Yes, This is a Thoroughbred

Not a PRE. I know, hard to believe.
I feel like one of the most common phrases used to describe thoroughbreds is "hard keeper." They're often portrayed as lean muscled, rib showing, thin-necked creatures. I suppose that is what they look like when coming off the track, all tight angular muscle and bones. 
Not exactly right off the track, but not exactly looking like a dressage prospect.
However, the horse coming off the track is often quite young. A two, three, four or five year old horse is going to look much different than a mature specimen. On top of that, a racehorse is fed and conditioned for lean muscle. They are exercised regularly to develop that strong but fit look. The thoroughbred in the dressage horse home, however? It can (and probably should) look much different.
Yes, this is a much younger Pig (around 11). He's not as ribby as many young TBs, but he's not exactly living up to his potential.
I've met a lot of people who assume because their horse is a thoroughbred, he is destined to live life as skinny horse. Owners who figure their horses have too high of a metabolism to bulk up like a warmblood or other "easy keeping" breed.

Sorry, guys. I soundly disagree.
This 18 year old cow of a horse was getting two pounds of grain he clearly didn't need. Most of it ration balancer.
This doesn't mean I haven't struggled to keep weight on my horses. Oh no.

Over the last two years, my horses have seen a lot of change in their lives. Bast came off the track, into a show barn and a completely different style of riding and program. He fought with ulcers, and me. He moved to a lower key barn, with very different feed. And finally moved back to the show barn, and excellent pasture. Finally we hit the jackpot, and he gained weight.
Again, yes. This is a thoroughbred. The same bay as above, actually.
Pig retired, got depressed, moved barns three times before settling in a lower key barn with really terrible pastures for over a year. He lost weight. He fought a tick disease. He fought ulcers. He moved back "home" to excellent pasture. He once again blossomed.
His muscle may not be where it once was, but his weight and coat are fantastic.
What do these stories have in common? Ulcers and pasture. In my experience, thoroughbreds can not put on weight without good pasture and ulcer management. Those are the very basic needs of the breed that must be met to have them look their best. A thoroughbred can be a very hard keeper when those two needs are not met.
Here he is in his full muscled glory. The hunk.
But there's more to it. Once the thoroughbred has the rich forage required by their bodies, they also need protein. I'm yet to meet a thoroughbred who does not need a high level of protein to put on muscle and maintain weight. With my two, I feed a ration balancer as a supplement. Others feed actual protein supplements. Both see excellent results.
#notawarmblood #oraquarterhorse
Of course, you do actually have to ride your thoroughbred on occasion to spur correct muscle development. However, the protein and high forage diets are necessary to provide the breed everything they need to put on weight.

Now here's my caveat. Just because a grain is high in calories, doesn't mean it will put weight on a thoroughbred. I've literally poured grain into my horses with no result. Too little forage and a diet higher in fat than protein leads to a thin and ribby horse, in my experience. Bast especially exemplifies this, as he was eating an absurd amount of Ultium and still looking weedy and thin. Once his pasture improved? He his grain has been halved, but he still gains weight. Now his diet is higher in protein than fat, something I have found to be essential for this breed in this sport. 
I'm about to fall off the back, but dear god look at this glorious #fatblood. He was getting a handful of ration balancer here. A handful.
Bast is legitimately a harder keeper than Pig. Part of which is due to age. Pig was working 6 days a week at 4th level for an hour minimum on barely 2 pounds of grain, and getting fat. That's not my definition of a hard keeper. Actually, my thoroughbreds tend to eat a lot less grain than the warmbloods on the property in similar work. The difference in the dietary needs of the warmblood and thoroughbred is really interesting and apparent.
Not hard keepers. Are hard headed, though.All three of us.
The details aside, I love taking my round muscled thoroughbreds out into the world. I enjoy showing people how an ex-racehorse really can look. It's rare for people to identify the breeding on my horses in the first or second guess, just because they don't look like the thin-necked and skinny horse typically pictured. They are dressage horses, and I want them to have the muscle needed to support the discipline.
Not the typical thoroughbred.
Stumping people is fun, but I wish more thoroughbreds were out in the dressage world being shiny and fat #notwarmbloods. The breed is too amazing to be held down by the stereotype of the skinny and under muscled horse.

Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on feeding. Uno is currently underweight and I'm struggling with what direction to go to put weight on him. The fat vs protein debate seems to be ongoing.

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    1. Always! Haha. I think that's because breeding makes a difference as to whether it works. Seems to really work for the warmbloods and drafts. Not so much for the TBs.

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    2. I'm guessing that arab may be in the same camp as the TB. :)

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  2. Carlos was a giant hunk and he was 100% TB and people confused him for a QH. Dante is a weedy and people confuse him for a TB. Just shows you that no one can usually spot tell what most breeds are.. well you know except full arabs and shaggy ponies lol

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    1. I love asking about breeding at hunter shows. It'll often surprise me!

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  3. You can't make a horribly conformed moose with a rib cage the size of a Boeing look like that though, no matter what you feed it. COUGHBOBBYCOUGH. I've so been enjoying Opie's relatively normal horse feeding needs. He gets a fancy rice bran type add-on to his relatively light serving of grain, but like you said--when our grass is in, or at the very least we get really good hay because the grass is rarely in enough to say so here in suburbia, he turns into a CHONK.

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    1. Lol!! Pig's ribs took FOREVER to cover. Like, just an absurd amount of muscle. I feel you. Meanwhile Bast is like an air fern when it comes to body building.

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  4. Moe was never a hunky TB; he's always been kind of weedy. He's definitely porked out in his old age, though, but it's more of a saggy broodmare belly look, haha!

    All of mine are easy keepers these days- Candy and Gina are out on my front pasture with no additional feed and Moe is eating two pounds of Triple Crown Complete and about twenty pounds of hay a day while he's on babysitting duty. The TC is really just to make him feel happier about Madigan getting breakfast and dinner!

    Your two look fantastic. Forage really does make all the difference!

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    1. There are different types, for sure! Pig and Moe are that more rangey type, compared to compact little Bast. I love the broodmare belly. It used to crack me up that Pig's would disappear when he was working. WHERE DID HE PUT IT? 😂

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  5. He looks great as a PRE. :D I agree with everything you've said. It comes down to a good and basic feeding program.

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    1. Can't forget the basics. Forage first always.

      (I secretly think thoroughbreds and PREs are super similar creatures.)

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  6. As someone who owns a fully fledged dad-bodied OTTB whose vet literally got as close as she possibly could to saying, “dear god he’s too fat,” I appreciate this lol

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    1. 🤣😂🤣😂 Charlie looks so good, though!

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  7. Hunka chunka thoroughbreds! Both of your boys. The change in Bast especially (probably 'cause I've known him since he came home to you) is so amazing to me. I can only hope to get my horses in as good of a place once they're home where I can control their every bite of food lol

    My quest for primo forage is why I'm taking soil samples this evening to then dry and ship out for testing next week. Gotta figure out what I've got and what needs to be done to improve it before I can hope to have primo pasture. And primo pasture is the goal! Bonus that the testing is free for state residents!

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    1. um that's amazing and such a good idea. you need to post all about that including what you end up doing.

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  8. I need to do an update on that grain free life. I was looking at spicy yesterday and he's just looking so... THICK. Unfortunately our pastures are crap, but FORTUNATELY my BO buys really nice hay which she feeds year-round. I'd rather have nice pasture, but good forage is good forage.

    He's also grown quite the dorsal stripe this year, it looks really cool!!! Whether or not that's from the forage who knows. Maybe it's him getting back to his wild roots :P

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    1. Omg yeah. Good hay is almost as good as good pasture! I wish my barn had better hay quality, but I can't argue with their fabulous pastures!

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  9. Mine is a chonker too. Like I spend a lot of my time keeping weight OFF of him, as an event horse. Granted, there is no such thing as "good pasture" here really. At best, there's decent pasture. So ours do eat grain (but I'm really pick about which one, I think they all do better on low starch) and a lot of hay. Henry in particular turns into a major porker if he gets within smelling distance of a round bale. We've already cut his grain since he's moved, since he has more roughage now. I've honestly not had too many TB's that were hard keepers once they were over the age of 5 or 6. When they're young and growing they do seem to need more help, but after that they're just like any other breed in my experience.

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    1. Agreed! Usually after 5-6 if they're weedy it's usually ulcers or not enough hay. And ditto. Pig is a greedy kid when it comes to hay, and it goes straight to his hips, er, butt and neck. 🤣

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  10. I think pasture is so essential for ALL of them. When my horses growing up had access to pasture all day, I never experienced colic or ulcers. And they got hardly any grain. Your horses look GREAT.

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    1. I really think pasture is under emphasized when it comes to feeding programs, for sure! Glad to hear about your success!

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  11. I'd be curious to hear your feeding regime and what products have worked for you and what hasn't.

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  12. We have some hunter (and jumper) tbs are my barn and they are thick and muscular and I can't get enough. People struggle around here with the TB stereotypical look and it can get a little obnoxious!

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    1. I absolutely LOVE the thoroughbreds on the hunter circuit. They are so absolutely beautiful

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  13. I definitely agree that if you have a Thoroughbred that seems to be a hard keeper, they probably aren't getting enough quality pasture and/or protein. Especially for younger Thoroughbreds who are doing a higher level of work!

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    1. The young ones require so much protein. It's absurd. They're like little body builders needing their protein shakes.

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  14. No one ever guesses tb with Val - usually warmblood or quarter horse lol. I have had to flip his lip on a number of occasions as proof. Besides his rotundity and big butt, he's got a lot of bone. There is only token pasture here on the sandy island, so he gets free choice of the best quality hay I can find - 2nd cutting orchard usually - plus ration balancer and a scant serving of TCS.

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    1. Val is such a beast! Pig will put on the pounds with good quality hay. The stuff we had in Indiana made him sooo happy!

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  15. PREACH PREACH PREACH!! Yes it is well maintained PASTURE that really puts weight on these guys. Hampton is the same way (3/4 TB and seems to have inherited their nutritional requirements). Good forage + ulcer management = BINGO.

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    1. Srsly. It's like good forage for them is like beer and French fries for me. 😂

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  16. Can you tell me 1/2 TB to get on board???!? He's just dropped weight (again) in the last couple weeks and I can't figure out why!

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    1. Omg noooo! Stop that delicate golden butterfly!

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  17. With my TB and a total lack of good pasture, I was able to get some chunk on him by giving him a variety of forage. Grass hay in front of him all day but he also got a bucket of chopped hay to play in (he liked to make tea with it, it was a freaking mess) and a feeding of soaked plain beet pulp at lunch. The variety and pure amount of forage helped get the weight on him even when pasture was spotty. Also treated for ulcers and gave him a high protein feed. Everyone thought he was an Oldenburg.

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    1. This! Supplemental good quality hay or forage pellets are soooo perfect when you just don't have the quality pasture. And I adore beet pulp for putting on weight, if you can get them to eat it reliably. Haha. Mine find it so very boring.

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