Thin friesian -- Friesian Crazy Forum

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Date Posted: 10:54:09 04/22/11 Fri
Author: Megan
Subject: Thin friesian
In reply to: amanda 's message, "thin friesian" on 07:08:09 04/20/11 Wed

Hello Amanda!

I also have a 3, turning 4 year-old colt. He is not as big as your guy, but he is growing just the same. You're right. He is absolutely putting every ounce of energy he has into growing. They do go through awkward and lanky stages. My colt as well had and still kind of has the chicken bone chest. :) That probably won't go away until he's much more developed. And that also comes with work and building muscle. My colt has been driving in a sulky since he was 2 1/2 and it's done wonders for his development. He's now going to be 4 in one month and we ride him WTC under saddle. His canter is still a little fast and somewhat "chargie."

Your horse may just be lacking muscle development. He's a BIG boy for 3 years old. His muscles are going to be big as well. He sounds like he's just lacking that part right now. His chicken bone chest is probably more due to lack of muscle in that area. I highly recommend driving for young horses to start building these muscles without the weight of a rider on his back.

My guy gets fed 5-6 pounds of Purina Strategy every day. We did try to switch his feed a little while back because he had actually put on a little too much weight. But when we did, we noticed a pretty big decrease in his energy level, so we wound up switching him back onto the Strategy and now he does perfectly fine. It's hard for me to compare your guy to my guy because my guy is a very easy keeper. :) He grows much slower as well. He is almost 4 years old and just barely reached 15.3 over the winter. :) I am a huge fan of Purina feeds, especially the Strategy. It's GREAT for growing youngsters. (It has a lot of protein they need.) I got my guy as a yearling and when I did I immediately weaned him onto the Strategy and he's been on it ever since. :) If you don't feel his ribs then you're pretty much good. What you're talking about sounds more like a lack of muscle development.

Also you probably might want to even out his hay rations. Instead of feeding 4-5 flakes in the evening, try feeding 2 or so flakes at lunch and then 2 or 3 more at dinner. That may also help. My guy gets 2-3 flakes in the morning, 1-2 at lunch and then 2-3 more at dinner. It's also important to judge how much the hay weighs. If the flakes are light, feed more of them. If they're heavier then feed your normal amount. :) Please let me know if you have any questions. Good luck Amanda!

Megan

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