overweight youngstock.......

[perhaps]

with the foal shows up and running, i have to say i cannot get over the amount of overweight youngstock there is on the circuit.......foals that are so fat and cresty it is unreal, and yearlings that look like three year olds....WHY??? for a rosette, what on earth will happen to the ponies joints??? i thought the message was getting through about overweight animals, seems not....am i the only one??

[shadylady]

I agree, i took my foal to a show a few wks ago and the one that won was huge. I have decided not to show mine until next summer as i certainly wont be feeding him up and risking bad joints for a rosette he i one for the future......... i hope...... :-)

[eweneck]

This problem could be solved so quickly if only Judges were to place over-weight animals down and tell the exhibitor why in no uncertain terms.

I judge at all levels and refuse to place an obese horse or pony. It makes my blood boil .......

I assume these youngstock producers intend to sell these unfortunate animals on as four year olds to unsuspecting buyers.

BIG IS NOT BEAUTIFUL

[clampit]

Well said Eweneck, if the judges keep placing them then they will still keep feeding them up for the showring, I have to say i took mare 2 year old filly section D to lots of youngstock shows last winter and she was always the smallest in the ring, weight wise, and every time she was beaten by obese overfed youngstock, the judges would always say to me that she needs more weight on her, I refused to feed her up for the show ring, at the end of the day she was bought for a ridden prospect not a trophie!! I only ever got placed highly at one show, it was an NCPA show and one welsh competitor moaned quite loudly to the judge in front of me that my filly had beaten her and that hers always does well at shows etc etc, well the judge turned round and basically told her that her filly was obese and that mine looked like a genuine 2 year old

[thecremellosociety]

I have placed ponies down that have been to fat at local level, i got the biggest cheer and the loudest complaints when i had a fit nice covered lean pony club pony jumping type as my best conditioned rather than something that rippled as in my opnion was the one in nicest condition, mine is ok covered has a really good neck genenetically as well as in schooling but does tend to tuck up and definatly looks lean against some, but rather fit than fat, dont want to go down the laminitic route again been there with another pony through a different means (hormonal not weight), Mine as a youngsterwas well rounded but never over done, he was a big boy and gelding prior to weaning made him fill out, he had a good diet but was never stuffed, but you do hear horror stories of add lib conditioning mixes etc, Mine always had ad lib quality forgage but always a fibre based feed with very little cereal twice a day as a baby ( alfa and beet). I hope my pony is going to be around for the next 30 years, where do alot of the youngsters go

[superwoman]

i agree big is NOT beautiful we did a welsh show a croft top and my daughter was warming up and there were about 5 huge sec d but were nice. when into the show ring and did the show, when it came 2 placeing we got second and the overweight ones were sent down to the bottom of the line we were so szhocked but really pleased hehe ; )

[foal]

It makes me soooo cross to see these young animals carrying so much weight! surely youngstock classes are to look at potential not how fat and cresty the pony is

Let the ponies grow up and live a life! im surprised we dont hear of more cases of youngstock haveing laminitas!

Surely its time for the judges to sort themselves out!

[rosemary]

we went to a small show at the beginning of the season and we were going to show our yearling till we saw the weight on them they looked like two to three year olds and when they were running the weight obviously was a problem but the judge put up all the ones with the weight on which was shame, as the thinner ones went much better

[guest truth]

Go to the royal welsh show, now thats a real eye opener!! the two year olds looked like 5 yr olds!!!!! also a majority of the welsh medal shows also seem the same

a couple of years ago i visited a very well known welsh stud and was deeply saddened to see young cobs shut in stables with no windows and fattened up like pigs are for slaughter, doors opened for us to look at them and they were shooed round the stable, poor things nearly climbing up the walls. never again!

[diane]

Here we go again....let's tar all the Welsh Studs with the same brush

[halfpass]

What happens when you have mare that produces super dooper double cream gold top milk, all her foals look porkers, you can't do very much about that, her foals all look like yearlings and yes we do get raised eyebrows when she was shown with foals at foot, people just thought we were feeding the foal extra, but no it was all the mare,

[helenatrunshaw]

As to youngstock classes there are vast differences between a forward mature youngster and something obviously bucket fat. We aren't all the same , some of us to have long term plans for our ponies and common sense and its not just the welsh breeders too more and more other native and native cross ponies from foals upwards that are subjected to ignorance for the sake of a piece of ribbon but not every forward youngster has been forced with a feed bucket!

[diane]

Nov 10, 2008 16:16:59 GMT @helenatrunshaw said:

As to youngstock classes there are vast differences between a forward mature youngster and something obviously bucket fat. We aren't all the same , some of us to have long term plans for our ponies and common sense and its not just the welsh breeders too more and more other native and native cross ponies from foals upwards that are subjected to ignorance for the sake of a piece of ribbon but not every forward youngster has been forced with a feed bucket!

[diadem]

Karma tastic Helen

[pattendown]

as an owner of a real porker (not my doing just genetic) i thaught when i showed him i would be marked down as he was over produced but he won i must say i was buzzing

[thecremellosociety]

I think you can tell difference between natural good young conformation and stuffed conformation, tone and shape and none wobbling, and generally in proportion, mine was forward and chunky as a foal yet went quite gangly and odd as a 2/3 yo and back to a great shape now, when you hear a foal, as you do sometimes, really puffing to breathe, its quite sad, i showed my lean bay colt in a class with many other more rounded but he was free able to move and could have lapped some in the class 20 times over.

Im overweight and always have been except about 2 late teenage years where partying and stuff meant i was quite slim, always been predeposed to being tubby, bt my knees are knackered and definatly would be unsound as a pony !!! if they have the bone and conformation and are the chunkier type and build it different than seeing finer type ponies that people have tried to chunk up.

[morwenstowstud]

I was in a ring a few years ago in a youngstock class. It was a showing society qualifier. The judge a panel judge. In the ring we had a barrel fat, naturally good doer. We were placed, but I was horrified when the judge said 'lovely pony, you'd have been placed higher if she was fatter'. I looked at him and said 'with respect she's fat enough and I don't agree with youngstock being fattened for the ring'. He shrugged and said 'I totally agree, but that's what people expect, what can I do?'. I said judge honestly not to keep spectators happy.

[diadem]

If things are to change, judges who place animals just to keep the spectators happy,theres something very wrong. SUch judges need to be given a clear message that what they are doing is condoning the practice and it is detrimental to a ponies health and well being. and it needs to come from above.

I know alot of judges out there do judge accordingly but they all need to be singing off the same hymn sheet.

We ve had a similar issue about judges comments, but ours was when Bossy was a youngster, that we we re being unprofessional not having her plated (as a yearling!!! ), Im sorry but I want a straight moving cob for the future not a pony that will end up dishing for wales!!!!!