A new horse

[annanicole18]

That one does look off compared to the rest. But with trimmings and hopefully at the worst some temporary corrective shoeing he will be ok. Some QH have terrible feet so he just might have to have at least front shoes on. His legs look a little banged up what has he been running into?

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Wow those feet look pretty good for not having regular care. A few good visits by a good farrier and he should be doing great.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Quote:
Sounds like us! We still have frost until mid June.

With some TLC your boy will come around. Regular groomings will really gloss up his coat and before long he'll be sparkling like a new penny.

Has he been de-wormed? He doesn't look like he has parasites, but it does need to be done periodically even in healthy horses.
He looks QH to me.

 

[arabianequine]

I have heard that alfalfa is high in protein and not good for the kidneys....it can also make some horses behavior unruly more hyper. Same with sweet grain it is like sugar to horses.

I would use whole oats with some corn or sunflower seed oil on it about a tblsp....the horse will not be use to this texture so it might not like it some dry oats first and then start adding a bit of the oil. My little filly had no problem it made her look like a totally different horse in 3-6 months. She filled out so nicely and her coat is so soft and shiny.

Good luck!

 

[txredneckmedic]

Alfalfa is great for horses. Just make sure u dont feed him too much. 2 or 3 chips a day untill he is used to it. His feet arent bad. Should be able to take care of it with one visit from the ferrier.

 

[seymore0626]

Be very careful with his feet. He has fever rings, and growth patterns might suggest laminitis. PM if you have questions.

 

[Souperchicken]

We were able to brush him today and lead him on the halter around the pasture. I'll admit I was feeling a little unsure of myself today. It was the first time in the pasture with him and I wasn't sure how he'd react. We spent about 1/2 hour with him. He is in a friend's pasture with one other horse(a very curious one).
We have someone trimming his hooves tomorrow and we are going to call the vet tomorrow morning. I will ask him about the laminitis. Should I wait to have his hooves trimmed until the vet sees him? From what I've read so far, it sounds like laminitis is when the bottom bone in the hoof is down closer to the ground than what is normal and can be very painful. I'm going to read more about it and fever rings tonight.
This thread has really helped with your advice and well wishes!

 

[Hound]

I must be seeing a different picture to other members

He doesn't look young to me, he looks on the older side due to his topline. As horses age they lose muscle tone, causing a saggy effect in their back. He also has high withers. His top line may fill out with better nutrition, but I think it would be reasonable to expect some difficulty fitting a saddle.

Trimming his feet properly is going to take longer than one visit. As overgrown as they are he will likely be tender-footed, and a good farrier will not want to take too much off in one go. His heel on his right fore is significantly lower than the heel on his right. It will take corrective trimming to even them out, and again he may not be sound for a while as he readjusts. Any good farrier will be able to recognise laminitis.

I would describe him as a sorrel not a chestnut. Typically the distinction between the two is the darkness of the color; a chestnut is more of a dark reddish chocolate/liver color.

I would regard him as a pasture pet, with the possibility in time that he may be ridden. I think it would be overly optimistic to expect that he will be a beginner-friendly horse. He may turn out to be perfect, it's just that the odds probably aren't in your favor. As someone else mentioned, sometimes when hungry horses regain condition they will also regain spunkiness.

 

[annanicole18]

See and I didn't think he was too old because he hasn't got the sunken above the eyes like many older horses get when they aren't getting proper feed. I know it can happen in young ones too but it seems like it happens in the older ones with body conditions borderline what he is weight wise.

 

[bantamamba]

I tend to think his poor topline is more due to lack of proper nutrition and excersise than age. "Saggy" backs are often a genetic issue that can be worsened through outside forces, and I've seen 20 year-old+ horses with excellent toplines. Due to his withers and confo, no matter his age I don't think this boy will ever have the world's strongest back, but who knows. It takes a bit of skilled riding in order to get a horse to use himself correctly and build up those muscles, but at this point I think he is going to look 100% better no matter what she ends up doing with him.