Fit horse, still a bit ribby? - OP updated with pic, also post #48

[runNjump86]

My big guy has always had a tendency to be a bit ribby, especially up high. My trainer likes to see horses a bit on the chunky side, but I do not. My concern is that if he is heavier, since he’s already big (17h, thick bone for a TB) and has a low heel on his RF, that extra weight will eventually lead to soundness issues.

This does NOT mean I want him thin. He’s not as fit now as he was earlier this year, but not many horses are! :lol: When he’s using himself and his back is lifted, he looks pretty darn fantastic. However, he still has ribs showing. I’m almost afraid to clip him because I’m worried I’ll hear how “skinny” he is (compared to the fat WB’s). I’d probably rank him a 4 or 5 on a body scale score. I don’t have any recent pictures, but will do my best to get some tomorrow.

HERE he is. Not the best picture, and the slight rib sheen has either hidden under the extra hair or the extra hay he got last week, lol. He is NOT as fit as I want him to be…let’s be clear on that. I obviously need to strengthen his hind end and build up his topline a lot more. Just looking for opinions.

[Laurierace]

Opinions on what?

[islgrl]

My vet has said she expects to, and wants to see some rib on TB’s. NOT skinny by any stretch, but the ribs should be visible.

[EventerAJ]

Clip him.

I had a ribby, skinny young TB that I was scared to see what was under the winter hair…and it was no big deal. He actually looked better clipped; the long hair accentuated his ribs. When clipped, he looked more muscular and fit rather than thin.

If you need to clip to make him comfortable, don’t let appearances bother you. Keep him fed and healthy and listen to a good vet’s advice.

[kcmel]

I always liked to see my 17 hand, not very sound tb a little ribby. Extra weight was the last thing he needed!

[yellowbritches]

Hmmm…I don’t mind a little ribs on a good, fit prelim/one star horse and on up, but if they can’t cover their ribs before that, they’re going to be REALLY skinny at that level. I do get, however, that some horses, especially big, rangy TB types, just don’t cover them well. A picture would help.

FWIW, I finally found the key to getting and keeping weight on Toby, so I aim for a wee bit “plump” (for Toby) year round (the vet approves of this), so that when and if we ever can gallop for a three day, he has some reserves to burn off.

[Vesper_Sparrow]

I’m so happy to see a hint of ribs on my easy-keeping, big barrelled, wide-shouldered TB. Which is easier to achieve in winter because they go out only part of the day and don’t get hay outside. He “manages” the hay the rest of the year and makes sure he gets plenty of it.

No one would ever accuse him of being “weedy”.

[Cameraine]

My now retired OTTB mare who has been doing nothing for the last year but eating and lounging is still a bit ribby. I’ve tried everything under the sun with her, even when I was riding her several times a week and she was getting twice the grain she is now she was still ribby. Some of them just are, and you have to let go of that hunter princess OMG ribs! voice in your head.

[Vermilion]

I was always told, when it came to animals in general, that ribs should be seen–not felt.

My interpretation of this was always, if you can see them because of musculature, great. If you see them because there’s nothing but skin covering them, it’s not so optimal.

On that note though, a little too skinny is typically considered healthier than a little too fat.

[Erin_Pittman]

[QUOTE=Vermilion;7303511]
I was always told, when it came to animals in general, that ribs should be seen–not felt.[/QUOTE]

I think you got that backwards…they should be felt but not seen
I prefer them to not be seen, but also to not have too much extra meat on them - e.g. no valley on the topline or extra fat around the tailhead, ribs easily felt without lots of digging around.

Like the mare in this picture: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151416823741621&set=pb.82669431620.-2207520000.1386700324.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-ash2%2F1009336_10151416823741621_245839497_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash3%2F1013091_10151416823741621_245839497_n.jpg&size=2048%2C1606 (no visible ribs, but no extra fat on tailhead, around withers or neck, smooth topline).

[Carried_Away]

Also depends on how the ribs are “sprung” - they way some horses are put together makes them more visible than others. Picture to share?

[netg]

My (16.3 TB) gelding was probably the heaviest he had ever been a few weeks ago. You could still see his ribs. Since then he has decided to gallop a few miles a day in his pen on top of ridden work, so he’s thinner again. But yes, for some horses ribs are simply going to show.

I aim for a balance where my gelding has enough weight to have reserves for building strength for dressage work. He tends toward thinner on his own, so it takes work and a large variety to get him to eat enough calories - even with the good stuff, it’s as if he gets bored. When we get extra weight on him he immediately gets stronger and finds all his work easier - and starts running off the weight, since he’s out 24/7 and can choose to do so. :lol:

[Vermilion]

d’Oh! You’re right! derp

I have seen horses in good weight that have some very well developed muscles over the ribs. You can see “ribs”, but they are very fleshy when you touch them and this appearance shows up in the muscling almost directly behind the shoulder. It was like they couldn’t lose the racing-fit condition (and I suspect maybe gelded later in life). I hope that makes sense.

For me, it depends on what the ribs feel like, but I can’t stand to see them on my own critters. If they can been seen, then they shouldn’t feel like you’re using a washboard when you touch them…that’s what I meant. But yes, “felt–not seen” is how the expression goes, as a rule of thumb…I bird-brained that one!

[QUOTE=Erin Pittman;7303621]
I think you got that backwards…they should be felt but not seen
I prefer them to not be seen, but also to not have too much extra meat on them - e.g. no valley on the topline or extra fat around the tailhead, ribs easily felt without lots of digging around.

Like the mare in this picture: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151416823741621&set=pb.82669431620.-2207520000.1386700324.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-ash2%2F1009336_10151416823741621_245839497_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash3%2F1013091_10151416823741621_245839497_n.jpg&size=2048%2C1606 (no visible ribs, but no extra fat on tailhead, around withers or neck, smooth topline).[/QUOTE]

[Desert_Topaz]

The Henneke BCS system was created around the bodies of QHs. It doesn’t take into account conformational differences between breeds. TBs do tend to show their ribs more than other breeds and doesn’t necessarily mean what it would in others.

I can always see my TB/QH mare’s ribs, even when her butt has a crease in it. She’s just built that way. Sounds like yours is similar. You have to take your horse’s conformation into consideration when determining thinness. Plus, I think it’s better to have your horse on the thin side as opposed to the thick: lots of problems happen in horses that are too heavy when I can’t think of any that apply to horses that are what most people would consider a bit thin.

[purplnurpl]

[QUOTE=Erin Pittman;7303621]
I think you got that backwards…they should be felt but not seen
I prefer them to not be seen, but also to not have too much extra meat on them - e.g. no valley on the topline or extra fat around the tailhead, ribs easily felt without lots of digging around.

Like the mare in this picture: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151416823741621&set=pb.82669431620.-2207520000.1386700324.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-ash2%2F1009336_10151416823741621_245839497_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash3%2F1013091_10151416823741621_245839497_n.jpg&size=2048%2C1606 (no visible ribs, but no extra fat on tailhead, around withers or neck, smooth topline).[/QUOTE]

thank you Erin.
This is the way horses should look.

IMO the majority of folks keep their horses too skinny. Even the upper level horses.
I give this opinion according to the horses I come into contact with when I body clip. I body clip all shapes and sizes of all disciplines at all levels.

Don’t look at the ribs…look at the hip of the horse pictured. It’s round. That’s muscle through the lower back and loin. That is how a sport horse should be maintained.

I can’t tell you–how 90% of the horses I clip are so hard to clip because of the sharp points. Mostly in the shoulder, wither, back and *hip.

Most of the horses have no top lines. Even the upper level horses for any dicipline.

The answer is more calories. More protein. and better working habits.
I can guarantee that if a nutrition analysis was done on everyone’s horse’s daily feeding most of them would come up short. I notice this especially when I talk to my friends about what they feed their horses.

A very fit horse does not have to show bones to prove it’s fitness.
but–
And unlike the soft pillowy sunshine covered discussions we have concerning rider fitness–a fat horse is not fit.

Not showing bone does not make a horse fat.

[Laurierace]

I agree with Erin completely. I didn’t want to ever see a rib on one of my horses except maybe in the test barn immediately following a race. Any other time means I didn’t do my job as their trainer.

[purplnurpl]

fit upper level eventers.
none have ribs showing…

http://eventhorse.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/what-does-a-fit-horse-look-like/

[yellowbritches]

Yep. Toby looks like Erin’s mare. No sharp edges. He looks round. He’s hard a s a rock, though.

[runNjump86]

Ok thanks all. I wasn’t able to get pictures today, it was dark by the time I had help and a picture of him loafing in his corral eating hay this morning wouldn’t have been helpful!!!

Even when he was a bit heavier at my trainer’s, he had high ribs showing. He does need to build topline and develop more muscle, and that is something we’re going to spend most of the winter working on. I now have access to real trails, with HILLS! I’ll ask my vet next time I see her just to be sure, but she tends to like horses a little chunky as well.

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=EventerAJ;7302874]
Clip him.

I had a ribby, skinny young TB that I was scared to see what was under the winter hair…and it was no big deal. He actually looked better clipped; the long hair accentuated his ribs. When clipped, he looked more muscular and fit rather than thin.

If you need to clip to make him comfortable, don’t let appearances bother you. Keep him fed and healthy and listen to a good vet’s advice.[/QUOTE]

On the other hand, if you clip and he is burning calories to stay warm…