Yearling colt with bloated/hay belly......

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Lil' Horse Lover

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I have a yearling colt that appears to have a hay belly. He gets about half a flake of alfalfa/grass mix twice a day. Its not really very stocky at all and is really good as far as nutrition and quality. Its 70% grass and 30% alfalfa. Some of it can be fairly stocky but I try not to give that stuff to him. He isn't getting any grain as of now, do you think I should get him on some??? If so what kind would be best?? Should I add anything to it??? I have some mare and foal grain, would that be good??? He is about 31.5-32" tall. Should I switch him over to grass hay??? Or is he fine on the grass/alfalfa mix with some foal grain?? He isn't fat at all he just has a hay/bloated belly. I attached a couple of recent photos of him but you can't really tell how big of a belly he really has, it sorta gives you a picture of what I am talking about, he is the pinto. I also have a 15 year old stallion with the same type of belly. He gets exaclty the same hay and amount. Should I change his feed in any way??? I also attached a photo of him, he is the silver dapple. Any info. will be greatly appreciated, thanks.

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Has he been wormed on a regular schedule?

He is missing a lot of nutrients by not giving him grain, so yes, I think he should have some. Has he never had grain?

I use Platform Mare and foal. My weanling gets almost the amount of hay you are giving, PLUS pretty much all the grain he wants. I keep track and he is eating about 5 cups on the a.m. and 5 cups in the p.m. He does not have that belly, is filling out nicely.

I believe it will brighten up your colt as well, giving them more energy and making them feel better.

If he has never had grain, I would start him slow the first few days. I think you will see improvement in a short amount of time.

Good luck.
 
Has he been wormed on a regular schedule?

He is missing a lot of nutrients by not giving him grain, so yes, I think he should have some. Has he never had grain?

I use Platform Mare and foal. My weanling gets almost the amount of hay you are giving, PLUS pretty much all the grain he wants. I keep track and he is eating about 5 cups on the a.m. and 5 cups in the p.m. He does not have that belly, is filling out nicely.

I believe it will brighten up your colt as well, giving them more energy and making them feel better.

If he has never had grain, I would start him slow the first few days. I think you will see improvement in a short amount of time.

Good luck.

Thanks for the reply. Yes he was on grain until about a couple of months ago, he was also wormed around then. I'll get him wormed and I will start him on it slowly and work him up. So should I give him as much as he wants once he is totally used to it??? Thanks for the input!!!
 
Hes so cute
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I would get him on a good foal grain and up his hay. A half a flake 2x per day is not much for a growing colt. Some grains can be fed free choice and some cant. be sure and read the label. If he was mine i would leave him on the alfalfa/grass mix hay and add the grain. But you will get many different opinions on that
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There was an article a while back in MHWand our vet (who raised Minis for years) confirmed that Minis need more protein than the big cousins. A pot belly can be a sign of not enough protein. Also I would check worming schedule and with what type of wormer.
 
A pot belly can be a sign of not enough protein.
Exactly so! I had been feeding my bunch, Barley/oats/corn, but had my Vet out to draw blood on a couple of yearlings because they just weren't thriving, and looked potty. The only thing that he could find, was theat their protein levels were down some. Since then, I have had a lot of luck with my Purina sweetina, Omelene 200 and 300. No more pot-bellied babies, and the mares, stallion and geldings are in perfect flesh.
 

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