[crisslyon]

This is Snickers about 30 days ago. I have had her since October where she was a 1.5 on BCS scale. Currently her topline has filled in and she has gained 150 lbs. She was at 707 last week and 14.3hh. She is 13 months old.

When I first got her in October she was 542 lbs and you could see almost every bone.

Training she had prior to getting her was nil. The "trainer" that had these 16 starving horses were training them for a racetrack in LA. She was pretty skittish but now she will walk up to you and lay her head on you to be scratched. I can pick all her feet up, wash her, lead/load/trailer and back her, make strange noises and rub things all over her. Because it's too dark when I get home until spring/summer I only work her on the weekends right now. Currently I walk her around the pastures and down the road on the weekends for some exercise and lead training (she has some crowding issues) for about an hour.

I would like to build some muscle on her with more exercise but I don't know what exercises I can do with her level of mal nutrition. Do any of you have any suggestions on exercises? Can she be safely round penned or lunged yet?

She is being fed 12lbs + of hay a day and 7lbs of Purina Strategy/day + I have her on a 40% fat weight builder which she gets 4oz of a day.

 

[Skyseternalangel]

She needs way more weight and time before you begin even thinking about exercising her, IMOP. Just letting her be turned out as much as possible and keep stuffing her full of good quality food.

 

[Mstar]

Why would you want to build muscle on a yearling, let alone a rescue, let alone a TB yearling? She's not supposed to be muscled. She looks perfectly fine save for being a little underweight. Longing and round penning is hard on the joints of a baby. Just keep doing what you are doing, quiet handling, take her for walks, desensitizing. That's all she should be doing until she's 2 years old. Leave her alone and let her grow up and recover or you risk ruining her.

 

[maura]

Forget that she's a rescue for a minute, and forget her previous condition, if you can.

How much exercise does a normal yearling need?

Yup, they don't need any forced exercise, their exercise requirement should be met by turnout and playing with buddies, nothing else.

I wouldn't even start lunging until well past 2, maybe later, depending on how she's doing otherwise.

She's cute and you've done a good job getting weight on her.

 

[crisslyon]

Mstar... she's a quarter horse but thank you for your answer. She is turned out full time with my other horse except in inclimate weather. I have never owned a yearling or any young horse so ya'll were very helpful.

 

[Mstar]

Mstar... she's a quarter horse but thank you for your answer. She is turned out full time with my other horse except in inclimate weather. I have never owned a yearling or any young horse so ya'll were very helpful.

My bad, I assumed TB when you said racehorse (but keep in mind, many racebred QH's are at least half TB so she is likely to have a lighter build than a typical QH). Sorry if my post came off harsh. Good luck with her, she has a beautiful little face

 

[Skyseternalangel]

Mstar... she's a quarter horse but thank you for your answer. She is turned out full time with my other horse except in inclimate weather. I have never owned a yearling or any young horse so ya'll were very helpful.

Sounds perfect, and she is a darling little missy! What's her name?

 

[gingerscout]

I also have a yearling that was rescued and is still a tad underweight but much much better than when I got her.. all she does is play with her buddies now and Im working on leading her and getting her used to being poked and prodded, lifting her feet stuff like that.. nothing strenious at this time.. when she is a little older closer to 2 she will start more training but at this time im just happy to let her be a horse

 

[crisslyon]

Snickers is her name..... the other one is Oreo...... the kids were hungry when they picked their names

 

[crisslyon]

My bad, I assumed TB when you said racehorse (but keep in mind, many racebred QH's are at least half TB so she is likely to have a lighter build than a typical QH). Sorry if my post came off harsh. Good luck with her, she has a beautiful little face

Right, I was wondering if she would be lighter built. Made me wonder how much weight I'm actually supposed to put on her. TB's tend to be a little ribby it seems anyway. I don't want to get her fat, that would probably be just as bad for her.

 

[Mstar]

Right, I was wondering if she would be lighter built. Made me wonder how much weight I'm actually supposed to put on her. TB's tend to be a little ribby it seems anyway. I don't want to get her fat, that would probably be just as bad for her.

Yes, and she's probably going to be going through alot of growth spurts as well, so you might be feeding the same amount and think she looks good, then boom, she's looking ribby again. Don't go by what the show horses and racehorse sales yearlings look like. You are right that overfeeding can be very detrimental to a young horse. Here's a few good articles I found on the subject that might help you out.

Also I would DEFINITELY get a small kitchen scale ($5-$10 at Walmart), it's the only way you can accurately measure your feed, which I think is especially important in her case.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/livestocksystems/DI8456.pdf


From the American Association of Equine Practitioners website....

Question: What kind of supplement would you recommend for a yearling colt that has had a bad start in the way of nutrition (recepient mares were starved in their last trimester). His nervous system and possibly eyesight are affected. He's had all the best diet and handling since then and has good reining horse bloodlines.

Answer:
My experience in feeding young horses that did not receive adequate nutrition in utero or while nursing is to still follow the NRC guidelines for their age. Unfortunately, if you attempt to make up deficits now, you may cause additional problems like osteochondrosis or other growth disturbances.

The good news for your yearling is that the mare sacrifices herself to provide for her foal. So it’s possible (as long as this wasn’t her second foal in a starved condition) your colt wasn’t actually deprived of nutrients during this critical phase of growth. Have your veterinarian check out the colt thoroughly, review your nutritional program and recommend a wellness program that includes parasite control, vaccinations, hoof care, dental examinations and turnout or controlled exercise. Ask your veterinarian if you can safely add the limiting amino acids Lysine and Threonine to your yearling’s diet to provide the building blocks of muscle and other tissue without unbalancing the ration.

Basically, try to keep your yearling at an ideal (5) or slightly less than ideal (4.5) body condition score on the Henneke BCS chart, which ranges from 0 = emaciated to 9 = obese. You don’t want him to grow too fast or to get overweight, both of which can lead to complications.