The trick for filling out hips

[pinck43]

I have a 2yr.old B gelding that is gangly like a yearling, very long legged and just has that immature look. I am having a hard time getting his hips filled out. His topline is good. I have changed his feed from Safechoice to Progressive Nutrition. This feed has a higher protein and all other vitamins percentage. He gets 3/4# with 2C oats, a small amount of beetpulp and some fat and grass hay twice a day. He gets light work whenever it's not raining. Thanks for any imput.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Time.

Sorry, but that's the best cure for a slow-maturing horse!

If the rest of his topline is good then more beet pulp probably won't fix the hips but you can always try that as well. My own 2 year old was weak on the bottom side of his rear (very cat-hamed and spindly, lots of room between his butt cheeks) but since I didn't want to overstress his joints with lots of roundpenning and trot poles I just fed him and gave him plenty of room to run. Sure enough, as a 3 year old he's filling out and looks a lot better!

Leia

 

[chandab]

I have a 2yr.old B gelding that is gangly like a yearling, very long legged and just has that immature look. I am having a hard time getting his hips filled out. His topline is good. I have changed his feed from Safechoice to Progressive Nutrition. This feed has a higher protein and all other vitamins percentage. He gets 3/4# with 2C oats, a small amount of beetpulp and some fat and grass hay twice a day. He gets light work whenever it's not raining. Thanks for any imput.

How long has he been on the new feed program? It takes time to see the difference, but I'm sure with time you'll be happy with what Progressive can do for you gelding. I have 9 out of 11 minis on Progressive ProAdvantage grass formula and they look great; the other two are hard keepers, so are on a higher calorie feed.

 

[K.C. Lunde]

Hi there!

I'd recommend running him up a hill.. Mostly for chest muscles but its great for hip muscles too.

We quad 2 or more minis at a time on a good track in a pasture where they can trot up some hills. In my opinion.. a two year old can handle it. We dont quad or treadmill until they are 'breathing hard' or foaming ect. Usually just to the point where they are alert and a little warm.

I love, love, love my treadmill for building chest and hip muscles. It is a Safe-T-Mill walking treadmill.

Is your gelding penned with other horses? Our horses are always penned together, I find they are more active

 

[AnnaC]

When was his second birthday? If he is only just two and gangly then time is probably what he needs (along with a good feed programme of course) I find that the larger minis do take longer to start maturing and filling out in the back ends, quite apart from the fact that each individual can differ as to when they pass the gangly stage, regardless of anything we do.

At the moment he is probably putting a lot into growth, both in his body and his bone structure, and in my opinion, it is far better for his future life, to let this happen naturally rather than to use a 'work' programme to bring him on too fast.

Time and good food plus maybe another year and your gangly duckling will turn into a beautiful swan!

Anna

 

[Matt73]

How much hay is he getting?