I’m looking at a buying a 2 old paint gelding that’s 16h right now and he is eating alot food 4 scoops of grain a day, dac oil and free choice hay. I know he is growing but does that mean he will probley be a hard keeper his whole life, I have had so many hard keepers that i dont want another one
My horse was @ 16 hands at two and finished up a bit over 17 hands. He certainly ate more as a two year old than he does now as an adult.
I think I would want more info regarding what kind of grain and hay before making a guess.
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He gets free choice fescue orchard mix hay, 4 scoops of triumph select pelleted horse feed,
Brief google search tells me that Triumph Select Pellets are meant for mature horses, which the 2 year old isn’t, and that it’s a 6% fat feed. I’d be feeding a higher percent fat feed at a lower amount per day if I was in charge of his diet.
I don’t think orchard / fescue is a terribly high calorie hay (compared to alfalfa or peanut).
Based on that, I wouldn’t necessarily peg this horse as destined to be a hard keeper but at the same time he probably isn’t going to be an air fern either.
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I really think it has to do with the feed he is currently getting. My young gelding was getting 4 pounds( daily 2 feedings) of Impact mare & foal and got too heavy. We did have grass then and that certainly came into play as well.
So I switched him gradually to 2 pound RB along with it and then just 3 pounds of the RB and despite our good grass / clover mix hay he wasn’t thin but just lost his bloom.
I have him on Strategy Healthy Edge only now , 4 pounds daily and he is looking fantastic. I weigh my feed by using a hanging scale with a walmart bag attached and using a 1 cup measure, I can know for certain he is getting the right amount.
This will probably change when the grass is here and we will adjust.
All that to say that the right feed ( hay and bagged if needed) can make all the difference. If your guy is 16 hands at 2 years he is doing some serious growing and probably just needs a feed overhaul.
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I have never found feeding needs at 2 reflective of life long needs. At two, they are going through major growth spurts. I find that geldings can take until they are 6-7 if not later to fully mature and fill out.
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A “scoop” can mean different things to different people, it’s a very subjective term to use. Instead, be precise - how much feed by weight or volume is your horse being fed?
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A 2yo still has 3-5 years of growing left, between height and width and basic adult musculature
They can be like teenage boys - bottomless pits
That Triumph isn’t suitable for a 2yo anyway.
what size scoops? If 3qt, and it’s taking 12qt of that feed on top of free choice hay to maintain good weight, I’d question the quality of the hay
My 2yo WB was lean lean on, I think (it was a long time ago) a few pounds of a feed. Once mature, it took a lot of physical work to keep him from being overweight
That was my opinion as well.
