# big bellies on yearling filly



## shadowpaints (Aug 13, 2011)

i have a year old filly, GIGI, she is small, around 28 inches tall right now, she has a HUGE GUT! i cant get it to go away. right now, we are free longeing her 2 times a day for about 15-20 minutes a day. She is getting good quality alfalfa hay, also she is getting 2 cups of alfalfa pellets, 4 cups (about 2lb) of miniature horse feed and 2 cups of beet pulp soaked. she has been wormed, 2 weeks ago we wormed her with ivermectin.

is there anything im not missing? is it possible at all to get the gut down for a show that is here locally the first week of september? here is a pic of her from 2 weeks ago.. i just dont know what im missing, should i work her more? she is trotting 5 rounds, and cantering 3 when i free longe her.. gah im frustrated, but dont want to show her with the huge gut!


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## lucky lodge (Aug 14, 2011)

I dont no but ive heard more protein in there diet ...will be interesting to see what everyone else say's

cause mine have the big fat bellys to...


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## Marty (Aug 14, 2011)

OK that is way too big and the way she has that belly looks to me like she's pregnant. Are you possitive she is a only a yearling? Any chance?

Ok, then if there is no way, I think she is getting too much alfalfa so I'd remove the pellets. I also would not be exercising her either twice a day because its too hot and I don't like to see these youngsters lunged and forced on a radius anyhow. That is a lot of grass out there and if she is on a lot of that grass, that could be why and there is no way in a couple weeks time you are going to get rid of that belly.

Oh heck I really think she looks pregnant.


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## lucky lodge (Aug 14, 2011)

I thought the same thing she does look prego


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## shadowpaints (Aug 14, 2011)

she is really a yearling LOL she was born here in my barn last year. she was only in with the boys till weaned , she was 5 months old. the only thing different i can think of is that her mom somehow burst a milk vein in her udder and we had to bottle feed her goats milk for a few weeks till her mom healed. her mom took her back and got her milk back in just fine.

i have poked and prodded her belly a TON but nothing has ever moved.. lol i thought it was weird her belly being so big. what else could i add to her diet to get the belly down?


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## shadowpaints (Aug 14, 2011)

Marty said:


> OK that is way too big and the way she has that belly looks to me like she's pregnant. Are you possitive she is a only a yearling? Any chance?
> 
> Ok, then if there is no way, I think she is getting too much alfalfa so I'd remove the pellets. I also would not be exercising her either twice a day because its too hot and I don't like to see these youngsters lunged and forced on a radius anyhow. That is a lot of grass out there and if she is on a lot of that grass, that could be why and there is no way in a couple weeks time you are going to get rid of that belly.
> 
> Oh heck I really think she looks pregnant.



oki can stop the alfalfa pellets, its not too hot here, we do it at 8 am and at 8pm when its cooler. if it helps any, the colt that was born right after her last year also has a bit of a belly but not as bad as hers.

Gigi has a great topline, and is not ribby at all. the loungeing was only to try to help the belly.. we dont have any pasture here, just dry lot. im seriously wondering whats going on here the only boys she was ever around was the 2colts that were born the same year as her (2010) the stallions are never in with the mares and foals as we only hand breed...

her belly is a bit better i think, i dunno, ill get a new pic of her tomorrow.


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## Sandy B (Aug 14, 2011)

A couple things. You may want to take a fecal sample in to the vet and run for parasites, or just do a dose of Ivermectrin and another in 2 weeks. I also think you might be feeding her too much. Are you weighing your hay? She should be getting about 2% of her body weight a day. I would get her on a good quality grass hay or grass/alfalfa hay and the Purina Mini Horse feed. That should be all you need. I have heard from several people that pellets can sometimes make bellies, but I do not think that you are feeding her enough to do that. However, you would be suprised on how much a couple of cups of pellets weigh. If she weighs say 150 pounds she should be getting only 3 pounds of hay a day. A luggage or fish scale is fantastic for weighing hay and feed. I would be careful about too much longing in a circle too. It is not good for youngsters to be worked in circles that often due to growing bones. If you can use a golf cart or 4 wheeler to "pony" her it would be better.


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## Marty (Aug 14, 2011)

When was the last time you actually know she was in heat?


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## shadowpaints (Aug 14, 2011)

i have actually never seen her in heat, i dont tease the yearlings. She is In a pen with 2 other fillies and a mare, i havent been weighing her hay,since she is in with others.i just weigh out enough for the 3 . not sure on how much hay she is getting... she she has been getting the alfalfa pellets just for the last week. she came through the winter a bit thin and i have been feeding her up, she just barely got to the point of not being ribby last month.

ill go ahead and stop feeding the alfalfa pellets, maybe that will help. im really hoping i can get the belly off of her. ill take a poop sample to the vet on monday and see what her worm load is..

ill also shave her again and take better pics tomorrow


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## JAX (Aug 14, 2011)

Is she a water hoarder? If your not sure then do you notice that her stall is wetter than your other horses for the amount of time they are in? A friends filly looked like that and was hoarding water...

my colt looking like that...



was eating poo





Of course I would definately check for parasites first just in case.


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## 2minis4us (Aug 14, 2011)

For yearlings my advice is Timothy or Orchard grass hay, Equine Jr. and Daily Pelleted Wormer. Dose for her weight.

Ivermectin once a month 'til she loses the belly.


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## [email protected] (Aug 14, 2011)

You mentioned she came out of winter a bit thin, so did she NOT have a belly then?

In all honesty she does look pregnant. But it could be the angle. Mini foals/yearlings on too low protein get that big gut - think starving kids in Africa.

I would go down the list:

Parasite check/deworm (fecal count can performed by the vet)

Treat for sand (Sand blast, pysillium 3-5 days)

Adjust her feed. Up the protein.

Have the vet ultrasound - just in case there isn't something going on

Yearlings require a high protein diet. Most of the Mini and Horse feeds are very similar (read the tags or research online), but hay quality and pellets can vary.

You can ask 20 people and you'll get 20 opinions on what to feed. The best plan if you want to feed supplements, hay, pellets is to calculate the overall protein/nutrition levels from all sources and know what the requirements are for your specific horse by having an accurate current weight on your horse and ideal weight (vet scale not the tapes).

We feed straight alfalfa (they're on pasture - pretty scubby right now as you can see) and do not have big belly problems.

These are ours out in the field. They are not worked at all, except for their playing.


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## shadowpaints (Aug 14, 2011)

she did come out of the winter thin, i did not notice the belly then. she was at a friends most of the winter, and when i brought them home they were thinner than i like them, but not bad. ill get more pics today, maybe its getting better and im not seeing it lol


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## Minimor (Aug 14, 2011)

For those saying to cut back on alfalfa/pellets...I don't see that belly being a result of alfalfa. I know that there are those of you who believe that alfalfa is nothing but EVIL, especially for Miniatures, but I have never seen alfalfa put a big belly on a horse--yes, it can make a horse fat, even obese, but even then the horse doesn't have a disproportionately large belly. A horse that is fat as a result of too much alfalfa (or too much grain, whatever) will be fat all over--very round over the topline, perhaps a trough down the back, ribs that cannot be felt at all because of the thick layer of fat that covers them, cresty neck.

From the photo in the first post this filly does not appear to be packing that kind of fat. Can't say for sure without being there to feel the filly's condition, but she simply does not look that round 'everywhere'. What she looks (to me) is overall unthrifty--maybe it's just that she has rolled and is dirty, but it looks like she has a rough coat, longer than it should be for this time of year. I have to question--just how long is the hair on her belly? If she isn't sleek coated, longer hair on her belly will add to her pot bellied appearance.

She looks to me like a filly that has been much too thin and while she has now put on some weight it isn't enough yet to make her lose that pot belly and rough appearance. I question just how much 'padding' she has over her topline (because a horse can still be somewhat thin & it doesn't show up in photos)--is her back rounded, or does she have an obvious backbone? When you run a hand over her ribs, what do you feel? Obvious ribs without any pressure? Or do you have to press a bit to feel ribs?

I personally would not say to reduce any feed until I had a better knowledge of this filly's true condition. I would add some brewers yeast to her grain (or put her on a feed that contains brewers yeast. As I've said before I am not familiar with the miniature horse feed (is this the new one that people have been talking about, or the original one that came out a couple? years ago? (is that one even still on the market?) but I'm not one to believe that one feed is ever suitable for every horse and I question how suitable this mini feed is for the young horses, particularly those that have been in less than ideal condition and need some feeding up to be at their ideal weight. Brewers yeast is a great digestion aid and I've seen it reduce a big belly in just a couple of weeks.


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## Marty (Aug 14, 2011)

Hey Minimor just wanted to clarify I'm not saying that alfalfa is putting on the pounds necessarily. Just saying that alfalfa hay + alfalfa pellets and in the food is a lot of alfalfa. That's all.





I've had fillies get bellies but not hanging down like that one. They usually go more "out in width" like they ate a basketball. Still have to wonder over at the friends house if there was a stud colt involved.


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## shadowpaints (Aug 14, 2011)

Minimor said:


> For those saying to cut back on alfalfa/pellets...I don't see that belly being a result of alfalfa. I know that there are those of you who believe that alfalfa is nothing but EVIL, especially for Miniatures, but I have never seen alfalfa put a big belly on a horse--yes, it can make a horse fat, even obese, but even then the horse doesn't have a disproportionately large belly. A horse that is fat as a result of too much alfalfa (or too much grain, whatever) will be fat all over--very round over the topline, perhaps a trough down the back, ribs that cannot be felt at all because of the thick layer of fat that covers them, cresty neck.
> 
> From the photo in the first post this filly does not appear to be packing that kind of fat. Can't say for sure without being there to feel the filly's condition, but she simply does not look that round 'everywhere'. What she looks (to me) is overall unthrifty--maybe it's just that she has rolled and is dirty, but it looks like she has a rough coat, longer than it should be for this time of year. I have to question--just how long is the hair on her belly? If she isn't sleek coated, longer hair on her belly will add to her pot bellied appearance.
> 
> ...


many of our minis dont slick out, they have what i would call a 'thick' summer coat. so we generelly shave them multibpule times in the summer. gigis hair is about the same length all over her body.she is also a bit dirty lol just pulled her out of a muddy dry lot lol. her back bone and rear are rounded, and other than the belly i think she is darn near the perfect weight. to give everyone a better idea on her condition ill take multiple pics of her today to show her condition. i dont think she is fat IMO her topline is good, i do think she could use a little more padding over her ribs, but she isnt bad. i tried my best to get the weight back on her slow. and other than the belly she looks great.


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## shadowpaints (Aug 14, 2011)

the 2 stud colts were seperated from the time that i weaned her so if she was pregnant that would mean she would have to have been bred before that. the colts were not at my friends. so unless there was a rouge stallion, lol i doubt she is pregnant lol


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## wingnut (Aug 14, 2011)

I'm sure I'm not the first to say it but: PROTEIN, PROTEIN, PROTEIN! Even though the miniature feed has 13.5% protein, I kept my girls on Omolene 300 with 16% protein. The one time I didn't adjust their feed to match their growth rate, they got that belly. As soon as I bumped them up to their proper feed portion, that belly was gone within a week.

And then the other issue could be worms.


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## valshingle (Aug 14, 2011)

I really don't think this filly is pregnant. She would have to been bred at a very young age to have a pregnant belly that large.


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## Sandy B (Aug 14, 2011)

[email protected] said:


> You mentioned she came out of winter a bit thin, so did she NOT have a belly then?
> 
> In all honesty she does look pregnant. But it could be the angle. Mini foals/yearlings on too low protein get that big gut - think starving kids in Africa.
> 
> ...



Right on Michelle! I agree with what you are saying. Your check list is right one. Although I do not feed alfalfa to my minis, there are lots of people that do. My large horses get alfalfa and grass hay, the minis do excellent on grass hay and Purian Mini Horse feed.

I do not think that this filly is pregnant though. The chances of being bred and becoming prgnant as a yearling are slim and the owner of this filly says there is no chance. It could be that as she mentioned she was thin and now eating well and has that pot belly un-thrifty look. I would tend to treat her with a Power Pac of wormer followed up by Ivermectrin or do Ivermectrin doses 2-3 weeks apart. I would continue on the alfalfa and then add some grass hay in to her diet and I would continue the Purinia Mini Horse feed. I would also start a daily probiotic. I would not exercize her twice a day either. Once is sufficient. After 30 days, if she did not look better, I would have her evaluated by a vet.


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## shadowpaints (Aug 14, 2011)

ok so last night, i put gigi in the barn for the night, something i dont usually do. no hay, just 2 cups of alfalfa pellets,2 cups of mini horse feed and a cup of beet pulp. her belly is darn near GONE im not kidding. the pic in the first post is from 2 weeks ago and her belly was bigger than that yesterday. THIS is what she looks like today!

















<a href="http://s801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Shadowpaints/?action=view&current=011.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Shadowpaints/011.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

yesterday her belly darn near hung to her knees, and was as wide as my mare that is 6 months pregnant! look at her now!! amazing.. guess no more hay for her till after fair!


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## Jill (Aug 14, 2011)

She doesn't look as bad as I thought possibly from the title, and I have not read through to see everyone's responses... the things I think can cause a large belly on a young horse are:


Improper / insufficient de-worming
Feeding a hay that is too coarse (really, I think this is often the biggest culprit)
Feeding too little protein

For our young horses, and all our minis, I am very careful to feed only "soft" leafy hay. Nothing at all coarse as I think they have a hard time digesting coarse feed and hay. Big bellies are the least serious problem that can cause. You can also use soaked hay cubes for the hay sourse with very nice results. For a concentrate, we feed young horses either a junior or senior complete pellet. We've had good luck with this type of simple program... and of course, proper de-worming.

Good luck!


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## chandab (Aug 14, 2011)

shadowpaints said:


> ok so last night, i put gigi in the barn for the night, something i dont usually do. no hay, just 2 cups of alfalfa pellets,2 cups of mini horse feed and a cup of beet pulp. her belly is darn near GONE im not kidding. the pic in the first post is from 2 weeks ago and her belly was bigger than that yesterday. THIS is what she looks like today!
> 
> ! look at her now!! amazing.. guess no more hay for her till after fair!


While reducing her hay intake was probably in order; even for a wee yearling such as her, I don't know that 5 cups of feed 2x daily will be enough for her. If you have a TSC nearby, check out the Lucerne Farms High Fiber, its a bagged chopped hay product (alfafa, grass and oat hay mix), it would give her the fiber she needs for digestive health, but in a more digestible form than the baled hay (and you could more accurately add the appropriate amount to her daily diet). [i'm currently using it for my senior stallion, he looks great on it, and now that he's had his teeth done, he's enjoying it more than ever.]


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## shadowpaints (Aug 14, 2011)

unfortunatly we dont have a TSC here closest one is in boise, a 5 hour drive. i bought a scale today, and will be weighing all her feed making sure she gets plenty, plus a bit more prolly


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## chandab (Aug 14, 2011)

shadowpaints said:


> unfortunatly we dont have a TSC here closest one is in boise, a 5 hour drive. i bought a scale today, and will be weighing all her feed making sure she gets plenty, plus a bit more prolly


if you have a triple crown dealer nearby, you might be able to get the TC grass forage product (chopped timothy/orchardgrass mix - its nice and soft), they also have an alfalfa product too. Or, other similar product from your local dealer of other brands. I like the chopped hay, as it doesn't have to be soaked like cubes.


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## Minimor (Aug 14, 2011)

What is your hay like? Is it fine, soft & leafy, or is it quite coarse & stalky?


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## shadowpaints (Aug 14, 2011)

its pretty leafy, but odd thing is, they eat the stems and leave the leaves! LOL silly horses


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## cretahillsgal (Aug 14, 2011)

Her topline seems nicely filled in from what I can tell from the pictures. So I would assume from everything that you have said that the belly is coming from eating grass hay. Especially since they are eating the stems first.


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## shadowpaints (Aug 14, 2011)

cretahillsgal said:


> Her topline seems nicely filled in from what I can tell from the pictures. So I would assume from everything that you have said that the belly is coming from eating grass hay. Especially since they are eating the stems first.


no, i only feed alfalfa hay. its extremly hard to find GOOD grass hay here and reliable hay so i feed 2nd crop alfalfa hay.


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## minisch (Aug 14, 2011)

So honestly looks unthrifty, why does she still have some of her winter coat? I don't know the protein of this mini horse feed, but she should be getting at least 14 percent. She is dry lotted? that worries me, babies and yearlings should be on grass or they will eat anything, including sand, dirt. I would definately Sandblast her, fecal, 5 day panacur treatment. Do not stop the alfalfa pellets. That bloated belly is usually not enough feed/protein or sand. The exercise is good for her too


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## shadowpaints (Aug 14, 2011)

minisch said:


> So honestly looks unthrifty, why does she still have some of her winter coat? I don't know the protein of this mini horse feed, but she should be getting at least 14 percent. She is dry lotted? that worries me, babies and yearlings should be on grass or they will eat anything, including sand, dirt. I would definately Sandblast her, fecal, 5 day panacur treatment. Do not stop the alfalfa pellets. That bloated belly is usually not enough feed/protein or sand. The exercise is good for her too


as i have said before many of my minis dont shed like a big horse, they have what i call a 'thick' summer coat. they have to be clipped and i had not clipped her in over 3 months.

Yes, she is on a dry lot, as are all my minis included foals and the stallions. we do not have pasture, we feed good quality 2nd crop alfalfa hay year round, the ones that are still growing get extra hay and grain.

have you looked at the second p ic i posted on PG 3 she looks better after being withdrawn from hay 1 night, and only getting alfafla pellets mini horse feed and beet pulp. she isnt under weight either, not fat but certinatly not under weight.

also we dont live in a sandy area. the dry lots are hard packed, i dont feel its sand.ill keep her off the hay for a few days and take another pic and show it.


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## minisch (Aug 14, 2011)

shadowpaints said:


> as i have said before many of my minis dont shed like a big horse, they have what i call a 'thick' summer coat. they have to be clipped and i had not clipped her in over 3 months.
> 
> Yes, she is on a dry lot, as are all my minis included foals and the stallions. we do not have pasture, we feed good quality 2nd crop alfalfa hay year round, the ones that are still growing get extra hay and grain.
> 
> ...



I'm sorry, no I didn't look at the pg 3 pics, she does look better. I'm no rookie at this 30 years experience. sorry to be blunt, Guess I won't give any more advise


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## shadowpaints (Aug 15, 2011)

i didnt mean that i didnt appreciate your advice, just that i had already posted the info.. most of it in the first post


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## Sandy B (Aug 15, 2011)

cretahillsgal said:


> Her topline seems nicely filled in from what I can tell from the pictures. So I would assume from everything that you have said that the belly is coming from eating grass hay. Especially since they are eating the stems first.



Why do you think that grass hay causes hay bellies? I have fed Grass hay to both full sized performance horses and broodmares for 20 years and miniature horses for 3 years and have never had a hay belly. I have fed both orchard and meadow grass hay. My full sized horses do get alfalfa once a day, but the minis only get the grass. They ALL look amazing.


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## shadowpaints (Aug 15, 2011)

Sandy B said:


> Why do you think that grass hay causes hay bellies? I have fed Grass hay to both full sized performance horses and broodmares for 20 years and miniature horses for 3 years and have never had a hay belly. I have fed both orchard and meadow grass hay. My full sized horses do get alfalfa once a day, but the minis only get the grass. They ALL look amazing.


in my experiance, low quality grass hay does cause bellies, which is why we dont feed grass here, as all the grass hay here is not very good. we dont have good grass hay.

i used to feed grass hay to my big horses and never had a problem.. i think that some grass hay is worse than others but not sure.


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## Sandy B (Aug 15, 2011)

shadowpaints said:


> in my experiance, low quality grass hay does cause bellies, which is why we dont feed grass here, as all the grass hay here is not very good. we dont have good grass hay.
> 
> i used to feed grass hay to my big horses and never had a problem.. i think that some grass hay is worse than others but not sure.



Any poor quality hay- alfalfa or grass, will cause un-thrifty looking horses. All types of hay has to be cut and dried and baled all at the right time or the hay loses its protein and nutrients. There is more to a science in cutting and baling hay then we all relaize. I only buy tested hay that meets horse standards. Here is California, I guess we are just lucky, but we do pay extremely high prices. Our hay prices are over double what we were paying last year at this time.


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## JMS Miniatures (Aug 15, 2011)

Is that the hay they are getting or is it straw?

I'm sorry but the coat does bother me especially if all your herd is like that. I would defintelly get a fecal sample and send it to the vet. Another thing is the mini feed may just not be enough protein for her. Like they say it won't work for all. Even tho I have success with it you may need to try something different. I haven't tried it on any jr horses or broodmares I know some say they have done well but I don't think it will work for everybody.

If I was in your shoes I would do the fecal sample, if hay is too scarce in your area keep her on the pellets or put her on cubes, and if thats the hay they are getting in the pics I would defintelly stop giving it, and I would switch to Equine Jr. I would also ask your vet about sand in their gut especially if they are dry lotted.


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## cretahillsgal (Aug 15, 2011)

Sandy B said:


> Why do you think that grass hay causes hay bellies? I have fed Grass hay to both full sized performance horses and broodmares for 20 years and miniature horses for 3 years and have never had a hay belly. I have fed both orchard and meadow grass hay. My full sized horses do get alfalfa once a day, but the minis only get the grass. They ALL look amazing.


Guess its not just that it is grass hay, but stemmy or coarse grass hay. The hay in my area is like this. Its not fine and soft like you would want to see. If I feed my horses hay free choice, they will have a bigger belly on them. Especially the foals. I have to reduce the ammount of hay I feed to my babies or they get like this. I have tried to add good aflalfa, but I have to be extra cautious for blister beetles in my area too. For me the best way to feed babies here is a complete feed like Purina Jr.


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## shadowpaints (Aug 15, 2011)

JMS Miniatures said:


> Is that the hay they are getting or is it straw?
> 
> I'm sorry but the coat does bother me especially if all your herd is like that. I would defintelly get a fecal sample and send it to the vet. Another thing is the mini feed may just not be enough protein for her. Like they say it won't work for all. Even tho I have success with it you may need to try something different. I haven't tried it on any jr horses or broodmares I know some say they have done well but I don't think it will work for everybody.
> 
> If I was in your shoes I would do the fecal sample, if hay is too scarce in your area keep her on the pellets or put her on cubes, and if thats the hay they are getting in the pics I would defintelly stop giving it, and I would switch to Equine Jr. I would also ask your vet about sand in their gut especially if they are dry lotted.


That is last years straw.we just used that as a back round as we had a lot of things going on that day and didnt want the backround to be too full of people. i pay 180 a ton for 2nd crop alfalfa hay.its the best hay with in 50 miles. even my goats get that alfalfa hay. we do fecal samples 3 times a year and worm accordingly. i have 4-5 minis that dont slick out like a big horse, and yes they are perfectly healthy. i did ask about sand in their guts, but he said he wouldnt be worried about it as we are not in a sandy area.her belly is even down more today. still has not gotten any hay, just alfalfa pellets, beet pulp and mini horse feed. ill have to wait till next pay day to try the junior its around 25 a bag here.


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## hersheesmom (Aug 15, 2011)

My yearlings were always heavy eaters to keep them in show shape. 32 oz high protein, high fat feed plus a cup of beet pulp and 1/4 cup ground flax took bellies off and put meat on shoulders, hips and spine. Also 1/2 small pad of hay and VERY limited grass time. Sometimes you need to add fat and food to put the weight on around the belly to even out things.


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