Pot Bellied Gelding

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MelodyPond

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Hudson, FL
I have a gelding that looks like hes about to drop twins. When I bought him he was thin and had poor muscling with a pot belly. Ive had him for about 8 months now and his muscling and condition has greatly improved but he still has a huge belly. His is only big in his belly. He has been dewormed, teeth done, gets hay in his slow feed net, dry lot pasture, and has been getting sand clear daily for the last 2 weeks and no improvement in belly. He gets 1c Grow N Win 2x/day in addition to his hay.

He is driven at least 2-3x/week.

Vet looked at him and said she doesnt think theres anything wrong with him, said I could do a CBC if I was really worried but she didnt see a reason for it.

Any suggestions? My other 2 minis look great, same diet.
 
Hi! can I ask please what size he is? Also what kind of hay and how much?
 
Is his hay net always full or is there a certain amount that he gets per day? Hows his topline? If he's nice and flat on the topline (meaning spine isn't above the sides) and his ribs are just able to be felt then he's carrying enough weight. If his topline is lacking and his shoulder, wither, and tail head are prominent or easily felt then he needs more to eat. In my opinion nothing puts on a topline like beet pulp.

Since he was very thin with no muscle tone it does take quite a while to get back optimum. When a horse lacks muscle tone, especially along its topline, it loses the strength to support the lower belly so you'll see that hay belly.

Were his teeth in bad shape? and how was he wormed? Is his coat healthy looking? Sorry so many questions but my wheels are spinning in my mind trying to find something that may help. One more...what weight did the Vet get him at?
 
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The vet estimated him around 275-300#

Dentist said his teeth were in good shape and had minimal things to do for his float (my mini mare on the other hand has somewhat wacky teeth). I make sure for the most part they have free choice hay all the time in slow feed bags. Its all sand here so I dont want him to get bored and start rooting around in the sand too much.

When I got him 8 months ago his neck was upside down and had some hip and spine prominence (mostly just poor muscling) now his neck and top line is looking very good. I think hes somewhat bloated because some days its hard to feel his ribs and other days theyre right there. He isnt carrying fat anywhere else on his body- just fat belly.

Coat looks good, he is clipped so it is what it is but he has a nice shine even though hes clipped and thick healthy mane and tail.

Vet did a fecal count and recommended Zimectrin Gold
 
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Usually a pot belly is from lack of protein and/or poor conditioning. Sounds like you have all that covered since you're exercising his too. -- Note the look you describe could also be a insulin resistance problem.--

I'm not sure what one cup of Grow n Win weighs, but by getting two cups a day he probably is getting the one half to three quarter pounds per day needed. Since it states it's for easy keepers, which he probably is not, you may need to top dress it with some of their Ultimate Finish for more calories.

Would you happen to have a photo you can post of him?
 
im not really sure how to post pictures on here. I do have Coolstance (high fat and high-ish protein) that I top dress in my other 2 minis feed I could add a bit to his as well,
 
One thing you could do is contact the company that makes the feed you use, they usually always have a representative who will listen and recommend the product that is the best for your horse.
If you can get Purina or Nutrena products, I really like the Purina Senior and the Safe Choice Senior feeds. I have a little mare that I have to be really careful with the starch/sugar. She's doing awesome now on the Safe Choice Senior although she has lost her topline she is looking much better now. I top dress her feed with Remission.
 
Oh the pictures.. you click on More Reply Options on the bottom right then use the Browse button to find your photo and click open.

Once you do that you'll see the name of the photo you chose there next to the browse button so then click on "Attach This File", once you do that you'll see a little thumbnail of the photo there and you click within your reply, where you want the photo to be, then click on "add to post:" and there it'll be. Sounds complicated but it's not.
 
Good information Cayuse! first two ingredients in that are soybeans and soybean meal...well worth looking into, and could very well be causing your intermittant bloat MelodyPond
 
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Another thing to consider would be probiotics. If he was run down when you got him, his gut flora was probably also lacking, so some probiotics to recharge his digestive system might be a good choice.

I know there are better brands, but I still stick with Probios probiotics, as it's readily available pretty much everywhere.
 
I think I did the photo right. This is one of the better ones I can find to show his belly. He doesnt have any fat pads anywhere etc and seems fit everywhere except the belly.

I will definitely look into a balancer without soy! Good thought!
 
He does not look bad at all! Pretty boy actually beautiful and very healthy looking -- hahaha bordering on maybe a little pudgy? I wouldnt worry about that hay belly. Good job bringing him back.
 
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Thank you. Hes been a great little guy to work with! So easy and I found his only known son from before he was gelded last year and hes looking like heck be just as busy when hes old enough to be driven. Here is a photo from when I got him. He looks quite pregnant and the judge at the last show we were at said his belly was overwhelming lol.

24F964A7-42D5-43B3-999F-0C5B7134EA91.jpeg
 
Since he doesn't need anything to fatten him up, what about just putting him on a ration balancer and limited hay? Has he been wormed for tapeworms? Have you done a purge worming with Safeguard?
 
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Since he doesn't need anything to fatten him up, what about just putting him on a ration balancer and limited hay? Has he been wormed for tapeworms? Have you done a purge worming with Safeguard?
Grow N Win is a ration balancer.
 

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