Putting weight on a skinny pony

blob
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Putting weight on a skinny pony

Postby blob » Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:02 pm

Hi All,

New DDBB member, former UDBB (RIP), and COTH mostly lurker here.

I recently purchased a project pony. I don't know a ton about his history. He's 6 years old and I'm his fourth owner in that time, so inevitably there's a lot of lost details. He's also quite green and a bit fearful, so I'm not sure how much riding was done in the past or how it was done.

He's an unregistered welsh gelding (or at least partially welsh), 14.1 and came to me quite thin. I don't think he'll ever be one of those hefty, sturdy ponies, but right now his back bone and hip bones are very visible and his ribs somewhat visible. So he definitely needs to put on pounds in addition to muscle.

The person I bought him from had only had him two months and had him on a diet of dry beet pulp, sweet feed, and alfalfa pellets with access to some grass (sparse pasture, not restricted access).

Since coming to me he's been getting the following:
1 quart of Nutrena ProForce Fuel (I know, not my favorite, but barn offers Nutrena Fuel and SafeChoice only) 2x a day
160 grams of cocosoya in his grain once a day
He's in pasture sun up to sun down and has plenty of grass as well as access to a round bale (I rarely see him at the bale, nearly always grazing)
When he's in his stall he gets as much bermuda coastal as he's willing to eat, as well as 2 flakes alfalfa

He's been on this diet for a few months now and hasn't really put on much weight. I had been hesitant to put him on too much grain because I know ponies often carry a much higher founder risk and typically don't need much grain. But at this point, both the barn manager and I think we need to make some kind of adjustment to help him get some weight on. What would you do? Up his alfalfa? Add more cocosoya or another fat source? Some other supplement? Increase the Fuel and/or add some safe choice? Something else entirely? Another grain other than the safechoice isn't an option, neither is beet pulp (no one will soak it).

Also, because I'm sure it will come up 8-) :
Both the PPE vet and my vet checked his teeth, so they're in good shape
Had a basic blood panel done with the PPE and everything came back normal
I wormed him once when he arrived with equimax. The barn will get fecal results back this week and based on that I will choose whether to worm him again now or wait another few months.
His poop is health looking and normal
He has not shown any symptoms for ulcers other than not carrying weight, but of course that doesn't mean they're not there

Thank you!

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Chisamba
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Re: Putting weight on a skinny pony

Postby Chisamba » Wed Oct 17, 2018 11:08 pm

I think I would try increase his grain a bit at a time. One quart of grain is not a lot. Do you think he may need probiotics? To aid digestion.

blob
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Re: Putting weight on a skinny pony

Postby blob » Wed Oct 17, 2018 11:28 pm

Yes, it's definitely not a lot, I just know so many ponies do well on next to no grain. But yes, I think increasing makes sense at this stage when things aren't really changing.

Probiotics definitely can't hurt! Good suggestion.

Tuddy
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Re: Putting weight on a skinny pony

Postby Tuddy » Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:27 pm

Chisamba wrote:I think I would try increase his grain a bit at a time. One quart of grain is not a lot. Do you think he may need probiotics? To aid digestion.


Beat me to it lol!

Also, if you can find a liver and kidney flush type product - I use Omega Alpha products. A course of that to give his liver and kidneys a boost won't hurt either. Even though you stated that his blood work came back fine, I would still advise it. Those 2 toxin removing organs are always on the go, and he might just be struggling to get something out of his system. I also do a course of it after worming, a course of antibiotics, pretty much anything with a high chemical load.

Hope he gains weight soon! Sounds like he found a good home with you! :) Keep us posted!

Moutaineer
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Re: Putting weight on a skinny pony

Postby Moutaineer » Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:58 pm

It takes a while for weight gain to show externally, so you may just need to have patience. Maybe add a fat supplement like rice bran or Renew Gold. That's helped my hard keeper get some bloom and roundness. You can get a bit more bulk in than you can with oil.

Grass nutrition is probably waning at the moment so his industrious grazing may not be doing lot for him.

And are you riding him? Some of them seem to need some work to fill out in the right places.

blob
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Re: Putting weight on a skinny pony

Postby blob » Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:04 pm

Moutaineer wrote:It takes a while for weight gain to show externally, so you may just need to have patience. Maybe add a fat supplement like rice bran or Renew Gold. That's helped my hard keeper get some bloom and roundness. You can get a bit more bulk in than you can with oil.

Grass nutrition is probably waning at the moment so his industrious grazing may not be doing lot for him.

And are you riding him? Some of them seem to need some work to fill out in the right places.



The cocosoya is a fat source, so he's getting that. I can switch it to rice bran later, but I already had a big bag of the cocosoya and have had success with in the past, so I figured I'd give it a try with him!


I am riding and lunging him. He gets 'work' 5x times a week, but somedays I just walk around under saddle. He's green and has a lot of learning to do, he also needs some work in balance and strength (lunging!). He's a bit of a sensitive type and thrives with consistency. So, I've found he's done better with small bits more regularly. My biggest worry with doing too much riding right now is how under muscled his back is. But lunging and calories should help with that hopefully.


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