great job!

thanks!!! I wish I could find the pictures of the mare on my avatar from when we rescued her! She was awful a year ago. Even in Feb she looked terrible...

Hello there.
I think he looks a bit better than in the first picture.
Are you actually riding the horse at this point? I might wait until he gains a bit more weight before pushing him into riding. His feet look to be in good condition as well. I think he has a nice shape and when he has more weight and muscle tone he will look fantastic. His color and coat look better already.
I am not sure how each state does this but if he never started then how come he has a tatoo? I was under the understanding that the horse will get tatooed either the day before or the day of their first race, but then again it may be different from state to state and i am referencing Californias reg's.
That is neither here nor there anyway because he is yours and he is looking better already! Best of luck to you both....
HP

Keep in mind, this is only 9 weeks in progress! ; )

We are doing some very light work, and mainly bareback. I have been walking him, we usually have made one pass around the outside of the 12 acre pen he's in and walk to and through the pond for desensitizing. We have been working circles in the field on yielding to the bit at a trot, as he's not real soft yet, but only about 10 or 15 mins every 3 or 4 days to keep his muscles in some kind of using shape so that when he does start getting worked he doesn't get sore.

His feet are fantastic! I've seen a lot of feet on TB's, but I've never seen any like his! They're hard and stout, but not too big for him.

My only real PROBLEM with him is that he's really buddy sour. With my mare in a pen nearby, he is constantly arguing with me to get to go over there. My trailer had a bent axle and we sold it, so as far as transporting him to an area where other horses aren't, it's been a chore. He longes better than I've ever seen too, but he's one of those that it's so engrained in his mind, it doesn't matter how much you longe him, he will continue to keep that other ear outside, trying to multitask.

As for the tattoo, he sprained a knee the morning of during his warm up and the owner pulled him from the race. Fearing no recovery, his tattoo was severed by the owner, and he was left at the track for them to deal with. We've had the full vet exam, and he's in the clear. I only wish we weren't moving so far, we're moving from SE Kansas to either NW SD or central MT, my husband hasn't decided which job he's going to take yet. We can't take them with us, so I have to find him and my mare a good home. =(

He's going to make someone VERY happy! He's quite the personality!

First off, good job! It took us over a year to get 200lbs onto an OTTB that we had at the farm! She was not easy to keep...then again, she came to us with 3 abcessed feet and a "fat leg". His coat alone tells the story of how much better he must be feeling.

I think the amount of work you're doing with him sounds ok. He's on a good solid grain schedule, seems to be picking up weight fast considering it's only been 9 weeks, and like you said, need to keep him using his muscles to not get sore. If you were out galloping him around, it would be different. Nice to hear you're bareback with him too, I don't imagine a saddle would fit nice on his wither at this point! LOL

As for the buddy sour, do you have a barn to kinda "stash" your mare in while you ride? Out of sight, out of mind...hopefully! LOL We don't so when one of ours gets herd sour I try to ride in the yard where they're still in sight until whoever I'm on isn't worried about it, then go a little further and come back...then further...eventually they just stopped caring, knowing we would come back eventually anyway!

I'm not too good at critiques thus far, but he seems to have a bit of a straight shoulder to me. Nice looking hip, can't wait to see muscle on it...a little like my 2 year old at the moment, looks like the head's too big for the body, but once he's beefed up a little I'm sure that'll even out! I hope my filly does too! Haha

Thanks, ES!

The sourness comes and goes, some days he's ok walking away from the mare, but other days he's just not satisfied unless we're playing follow the leader with her, in which we have to push her to move, and she gets upset and pins her ears at him. I'll try going farther and farther out of sight each time, as we don't have a barn to keep her in. He knows where she's at, and if he can't see her, he screams for her until she answers back, then he gets impatient and wants to go back. She won't pony as she's not real broke and doesn't like me up that high yet, and if I turn her out with us, he gets excited and they want to run and play like idiots, and I can't afford to get hurt.

I'm so excited that he's coming along so well already! But he's my 11th project at rehabilitating skinny horses, so my knowledge and experience is teaching me plenty with my equine nutrition classes! I wish I could do this for a living!